The founder's stack · Germany

Building a company in Germany is the easy part. The bureaucracy is where founders get stuck.

The vetted stack for founders navigating incorporation and German bureaucracy - the tools, people, templates and guides you actually need. Execution over inspiration.

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Tools

Vetted software and services - the ones founders actually keep after the free trial.

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Featured

Granola

AI notepad that writes your meeting notes

Productivity14 €/moAug 26

Featured

folk

4.5

A lightweight shared CRM for founders and small teams.

Sales & CRMDeal30 €/moJul 26

Bolt Business

Team rides and travel on one invoice, with per employee spend limits.

Finance & OpsDealJul 26

Places

Coworking, accelerators and event spaces worth leaving the kitchen table for - across Germany.

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Featured

ATWorld

One membership, 900+ places to work across Europe

CoworkingDeal25% off for the first 3 months for new members in all memberships tier, 40 Credits included only for Essential; No long-term commitment: You can cancel anytime. Valid until 31.12.2026BerlinAug 26

Fabrik23

Seven industrial lofts, 1.200 m², for events and shoots in Berlin-Wedding

WorkshopsBerlinJul 26

Kollektiv Volume

Apartment & showroom event space in Berlin Wedding

EventsBerlinJul 26

Network

People, service providers, agencies and founder communities - worth knowing before you need them.

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Featured

addedval.io

Angel network and fundraising platform

InvestorAug 26

Steinmeier Consulting

Digital tax advisory for mid-sized companies

Service providerAug 26

Béa Beste

Executive coach & personal branding strategist

ExpertJul 26

Templates

Contracts, checklists and cap tables you can ship today - not fill out from scratch.

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Featured

Founder Kit

Live Cap-Table & Dilution Calculator

An interactive tool: live dilution, ESOP-pool shuffle, and cap/discount/interest-on-convert scenarios.

Financing RoundsFounder KitInteractiveJul 26

Featured

Round-Flow Map: Which Doc When

Which document you need, and when: convertible vs priced round

Financing RoundsFreeInteractiveJul 26

German Employment Contract (Arbeitsvertrag)

Bilingual-ready standard employment contract - role, pay, hours, probation, notice, confidentiality - for your first hires.

Employment ContractFreeDOCXAug 26

Books

The founder canon - read them before you need them.

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Hard things about hard things

4.6

Ben Horowitz

LeadershipDeal2014Jul 26

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

4.5

Mark Manson

MindsetDeal2016Jul 26

Radical Candor

4.5

Kim Scott

LeadershipDeal2017Jul 26

Resources

Newsletters, podcasts and videos worth your commute.

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Startupverband

The political voice of Germany's startup ecosystem.

OrganisationsBerlinJul 26

GermanPedia

Guides and tools for navigating life and bureaucracy in Germany.

GuidesJul 26

The Honest Founder

Practical startup lessons from a founder who built and sold an AI company for $60M.

NewslettersMunichJul 26

Guides

How to actually incorporate, register, hire and stay compliant in Germany - step by step, no Amt-speak.

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Featured

UG vs. GmbH: 1 € or 25.000 € to start your company

Both limit your liability. The real difference is the share capital - 1 € for a UG, 25.000 € for a GmbH - and what that signals.

4 min readJul 26

Featured

Non-dilutive German funding: EXIST, INVEST, and KfW

EXIST covers a year of living costs, INVEST hands your angels 20% back, KfW lends - public money before you raise venture capital.

4 min readJul 26

Transparenzregister: One Month to Declare Who Really Owns Your GmbH

After your Handelsregister entry you have one month to report who really owns and controls your GmbH.

3 min readJul 26

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