Hey, dear reader!
Last week, KfW Research published its annual Gründungsmonitor. The headline was hard to miss: Germany founded 690,000 new businesses in 2025 — up 18% from the year before — a record high.
70% of those new businesses are Nebenerwerb — side gigs, started after work and mostly by one person.
We're all for more people building things, right? So when I saw the numbers, I was excited.
But look closely and you'll see that the main motive to start isn't about chasing grand visions or aspirations but a more practical one — keeping up with rising living costs and difficulties in finding a job.
High self-employment isn't actually a marker of a healthy economy. The data points the other way. The wealthier the country, the lower its self-employment rate tends to be. The US sits at 6%, Germany at 8%, Greece at 31%, and Albania at 52%. It suggests that self-employment often fills the gaps a formal economy leaves behind.
So where does that leave us? We should differentiate between the motives for going self-employed. It's one thing to bet on your idea and take a risk by choice and the other to do so because you have to. Either way, it's our job as a community to support each other irrespective of the motives behind it.
This Friday, come and work alongside folks from the community at our first co-working day.
Save the Date 🗓
The events I'm most excited about in the weeks ahead.
April 23
Pitch Club Developer & IT #241 (German/English) — Watch startups and companies pitch themselves to a room of developers who ask the tough questions.
April 27
ProductTank Hamburg (English) — Hear how AI is reshaping product management and get a practical LLM product framework from two experienced product leaders.
April 30
Founders' Tap Q2/2026 (German) — Get exclusive access to Hamburg's quarterly founders and experts networking evening.
Weekly Picks📍
All the events on my radar for this week.
This Issue’s Gem 💎
April 17
found Co-working Day (English) — Work alongside fellow founders and operators from the found community — just show up with your laptop and get things done.
Tech Bite 🧑💻
April 14
World Quantum Day (German) — DESY and Hamburg Quantum Innovation Capital showcase the latest breakthroughs and applications in quantum technology — free admission.
April 18
WoHa! | Women's Hackathon 2026 (English/German) — Build real tech solutions across four tracks — robotics, IoT, AI agents, and ethical coding — at Hamburg's third annual women's hackathon, recognized as an EU best practice.
April 20
n8n Hamburg Community Meetup (English) — Connect with Hamburg's automation and AI community to explore n8n workflows, integrations, and real-world automation use cases.
Startup 101 🔨
April 14
Startup Toolbox: Prototyping and User Feedback (German) — Master hands-on prototyping methods and user feedback techniques designed for early-stage founders.
April 17
build fridays (English) — Ship products alongside other builders, demo your progress, and get feedback from fellow founders.
Get Inspired ✨
April 14
12min.me | HIRE #12 (English) — Hear three rapid-fire talks on hiring, leadership, and entrepreneurship, followed by free drinks and networking at Kühne Logistics University.
April 14
LogisticsTech Talks (English) — Hear founders from Zauber, Rail-Flow, and rethink Ventures share how they're building and scaling ventures in logistics tech.
April 16
French Startup Pitch Session @ Aircraft Interiors Expo (English) — Watch French aviation scale-ups pitch live, followed by Q&A and breakfast networking with the Franco-German tech community.
April 20
Scientists Founder Journey (English) — Meet physicist Dr. Dirk Raiser, the entrepreneur reinventing the modern spacesuit, and discover the science-to-startup path.
Every Saturday
Founders Running Club (English) — Energize your weekend with fellow entrepreneurs during a judgment-free 5K run followed by coffee and meaningful networking conversations.
Open Calls 📣
Grants, programs, and opportunities waiting for your application.
Hamburg Innovation Awards 2026 — For Hamburg-based founders at any stage. Three tracks: Ideation, Start, and International Founders. Finalists pitch at the Hamburg Innovation Summit in June with full investor visibility. Deadline: May 3.
EWOR Fellowship — For idea-stage and pre-seed founders worldwide. Up to €500K in funding, weekly 1:1 mentoring with unicorn builders, and access to a network of 10,000+ specialists. Rolling applications.
EIC Accelerator — For EU-based startups ready to scale deep tech or breakthrough innovations. Up to €2.5M in non-dilutive grants and €15M in equity from the European Innovation Council. Deadline: May 6.
Job Picks 💼
3 open roles worth a look this week.
Backend Engineer at Parqet, a FinTech portfolio tracker (bootstrapped).
Senior Venture Clienting Manager at amberra, corporate venturing studio of Germany’s cooperative banking group (€100M fund, 2026).
Sales Manager at homie AI, an AI-powered retail shopping guide (Pre-Seed).
Hiring? Submit your job here. Want to feature it in the newsletter? Reply to this email.
That’s a wrap!
Check out the tune of the week from the found playlist
🏄♂
Share found Hamburg with your friends
See you next week,
Kyrylo from found Hamburg