3 Hamburg startups that are successful with bootstrapping
In startup jargon, "bootstrapping" is the term for doing without outside capital from investors. Only a few companies manage to stay on course for long-term growth in this way, but bits & birds, Bracenet and payever show how it is possible to be successful without large financing rounds.
bits & birds
Pure bootstrapping is a real rarity, but bits & birds comes pretty close. Although Thomas Bockholdt is on board as an investor with 500,000 euros, he forms the management team together with founder Daniel Stojanovic and is therefore directly involved in the day-to-day business. The startup acts as a digital headhunter and helps companies to find suitable specialists and managers. It uses artificial intelligence (AI), which speeds up the processes considerably. And it also brought bits & birds an additional source of funding: a research grant from the Federal Ministry of Finance was awarded for the development of the AI. Ideally, this can bring in millions and is a good tip for all startups that drive technological innovation.
Bracenet
This type of funding is out of the question for Bracenet, but this startup was also able to establish itself without financing rounds. This is thanks to the careful development of the company and the high level of marketing expertise of the founding duo Madeleine von Hohenthal and Benjamin Wenke. The two were able to win over major customers such as Telekom and a number of airlines at an early stage, thus creating a secure financial basis. Bracenet uses old fishing nets to make bracelets and key rings, among other things, thus helping to combat pollution of the world's oceans.
payever
The fintech payever was founded back in 2013 and therefore no longer really falls into the startup category in purely mathematical terms. This makes it all the more remarkable that it has managed to get by with almost no outside capital to date. The only things on the books are an EXIST startup grant and an investment from the High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF). However, Santander Bank, which has been a close cooperation partner of payever since 2017, has long since taken over the latter's shares. This cooperation has enabled the startup to continuously expand its offering for payment solutions in online stores, which is primarily aimed at smaller retailers. payever is now active in nine European countries.
