SpinLab Blog

3 min read

Venture Debt what it is and how it works

Venture debt has long been widespread in the U.S. and Israel, but it only started gaining traction in Germany in 2018,...

2 min read

Womenture: Celebrating women in business

At SpinLab, we are proud to be a project partner of Womenture, a pre-acceleration program dedicated to empowering women...

3 min read

Womenture: Highlighting Female Founders in Germany

In the world of startups, women are proving to be strong innovators and leaders. The balancing act between the demands...

3 min read

Why Central and Eastern Europe is (not) interesting for VCs

The 15th HHL SpinLab Investors Day started with the keynote "CEE from a VC perspective" by Alexandru Agatinei from How...

4 min read

Shifting from Software to Hardware?

At this year’s HHL SpinLab Investors Day #15, more than 200 guests, including venture capital funds, business angels,...

4 min read

What is venture clienting?

In 2014, 27pilots founder Gregor Gimmy, while working at BMW's innovation strategy department, conceived an approach to...

4 min read

10 female founders in Europe you should know

We all know the typical startup scene tends to be male dominated, but hopefully not for much longer! The following list...

5 min read

A startup’s search for its vision and mission… the quest for the holy grail?

If one were to draw a comparison between startups and established companies, the metaphor of a newborn versus an adult...

3 min read

Enhancing startup grant applications with ChatGPT

Applying for grants has the potential to significantly impact startups by providing essential funds and resources for...

4 min read

How Europe's success breeds startup success

At this year's HHL SpinLab Investor Days, Bjorn Tremmerie, Head of Venture Capital and Impact Investing at the...

7 min read

Essential AI tools every startup should know about

As a founder, you face a lot of challenges - from product development to team management to customer support. In this...

4 min read

Six emerging European venture capital funds you need to know

This year's HHL SpinLab Investors day edition was an incredible showcase of innovative startups and visionary venture...

7 min read

10 Digital Health Apps (DiGAs) in Germany you should know

Digital health applications have been transforming the way we approach healthcare, empowering individuals to take...

9 min read

10 promising AI-startups in Germany to watch in 2023

“ChatGPT is at capacity right now.” So I guess I'll have to write the introduction myself after all. Industries have...

4 min read

Startup Corporate Collaboration: FlyNex Case Study

Drones are taking on more and more tasks and will soon be an essential part of everyday life. These small flying...

4 min read

What founders should prepare to attend a startup event

It is important to know that attending events requires more preparation than just booking your transportation and...

4 min read

6 Project management tools for startups

Startup team members often work in many different areas and rely on visibility and quick access to updates that happen...

3 min read

Basic rules to boost the cybersecurity level in your startup

Ignoring IT Security is one of the most expensive tech debts a startup can take. Yes, you save some time and money at...

4 min read

Top startup events in Europe you should not miss in 2023

The benefits of attending startup events for founders and their growing teams are countless: from meeting investors,...

5 min read

There is more than post corona IT in 2023 - Trendreport

The effects of the Corona pandemic and the steadily increasing use of cloud services are changing the world of work and...

5 min read

10 real employee perks to attract and keep talents

Does this situation seem familiar to you? The days are over, where fruit baskets are a good enough to attract and keep...

8 min read

10 FemTech startups from Germany you should know

The health care system has historically suffered from a gender bias, with women's health being underfunded,...

8 min read

How SpinLab lives corporate social responsibility

At SpinLab, we always act in the interests of the environment, society and our employees. We are committed to driving...

6 min read

10 promising energy startups in Germany you should know

Climate change and, most recently, Russia's invasion of Ukraine have plunged energy policy in crisis. In order to...

6 min read

Emerging venture capital alternatives for startups

Never before has so much venture capital flowed into startups as in the past year. 2021 was a record year with mega...

20 min read

The future of nuclear energy in Germany

Crises have been weighing on the global economy for almost two years. The energy industry in particular has been...

5 min read

Startup-Corporate Collaboration: eCovery Case Study

After an injury, many patients need physiotherapeutic care. For this, they usually visit an ambulant practice several...

5 min read

Top startup events in Europe you should not miss

Do you want getting inspired by other founders, learn new skills, and meet potential new partners or investors? Startup...

6 min read

10 reasons why SpinLab is interesting for more established startups

You have come across our Accelerator program, but you are not quite sure if it is suitable for your startup? We often...

5 min read

Startup-Corporate Collaboration:Keleya Case Study

Victoria Engelhardt entered the entrepreneurial world with a mission: to provide reliable support to women during their...

6 min read

Tips and tricks for improving remote work in your startup

Going in to the new year, we have the time to reflect on the way that remote work is currently organized in our team....

6 min read

Why do we need more diversity in venture capital?

Recent studies such as the Female Founders Report and German Startup Monitor clearly showed that the startup landscape...

6 min read

How to Quantify Your Product Market Fit

​​Dear reader please note this is NOT a regular product market fit blog article. Here we neither explain you what Product...

9 min read

Debunking 4 myths on gender diversity in the startup world

Not really unexpectedly, the startup environment is not very diverse but rather homogeneous. Let the numbers speak: Let...

8 min read

Guidelines to avoid broken cap tables

A cap table- short name for “capitalization table”- is a spreadsheet with an overview of who owns a portion of equity...

12 min read

A step by step guide to build a cap table

When preparing financial rounds, investors usually ask for cap tables (short version for “capitalization table”)....

7 min read

10 promising smart city startups in Germany

Our cities are growing. Along with them, our current problems and challenges are increasing: Population growth,...

7 min read

10 promising E-health Startups from Germany

The e-health segment has been considered one of the up-and-coming topics in the startup scene for years. Digital...

10 min read

Why many Startups fail

"2021 will be the year of the unicorns," "German startups are raising more money than ever," "From a garage to the most...

17 min read

B2B Sales for Startups in 2021

Acquiring new customers and generating revenue is the fuel to keep a company running.

It therefore creates pressure on...

4 min read

How to improve your chances of being accepted into a startup accelerator (2021)

The application round for our 12th cohort in the SpinLab is officially open, and with that, we wanted to take some time...

12 min read

Venture Capital Definitions: Important Deal Terms in Plain Language (2020)

Especially during the current pandemic it would be very hard to live without some of our favourite products/services,...

9 min read

How to find a startup job in Leipzig

As you might have heard a lot recently, Leipzig has been found to be a very attractive and livable city in several ...

17 min read

Crowdfunding a Startup: 10 proven tactics that still hold true for 2021

Crowdfunding has come a long way. What started with pioneer Kickstarter a little over a decade ago, has become a...

4 min read

Startup-Corporate Collaboration: Die Energiekoppler Case Study

As a spin-off of the Technische Universität Dresden which participated in the EXIST Research Transfer Program, the...

12 min read

Does your startup have an attractive employer brand?

While you’re busy building your business, expanding quickly and working on your products, HR can often take a backseat...

9 min read

GDPR Compliance and Startups: 7 principles you MUST master (2020)

Since its inception in 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has thrown many companies, consumers, and...

7 min read

Investing in a Sustainable Future – ESG discussed at HHL SpinLab Investors Day

What indicators do investors look for when they talk about sustainable investing? Are there any standard criteria taken...

5 min read

Crisis Communication for Startups

How would you feel when you were the customer of a startup, that seems to have some trouble going on – and not knowing...

3 min read

Health insurance systems in Germany: This is what you really need to know!

The fact is: In Germany, health insurance is compulsory. In this article I will explain the different types of health...

5 min read

How to write and send out proper press releases

Press releases have been a highly debated topic for a while now. Some PR professionals swear they are the best tools to...

4 min read

COVID-19 & Funding for startups: How the landscape will evolve

Despite a different trigger, the current period of unusual turbulences and its impact on the economic situation has...

18 min read

Product Market Fit and Your Startup: 7 Things you need to know (2020)

Product market fit is one of those things that is very much its own unicorn inside of the startup world. A lot of...

12 min read

How to be HAS (Helpful As Sh%t) and why your startup should care

Let me first start off by saying, welcome to 2020! OK, now that that is out of the way, let’s get back to making our...

10 min read

STARTUP BUSINESS PLAN: DOING SALES RIGHT FROM THE START (2020)

Working in one of Germany’s best accelerator programs, helping startups on a daily basis, we get a lot of insights, on...

10 min read

How you can support spinlab startups during the corona virus pandemic

Today’s date is March 19th, 2020 and if you’re just hearing the latest news about the Corona Virus Pandemic that is...

10 min read

International Venture Capital and Forced Exits: Recapping HHL SpinLab Investors Day 4

About 200 venture capitalists, family offices and business angels mingled with our corporate partners and startups...

1 min read

VIDEO - HHL SpinLab Investors Day January 2020 Recap

Last Thursday on January 30th, 2020 we hosted our fourth HHL SpinLab Investors Day in the Kunst Kraftwerk in Leipzig.

...

1 min read

VIDEO - What is a Startup Founder?

2020 has been a fantastic year so far, and we're starting the year off properly with all cylinders firing to try and...

9 min read

How can startups handle recruiting challenges? (2020)

You might have heard the expressions “Survival of the fittest” and “A smooth sea never makes good sailors.”

These are...

8 min read

Coworking Leipzig in 2020: A guide for newcomers

There is a diverse and vibrant ecosystem of coworking spaces in Leipzig. Coworking spaces are great for the ones...

19 min read

What is a Startup Accelerator? (2021)

If you're a new founder, you might have already asked yourself the question - "How do startup accelerators work?"

And...

5 min read

[VIDEO] Digging deeper into landing pages with startups in 2020

Class nine has started in the SpinLab, and with that, we’re once again going back to some basic business focus areas to...

1 min read

VIDEO - How to become an entrepreneur, according to wikihow

We at the SpinLab have really enjoyed pushing video content creation in the last quarter. We get great responses from...

10 min read

Startup Blogs in 2019: How you can get yours up and running in 20 minutes or less

I am fortunate enough to enjoy writing. I do it a lot professionally for the SpinLab blog, and I write a lot in my free...

12 min read

How to create a Value Proposition for your startup (2020)

After the short and more introductory articles on how to approach your potential clients in general, this piece now...

9 min read

Effective landing pages for startups: Evaluating the latest Neil Patel offer

Let’s start with the basics here, what actually is a landing page on a website? Well, a landing page is basically a URL...

1 min read

No Equity, No Costs - A SpinLab Rap

We've been ramping up our efforts lately with video production to offer more digitized versions of our workshops and...

8 min read

Why the German Venture Capital gap is not (only) in later stage

In the last years we saw many speeches by top German politicians of different parties who agreed that Germany performs...

5 min read

5 Tips to Write a Business Plan for a Tech Startup: Become a Leader

'Before starting to search for investors and financing, startups need not only to get a business plan, but also to make...

6 min read

Startup Sales – Introduction: Customer Discovery

The first article in this series has given you an insight into finding your internal values to define your external...

3 min read

Let’s talk about the third HHL SpinLab Investors Day

The first HHL SpinLab Investors Day of the year took place at a location which probably provides the best view over...

6 min read

Team Due Diligence and Venture Capital Brand Building – Key take aways from HHL SpinLab Investors Day

The HHL SpinLab Investors Day in June 2019 took place at the location with the best view over Leipzig! At the Felix -...

10 min read

How to pitch a startup: Breaking down one of our best startup pitches

How to pitch a startup is a key skill for all founders, and something all founders need to practice constantly. On...

45 min read

Startup Grants in germany: The ultimate guide

A startup needs money! This is a valid, simple statement right? But where does the money come from? Well, first of all...

4 min read

9 Ways to Boost your E-commerce Startup

E-commerce is a quick and convenient business process for both sellers and buyers. It allows sellers to sell physical...

4 min read

How to finance your growth phase if the house bank is no longer willing to support?

Even if the media likes to report on ambitious startups that earn a lot of money with a profitable exit, in practice no...

13 min read

Startup Logos: 6 tips to design them properly from the start (2020)

Successfully running a startup accelerator can be tricky business as there are typically a myriad of things we are...

3 min read

An introduction to agile B2B sales – Always start with WHY

Congratulations! You’ve founded your startup, and everybody around you really seems to like what you are doing. But...

7 min read

Who is the most successful startup in Germany?

Often, I get questions from journalists, scientists and people interested in startups from all over the world, “What is...

8 min read

First impressions for a startup: 6 ways to perfectly present your logo

We’ve seen a lot of startups come through our startup accelerator's doors, and make no mistake about it, new founders...

6 min read

Advisory boards in German tech-based startups

Many startups all over the world have advisory boards for different reasons. However, research and practice-oriented...

8 min read

What do you think is the number one reason that startups succeed?

Here in the SpinLab, you can imagine that we run into a lot of challenges that startups are having. These problems can...

7 min read

4 Reasons why startups should always create pitch decks as a PDF

There are quite a few moving components that all interlink with each other when determining reasons for startup success...

13 min read

Why Do Startups Struggle With Online Marketing?

If you’re a newer startup that has a marketing plan that is already successful, consider yourself very fortunate and in...

9 min read

6 Reasons why startups should use Google Tag Manager

When startups join our startup accelerator program, they eventually express some concern about their websites, there...

25 min read

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Google Analytics & Startups

So to change things up a bit, I’ve decided to shift to a bit of a mini-series that kinda grows with time, and expands...

3 min read

How do Venture Capital (VC) companies actually work?

Have you ever heard the expressions VC’s, LPs, Term Sheet, Fund returner, Multiples, or hurdle rate and asked yourself:

10 min read

6 Learnings on How to recruit new talent as a startup

A highly-motivated and skilled team is one of the most important factors for a startup’s success. However, finding new...

6 min read

Modern Investments: Startups and Crowdfunding

Startup accelerators really love to talk about the “startup ecosystem”, and the reason for that is because we truly are...

9 min read

Startup Lessons Learned: 8 learnings for future entrepreneurs

Three and a half years ago we brought SpinLab to life, and just recently we were awarded as one of the top 3 German...

12 min read

Startup Conference Review: INBOUND

Startup conferences, there's no shortage of them these days. I’m currently somewhere in between Frankfurt and Leipzig...

10 min read

BUYER PERSONAS (And why they are so critical)

It’s been an interesting and exciting month here at the SpinLab, for those who have been keeping track, our ninth class...

3 min read

2 Solid Years of Acceleration (INFOGRAPHIC)

In February 2015, the first SpinLab class walked through our doors and began their program with us. It was a great...

9 min read

Why startups should keep web content in house

There you are sitting there one day with the great idea to found a new startup, I mean, it is all the rage right?...