GROWTH STAGE  

• 

  ayondo - CFD Trading & Social Trading under one brand

  

  The financial industry is in a period of change. Long-standing structures are being broken up and dismantled and the individual needs of the customer are now in focus. ayondo has recognized these changes and carries this through to their range of products: ayondo offers social trading and CFD trading under one brand in the FinTech space. Investors can follow the strategies of "top traders" and copy their actions directly from their ayondo account, or become a "top trader" themselves and earn additional revenues with every trade.

  ayondo has operational offices in London, ayondo markets Ltd (fully FCA licensed broker), and Frankfurt, ayondo GmbH (BaFin licensed), with a tech team also based in Toronto. The Holding company, ayondo Holding AG (formerly Next Generation Finance Invest AG), is domiciled in Zug/Switzerland.
• 

  Cybits – Online-based Identity Solutions

  

  Cybits is a provider for online identification of individuals on the Internet. Its product verify-U is compliant with the demands of the German legislator regarding secure and reliable identifications. verify-U is a patented and certified process which enables Cybits to identify all end customers of its business partners online – instantly at any time and any place.

  By providing digital identities with verify-U, Cybits delivers a solution for consumers and service providers who request a secured communication based on clear-cut and well-defined identities compliant to law and regulation.

  Cybits AG is focusing in particular on the markets of De-Mail, financial institutes, and the gambling industry.

  An important contract has already been closed with 1&1 Internet AG, one of the major players of the De-Mail market, concerning the use of verify-U to identify their users entirely through online means.

  CEO Stefan Pattberg previously was a member of the managing board of the energy service provider Techem.

  German Startups Group invested in Cybits in summer 2013. Other investors include Acxit Capital Management GmbH and Skrill Holdings Ltd.
• 

  Delivery Hero – Online Food Delivery Service

  

  Delivery Hero is an international online and mobile food ordering and delivery platform. Nearly four years after its inception, Delivery Hero processes millions of orders each month on commission over the Internet with more than 90,000 restaurants in over 20 countries connected to its service. The company has more than 1,500 employees around the world with a staff consisting of approximately 300 people working from its Berlin headquarters.

  Delivery Hero investors include Team Europe, ru-Net, Kite Ventures, Tengelmann Ventures, Rocket Internet, Point Nine Capital, Target Ventures, Lead Edge Capital, Insight Venture Partners, and Vostok Nafta. German Startups Group has an indirect share in Delivery Hero by means of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
• 

  Dr. Z - Nationwide Dentist Network

  

  Dr. Z stands for quality in dental care at affordable prices throughout Germany and offers an alternative to traditional dental practices. As such, Dr. Z provides the standard benefits that statutory health insurance providers offer, and the full range of private services with a considerable reduction in price. The ISO certification confirms the high quality of all dental care centres.

  The growing dentist network currently comprises approximately 20 dental practices and dentistry centres. Dr. Z aims to roll out the business model in all major and medium-sized German cities in order to provide their services nationwide.
• 

  E Pet World - E-Commerce for Pet Needs

  

  With hundeland.de and katzenland.de, the ePetWorld GmbH (a Munich startup by Internet incubator Venture Stars) runs two vertical online shops for pet supplies. In January 2012, hundeland.de was launched. In April 2012, the affiliated katzenland.de followed.

  Based on the offline-to-online shift in the pet supply industry, the two online shops provide several significant advantages for their customers: convenience – home delivery of weighty products like pet food and cat litter – as well as a much wider product range compared to the local drug store. In differentiation to online competitors, ePetWorld is focused on offering “advice and guidance” for its customers. To this end, for example, the advisory online service “Food Finder” which was developed with scientific support was launched. It recommends the user, based on an individual profile of their pet (age, activity, allergies, etc.), a suitable choice of pet food. The implementation of further customer services is planned.

  ePetWorld is backed by a strong team of investors: startup incubator Venture Stars, Mountain Super Angel, Blumberg Capital, as well as several further successful business angels.
• 

  Exozet – Creative Technologies

  

  Exozet is a repeatedly awarded digital agency for "Creative Technologies" – the seamless combination of technology and design in the digital media. In addition to media conglomerates such as the BBC or Axel Springer, big-name brands and organizations such as Red Bull, Audi, or Deutsche Telekom, and start-ups such as Wooga, LaterPay, and Magine TV rely on the agency. Exozet realizes projects across various digital platforms: from desktops and mobile devices to smart TVs.

  Exozet was founded by CEO Frank Zahn and employs approximately 140 staff in Berlin, Potsdam-Babelsberg, and Vienna.
• 

  Friendsurance – Insurance FinTech

  

  In 2010, the founders of Friendsurance realized that many people own insurances that they rarely or never use. Insurance companies, however, do not demonstrate appreciation for cautious behaviour. Therefore, Friendsurance developed a new insurance principle, which rewards insurance customers with premium cash backs if they remain free of claims. This is how the Friendsurance principle works: Insurance customers form small groups and part of their insurance premiums are pooled. In case the group members remain claim free, the money in the pool is given back at the end of the year in form of a cash back. In 2013, over 75% of those who used the Friendsurance principle got a cash back on their premiums.

  Currently, the Friendsurance principle can be used for personal liability, householders’, and legal insurances as well as mobile and electronics insurances. Insurances closed on www.friendsurance.de already include the Friendsurance principle free of charge.

  The vision of Friendsurance is to offer insurance at the lowest price possible at all times. Currently, Friendsurance employs a team of over 40 passionate people at the Berlin headquarters. Friendsurance already cooperates with many insurance providers.

  Apart from the German Startups Group, e.ventures and the technology fund Horizons Ventures of the Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing are among the investors.
• 

  Fyber - Mobile Advertising Monetization Strategies

  

  Fyber (formerly SponsorPay), founded in 2009, is an AdTech company and provider of mobile advertising monetization strategies for app developers and publishers. Fyber is able to automatically optimize and manage ad revenues with the aid of a unified mobile supply side platform, for example through an ad marketplace on which the offering of mobile ads by app developers and publishers is brought together with demand from advertisers using real-time bidding. Within this, advertisers are given the opportunity to reach over 400 million app users. Fyber was recently chosen by VentureBeat as one of the Top 10 Mobile Advertising Companies, and it has approximately 180 employees across its headquarters in Berlin and branches in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Istanbul, Seoul, and Tokyo.

  German Startups Group had an indirect share in Fyber by means of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV). The SPVs sold their shares to a company listed on the stock exchange in October 2014.
• 

  Mister Spex – Brand Glasses Online

  

  Mister Spex is an online retailer for branded eyewear. Through the Internet, the company offers an extensive range of high quality prescription glasses, sunglasses and contact lenses at competitive prices. In addition to the broad product range, price transparency and price savings, customers also benefit from free services such as eye tests and the adjustment of glasses thanks to local partner opticians in Germany. The company also has its own optician workshop in Berlin with final assembly and quality control.

  In July 2013, Mister Spex acquired the Swedish online eyewear shops Lensstore and Loveyewear and is also present in other European countries with own online stores in France and Spain.

  Apart from German Startups Group, Scottish Equity Partners, Grazia Equity, XAnge, DN Capital, and the High-Tech Gruenderfonds have invested in Mister Spex.
• 

  reBuy – The Easy Buy and Sell Platform

  

  eBuy is one of the German market leaders within Re-Commerce. reBuy.de is an easy online shop for buying and selling on the internet. Users can buy electronic and media articles like cell phones, tablets, books, software, consoles, or eBook readers for fixed prices. The input of ISBN-, EAN-number or name of the article is enough to get the buying price. It is even easier for media articles via smartphone with the reBuy.de scanner. Afterwards the user sends the goods in a package to reBuy.de and gets the selling price directly transferred on his account. The customer cannot just sell goods, but also can buy quality-tested goods on the other hand. All articles are sold with a 18 months reBuy-warranty. The shipping just needs up to 2 working days, because all products are in stock at a large logistic centre next to the headquarters in Berlin. reBuy.de employees 400 employees.

  The German Startups Group invested in reBuy together with well-known investors such as DuMont Venture, Hasso Plattner Ventures and Iris Capital & OP Ventures.
• 

  Returbo – Full-service solution for returns

  

  Returbo markets returned goods, B-stock items, overstocks, and end-of-lifetime products, as well as new merchandise internationally through different online channels. Returbo is also the right contact point for all questions relating to returns. As a reliable problem solver, Returbo handles the entire returns process for cooperation partners under its Return Services brand – from receiving the returns to their immediate secondary marketing through its established network of partners. It therefore offers an integrated, one-stop full-service solution for the effective and efficient marketing of returns and excess stock.
• 

  SoundCloud - Social sound platform

  

  SoundCloud – one of Germany’s most prominent start-ups – is a social sound platform that gives users access to one of the world’s largest communities of music and audio creators. SoundCloud allows everyone to discover original music and audio, connect with each other, and share their sounds with the world. In addition, sound creators can use the platform to instantly record, upload, and share sounds across websites, blogs, and social networks.

  SoundCloud employs over 200 people in their headquarters in Berlin alone and has offices in London, New York, San Francisco, and Sofia.

  German Startups Group has an indirect share in SoundCloud by means of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
• 

  Urbanara - An Online Brand for High-Quality Homewares

  

  Launched in 2010, URBANARA is an online brand for high-quality homewares and accessories with a corresponding e-commerce shop. The guarantee of exceptional quality at affordable prices lies at the heart of URBANARA’s philosophy. Direct trade relations with carefully selected manufacturers allow URBANARA to usually offer its products at a lower price than traditional retailers.

  At URBANARA, transparency of a product’s origin and manufacturing methods come as standard. Only products made with natural materials and processed with first-class methods will be considered for inclusion in the online brand’s range.

  The URBANARA AG operates in the German, British, and Austrian markets. As of 2014, the URBANARA AG has over 50 employees in its offices in Berlin and Shanghai.

  The German Startups Group has invested alongside Grazia Equity, B-to-V, Blumberg Capital as well as well-known Business Angels from the Internet industry.

  EARLY STAGE  

• 

  Amorelie - Sensual E-Commerce

  

  Since the beginning of 2013, Amorelie has stood for a sensual lifestyle online shop that offers a high quality portfolio as well as compelling functionality. Presented in a friendly and exclusive environment full of joie de vivre, Amorelie attracts confident, modern women and couples. The product range covers toys, exclusive lingerie, and sensual products, such as erotic literature. Passion, physical well-being, sex, and happiness are the main focus of Amorelie, which showcases a stylish, innovative, and accessible Lovestyle-world instead of intimidating “erotic products” of low quality.

  The team of founders held key roles before. Lea-Sophie Cramer previously was Vice President Asia of both Rocket Internet and Groupon, while Sebastian Pollok was an analyst at e.ventures in San Francisco and an entrepreneur also at Rocket Internet.

  German Startups Group invested together with well-known co-investors, such as SevenVentures, TA Ventures, Paua Ventures, Otto Capital, and Cherry Ventures.
• 

  Book a Tiger - Online booking service for cleaners

  

  BOOK A TIGER is a full service platform that lets users book cleaners online and offers an alternative to the predominantly illegal private employment of cleaning professionals.

  Within one year of operation, the co-founders of Delivery Hero, Nikita Fahrenholz and Claude Fahrenholz, have expanded their business to 40 German cities and are also active in Austria by now. The company is based in Berlin.

  Apart from German Startups Group, DN Capital and WestTech Ventures are, amongst others, co-investors in the seed round.
• 

  Software Solutions for review management

  

  Since 2009, Customer Alliance supports hotels in generating reviews and using them in the most efficient way. With its product "Review Analytics", Customer Alliance provides a reliable 360° review management solution for the professional handling of online reviews. It manages reviews and provides essential statistics without intensive time investment. For example, "Review Analytics" provides the ability to automatically request reviews and directly distribute them by inviting guests.

  Additionally, "Price Analytics" supports hotels in doing effective pricing by tracking competitors and by forewarning hoteliers about severe changes on the business market. Price Analytics offers a comprehensive solution in combination with the review management system, which enables hotels to increase their revenues.

  Since the foundation of the company in 2009, more than 2500 hotels from more than 35 countries have used the software solutions of Customer Alliance. The international team consists of more than 60 employees.

  Apart from German Startups Group, the concept of Customer Alliance has convinced the High-Tech Gruenderfonds, K5 Ventures, and netSTART Venture.
• 

  Datapine - Data Analysis Tool for Online Shops

  

  Datapine is a data analysis tool that allows especially small and medium-sized enterprises fast access to their business intelligence data without the need for SQL database knowledge. Known as Software as a Service (SaaS), the user does not have to pay any license, installation or maintenance fee, just a performance-related monthly subscription fee. Customers can choose between several subscription types and features and can connect Datapine to their existing databases or external interfaces, such as Google Analytics, typically within only minutes. It works simply via an intuitive drag & drop method, displaying requested data as tables or charts that can be accessed internally or externally by interested parties with the aid of dynamic dashboards.

  The German Startups Group is invested in Datapine along with Rheingau Founders, Venista Ventures, Mountain Partners, and other business angels with many years of experience in the internet sector.
• 

  FanMiles - Fan Loyalty Programs

  

  FanMiles develops and operates emotional FanLoyalty Programs worldwide. FanMiles creates a model which connects rights holders (e.g. clubs), sponsors, and partners with fans. A new virtual currency which enables sponsors and partners to reward their loyal customers and to enter into a direct dialogue with them is at the centre of this model. For rights holders it opens new marketing channels and revenue streams while fans benefit for their loyalty by gaining access to emotional rewards.

  FanMiles connects the mechanic of conventional loyalty programs with the emotional world of sports clubs and entertainment. FanMiles has already contracted several German Bundesliga clubs and sponsors and plans to expand its international market presence starting 2015. FanMiles has its headquarters in Berlin and offices in New York and Paris.

  German Startups Group invested in FanMiles in spring of 2014. Apart from the founders, a group of experienced business angels is invested in the company.
• 

  Itembase – Organizing Tool for Online Purchases

  

  Itembase operates a social internet service helping online shoppers organize their purchases. So, for example, users can digitally store the invoice for their new iPhone, view its operating manual, monitor the warranty period or sell it again, at the click of a mouse. The Itembase service is fully integrated into the e-commerce buying process and is free for users. The company gets a performance-based commission from its affiliated e-commerce partners. Itembase aims to become the online inventory for everyone and everything.

  The German Startups Group is invested in Itembase together with, amongst others, Rheingau Founders, Mountain Partners, Globumbus, M-Investar, WestTechVentures, US logistics company UPS, and business angels with many years of experience in the e-commerce sector.
• 

  Juniqe - Online Shop for Art, Apparel, and Accessories

  

  JUNIQE is an e-commerce shop for ‚affordable art’, which offers exceptional motifs from international artists as posters and art prints for the walls as well as printed on shirts, tech cases, stationery, and home textiles. The online shop has recognized the potential of the mass market of affordable art, which has been virtually ignored up until now.

  Headquartered in Berlin, JUNIQE ships to twelve European countries and plans to increase its international standing to become the number one destination for eclectic art across Europe. The founders were previously responsible for the strategic orientation and logistics of FAB’s European operations.

  The German Startups Group has invested alongside Redalpine, High-Tech Gründerfonds, and well-known business angels.
• 

  kirondo – Consignment Market-
  place for Kids’ Clothing

  

  Kids grow, but their clothes don’t!

  kirondo.de offers parents a convenient way to clear out their kids closets and at the same time earn money with their unused clothes and support social causes.

  Parents order a kirondo bag online, which they then fill with their children’s clothes and which is picked up by the mailman thereafter. Depending on quality and brand of their clothes, parents receive a payout.

  kirondos concept is based on the circuit of sellers, buyers, logistic and quality control. Only high-quality brands will be sold in the kirondo online shop at discounts of up to 50%. A part of our processed clothes and revenue will be donated to social causes.

  CEO Christoph Deckert previously was Director of Operations at Zalando and responsible for Global Business Development at Rocket Internet.

  German Startups Group invested in summer 2013 together with well-known business angels, such as Lukasz Gadowski, Kolja Hebenstreit and the Berlin based company builder Team Europe.
• 

  Lingoda – Learn Languages Online

  

  Lingoda GmbH is an online language school. Based in Berlin, Lingoda is active in more than 60 countries worldwide. Founded in October 2012, the company offers language courses with real teachers online. Students learn in small groups or in private classes with qualified native speaking teachers. A full library of interactive learning materials and learning videos, a recognized certificate (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2), and a personal adviser are part of each course, too.

  German Startups Group invested in spring 2014. Co-investors include a number of renowned business angels, PDV Inter-Media Ventures and Global Founders Capital.
• 

  Pyreg - GreenTec for Carbonisation Machinery

  

  Since 2010 PYREG GmbH designs, develops, and manufactures machinery for carbonisation purposes. A PYREG machine converts biomasses into valuable biochar and sewage sludge into fertilizing substrates. In doing so, any emissions of harmful substances are kept to a minimum, which other industrial methods so far fail to do. During the process, a surplus in heat energy is created that can be efficiently used for different purposes. Irrespective of whether users are in the waste water, fertiliser, composting, agriculture, forestry industries, municipalities or industries in general, the combination of a PYREG system and its multi-purpose benefits substantially enhances the economical success of its operators and contributes a considerable value to customers.

  PYREG is committed to climate protection and its equipment is not only known for its economical but also its ecological value. One single PYREG 500 unit – for the production of biochar for instance – effectively sequesters the annual CO2 emissions of up to 500 motor vehicles per year.

  The German Startups Group has invested in Pyreg along with several holding companies, including Quandt heiress Susanne Klatten’s Skion GmbH, and other knowledgeable business angels.
• 

  Savedo - Marketplace for Fixed-Term Deposits

  

  Savedo is an independent marketplace for fixed-term deposits in Europe. The finance portal offers German investors the opportunity to invest their money in fixed deposits with above-average interest rates in the euro area. A team of approximately 20 experts works to identify the best European fixed-term deposit offerings for their customers, so investors can invest their capital in the best fixed deposits free of charge and without hassle. Savedo is the first startup from the new FinTech company builder FinLeap.

  Besides German Startups Group, Point Nine Capital and DvH Ventures have invested in Savedo.
• 

  Simplesurance – One-Click Online Insurance for Purchases

  

  In partnership with reputable insurers, Berlin-based simplesurance offers consumers with their brands Schutzklick and Klikzeker individual product insurance, e.g. against iPhone breakages, or warranty extensions directly at the point of online sale with just a few clicks and at very reasonable conditions. The online shop earns a commission and can offer its customers an additional service, while simplesurance earns a margin on all insurance policies sold online. In addition, the portals schutzklick.de, schutzklick.at, and klikzeker.nl offer direct insurance plans to end customers.

  Rheingau Founders, US-VC Route 66 Ventures, Mountain Partners, Fines Holding, Ilgner.Leeheim.de, Gröger Management, and other business angels with many years of experience in the e-commerce and insurance sectors have also invested in simplesurance.
• 

  Solar Tower Technologies – Solar Tower Plants

  

  Solar Tower Technologies AG provides products, systems, and solutions for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants on the basis of the so-called solar tower plants technology. With patented technologies and solutions – in particular heliostat fields and receivers – STT offers efficient “solar islands”. STT works in close collaboration with industrial partners to implement larger projects.

  The German Startups Group invested in July 2014 in the STT. Other investors include knowledgeable business angels and a Saudi Arabian industrial company.
• 

  TVSMILES – First Rewards Program for TV Advertising

  

  TVSMILES is the first loyalty program for TV advertising, which incites viewers to watch and playfully interact with TV ads. The TVSMILES mobile app, released in September 2013, detects the current ad by using automatic audio recognition and allows viewers to collect points, which can be redeemed for bonuses and rewards. TVSMILES for the first time enables advertising companies to directly connect with the recipients of their ads in order to transmit further offers, discounts, etc. The business model is based on the two million installed TVSMILES apps through which the users can be continuously addressed.

  TVSMILES was founded in Berlin in January 2013 by Christian Heins, Gaylord Zach, Frederic Westerberg, and Ulrich Pietsch. Along with German Startups Group, VC funds, such as Ventech and e.ventures, Brandenburg Ventures (Prof. KH Brandenburg, MP3 co-inventor), NetSTART Ventures (Prof. Tobias Kollmann, BAND Business Angel of the Year 2012), Magix AG (Jürgen Jaron), as well as prominent business angels with TV and mobile background, have invested in TVSMILES.
• 

  Wummelkiste – Creative and Educative Toys for Kids

  

  Wummelkiste is a budding Internet startup based in Berlin. The young firm was brought to life by founder Philippa Pauen together with the company builder Team Europe in the beginning of 2012. The company develops and delivers a monthly arts and crafts box for kids aged 3 to 8, known as the Wummelkiste, which contains exciting DIY projects centred around a new theme each month.

  The Wummelkiste team aims to uphold certain standards and criteria when developing its boxes, including the use of sustainable, high quality materials. All projects are designed to foster learning through play and each project promotes different areas of child development.

  Wummelkiste enables kids to get creative and spend quality time with their parents, grandparents and friends crafting happy memories. Wummelkiste does not only create space for creativity, it also saves time and money. How? Because it delivers reliable, monthly inspiration as well as all the materials required for each project.

  German Startups Group is invested in Wummelkiste since July 2013. Other investors are Blumberg Capital, Team Europe and a number of well-known Angel Investors, e.g. Klaas Kersting, Eric Wahlforss and Peter Read.

  SEED STAGE  

• 

  Central Europe’s First Rare Earth Elements Company

  

  The Ceritech AG (formerly Seltenerden Storkwitz AG) holds the licence for the “Delitzsch” fields, the - as of 08/2014 - only known deposit of Rare Earth Elements (e.g. Neodym, Europium and Dysprosium) in Central Europe. The company aims to push the development of the field in Saxony to the stage of the extraction and production of these elements in Germany. Apart from the field in Storkwitz, the company is working on the development of the recovery of other Rare Earth Elements, namely the recycling of mineral dumps.

  According to the current state of technology, Rare Earth Metals constitute an essential, almost non-substitutable raw material for high tech products. Rare Earth Elements are especially indispensable for the realization of the energy turnaround since they are required for the construction of solar cells, energy-saving illuminants, high performance magnets for electric motors, wind turbines, and fusion reactors. However, the overwhelming portion of these elements hail from China, which has created a monopoly of sorts in the past 30 years and was therefore able to determine the price and availability of these raw materials.

  The recovery of the deeper lying Rare Earth Elements will be carried out using proven and improved methods or completely new technologies. Top priority will be given to avoiding spoil. The declared objective of Ceritech is to supply the full volume of extracted material for industrial use, thereby avoiding spoil altogether or at least reducing the flow of spoil to an absolute minimum. New technical procedures are constantly in development in cooperation with, for example, the Fraunhofer Institute or the BRAIN AG.
• 

  Dalia Research – Solutions for the Market Research Industry

  

  Dalia Research develops cloud-based technology solutions for market, social, and opinion research on smartphones and tablets. The vision of the company, founded in October 2013, is to facilitate access to views and opinions and to filter for their customers the most relevant data on what billions of people think from an ocean of information. Dalia Research also offers the research industry solutions in reaching specific target groups on mobile devices, decreasing workload, streamlining data acquisition, and tying consumers more closely to their products.

  Dalia Research is winner of the Insight Innovation Competition 2015. Further investors besides German Startups Group include well-known business angels as well as WestTech Ventures and Texas Atlantic Capital.
• 

  DemoUp – Video Content Creation and Distribution

  

  DemoUp offers B2B software for the creation and distribution of video content. DemoUp’s goal is to improve the e-commerce experience through the use of video to help customers better understand the functionality of a product. It allows a company to address customer questions and therefore significantly improve conversion rates. To support this, DemoUp offers online shops and brands an end-to-end solution that not only provides video creation, but also hosting, integration, and comprehensive conversion tracking.

  Besides German Startups Group, DemoUp is backed by Rheingau Founders, Mountain Partners and renowned business angels.
• 

  eWings.com – Platform for Professional Flight Bookings

  

  eWings is an online booking platform for business and first class flights. With eWings.com, professional travellers and frequent flyers are able to book a flight in most cases in less than 2 minutes. eWings.com was founded in August 2013 by Thilo Hardt, co-founder of Mister Spex and Entrepreneur in Residence of DN Capital London.
• 

  Funanga - Internet Payment

  

  Funanga is a provider of digital prepaid cards and was launched in June 2013. The new Funanga model provides cost savings compared to traditional prepaid cards for all online shops, more value for money for its users and incremental revenues at no extra cost in combination with an increase in customer traffic for all points of sale.

  CEO and founder Seth Iorio previously was COO and member of the managing board of both Gameforge and Frogster Interactive Pictures.

  Beside the German Startups Group also Holtzbrinck Ventures invested in Funanga.
• 

  Medlanes Brings Medicine Online

  

  As the health care sector is shifting towards the Internet, Medlanes is building the first online contact point to medicine. Whether on vacation, on the weekends or if there is simply no time to wait for an appointment at the doctor’s office, Medlanes' vision is to provide access to qualified medical advice anytime, anywhere – on the smartphone or on the web.

  The user simply describes his symptoms or poses a general question. Medlanes’ “medical engine” intelligently picks the right follow-up questions and uses the information to match the user with the perfect doctor or specialist. The doctor receives all the needed information and answers the user within hours.

  The team around Dr. Emil Kendziorra, M.D. and Erik Stoffregen relies on years of experience in medicine and IT. Medlanes is an alumnus of the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator program, winner of two innovation grants, and supported by Bayer HealthCare. The German Startups Group invested along with Rheingau Founders and a group of renowned business angels.
• 

  meinKauf - Digitalized brochures and offers

  

  meinKauf is an online platform for digitalized brochures. It helps users find local offerings of everyday consumer goods online or via mobile devices. For customers, meinKauf is a practical shopping tool that offers valuable content, such as special offers, promotions, and opening hours, as well as store and ATM locations. The platform, founded in December 2013, offers retailers the opportunity to specifically distribute their conventional brochures online and to address customers online based on their location. The founder Markus Pichler was CEO – until 2011 – and co-founder of the Austrian and Swiss operations of the German startup DailyDeal.

  German Startups Group is invested in meinKauf since summer 2014. Other investors include well-known Business Angels and entrepreneurs like Michael Brehm or the founders of Amiando led by Felix Haas, as well as Alps Ventures and the Vogel Ventures. In addition, the company received subsidies from the Austrian FFG and the AWS.
• 

  Meine Spielzeugkiste – Toy Rental Abocommerce

  

  Meine Spielzeugkiste brings popular high-quality toy brands to children. With a convenient monthly membership rate, parents receive up to six toys, which they can return anytime in exchange for new ones or keep at a discount price. Toys are refurbished, sanitized, and shrink wrapped before they are being sent out to the next family.

  For parents with children under 8, the company helps to reduce clutter, save money and provides more stimulation for children’s brains by regularly giving them new toys to play with.

  Since launching in 2012, the company already partners with international toy manufacturers like Playmobil, haba, Simba-Dickie Group and global market leader Mattel.

  German Startups Group is invested in Meine Spielzeugkiste since Summer 2013. Other investors include Christian Vollmann and Rouven Dresselhaus, as well as the crowd – the company had achieved their crowd investment goal with Companisto very quickly.
• 

  Remerge - App Retargeting

  

  Remerge’s mission is to empower app developers to further accelerate user and revenue growth through an integrated app-retargeting platform using audience management tools with access to over 50,000 apps. The Remerge platform allows app users to be segmented into specific target groups, which can then be reached in different apps by way of real-time display advertising with customized campaigns globally. This reduces scatter losses and therefore increases the advertisers’ impact as well as the revenue of the app publisher by increasing the click rates.

  Apart from German Startups Group, Point Nine Capital and WestTech Ventures count among the co-investors.
• 

  WunderCar – P2P Platform for Ride Sharing

  

  WunderCar, founded at the end of 2013 in Hamburg, offers a P2P ridesharing platform via mobile app. Users can request a ride to their desired destination at the push of a button and subsequently tip the driver. WunderCar receives a certain percentage from each payment. Afterwards, both guest and driver have the opportunity to rate the experience with one another, which ensures the high quality of the community. WunderCar, runner-up at the Webfuture Award 2014, is already active in eight countries.

  Gunnar Froh, founder and CEO of WunderCar, previously was operations manager at Airbnb.

  The German Startups Group has invested in WunderCar alongside with Partech Ventures, amongst other venture capital providers, as well as a group of renowned business angels.