Berna Epik

Long-term care start-ups in Germany are announcing new partnerships with statutory payers almost every month. Yesterday, I had the pleasure to join a webinar organized by Vilans, a leading long-term care organization in the Netherlands. I presented the key dynamics in long-term care in Germany and the main start-ups to watch. A few additional thoughts: 1️⃣ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 & 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 #𝟏 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 There is a crisis on the demand side (always more elderly people in need of care) and on the supply side (not enough nursing staff). Technology is a key enabler to address this. 2️⃣ 𝐃𝐢𝐏𝐀 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 I was first invited to the webinar yesterday to talk about #DiPA, which is the "DiGA for nursing". The DiPA framework would define a standard certification process and certified Care Apps (that are not medical products) would be reimbursed by the social care fund (up to 50 € / month). Even if DiPA should have been implemented in 2022, it is still not there. And it might never happen. However, this DiPA framework might not be needed. For example, Nui Care, a Caregivers' coordination App, which would typically be eligible for DiPA, is showing good traction, making direct deals with statutory payors. 3️⃣ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬: 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 Before the webinar yesterday, I always took the Netherlands as the role model for long-term care in Europe. A company like Buurtzorg, based on self-organized care teams, is a best practice example. However, the Netherlands is spending 4%+ of its GDP on long term care (ranking the highest with Denmark), while the average in the OECD country is 1.5%. If nothing changes, 1 out of 4 persons in the Netherlands would have to work in #healthcare in 2040 to cope with the demand. This is not sustainable. 4️⃣ 𝐍𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦-𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 The Orpea scandal in France is one example that #nursing homes might not be the solution for long-term care. Germany prioritizes keeping patients in need at home. Even at "level 5" care needs (the highest level), over 50% of patients receive #care at-home. 5️⃣ 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 The at-home nursing market is a very fragmented market. In Germany, the top 15 players only capture 5% of the market. This creates inefficiencies. Typically, a nurse would do up to 50% of tasks that a less qualified person could do. Shifting care tasks to the appropriate skill level is a significant improvement lever. This is just one examples out of many. #healthtech Thank you Henk for the invite and insights! And join HLTH Europe in June to discuss!

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At the Digital Summit Euregio #DSE2024 conference in last april, we hosted the panel discussion titled "The State of Startup Support in Germany and the Netherlands". The entire panel talk can now be replayed as a "Hub Gehört" #podcast🔈. In the panel, moderated by Sebastian Koeffer, we examined how recent economic challenges are reshaping startup viability, investment opportunities, and market dynamics in the #Euregio. 👑 Katharina Frie (eCAPITAL ENTREPRENEURIAL PARTNERS) emphasized the necessity of cash preservation for startups during these turbulent times, particularly for deep tech companies: "Cash preservation is king!" 💪 Christian Arndt (HTGF | High-Tech Gründerfonds) offered a nuanced view of the current situation. He noted, "When viewed in the context of previous economic downturns, the current situation is relatively manageable." 💡Mike Verkouter (Novel-T) suggested that economic downturns can actually stimulate entrepreneurial activity: "When there's a sort of crisis and there are less jobs available, people do things themselves," he stated Here is our summary of the panel session including the link to our podcast. The podcast is also available via the usual platforms: https://lnkd.in/eqxpZib9 Digital Summit Euregio was organized in cooperation with IHK Nord Westfalen, IT-Forum Nord Westfalen, Oost NL and Deutsch-Niederländische Handelskammer (AHK Niederlande). Thanks to all participants, panelists, organizers as well as Derk Marseille and Karin Wittland for supporting the organization of the panel.

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🎓 Revolutionizing #Education - Change Of Mind Needed For #AI&Tech In Schools🌍 #4Gamechangers festival raised many crucial topics. Panel discussion about transforming education still keeps us awake at night, fueling our passion to create an education system that is inclusive, innovative, and equipped for the future. We appreciate this discussion and the insights shared by Judith E. White together with other panelists: 💡 PAIN POINTS in the Existing System: **Lack of Holistic Education**: Education is often not integrated holistically, except in isolated projects and public schools. **Bureaucracy Stifling Creativity**: Bureaucratic hurdles prevent creativity and further development. **Fixed Mindset**: Many actors in the system have a fixed mindset, lacking growth orientation. **Interdisciplinary Gaps**: Interdisciplinary thinking and action are scarcely promoted and practiced. **Access Inequality**: Education should be accessible to everyone, regardless of origin or financial situation. **Leadership Deficit**: Leadership within the system should be visionary and entrepreneurial. **Gender/Diversity Imbalance**: There is a significant lack of gender and diversity balance in the development of AI and technology. 💡 POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS: 🌟 Joint Strategy Development: Collaborate with stakeholders in the education system, including pupils, parents, and experts from home and abroad, to create a new, holistic education system tailored for digital transformation and the implementation of AI and VR. This strategy should also include the regulation of technical means. 🌟Focus on New Competencies: Emphasize 'new competencies' such as VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) skills, social competencies, cross-functional thinking, a strength/talent-based culture, entrepreneurship education, multigenerational teams, and connection to nature. 🌟Creation of New Learning Spaces: Innovate and create new learning environments that foster holistic education. 🌟Transformative Teams: Engage visionary teachers and innovative teams from outside the traditional system to lead this transformation. 🌟Redefining the Teacher's Role: Develop a new definition of the teacher's role to align with the evolving needs of education. Many thanks to Elke Rock Manfred Kastner Michael Vollmann 👉 Watch the panel https://lnkd.in/dSxQjQEE InnovaticGroup. Create the Future Now innovaticgroup.com #Education #DiversityInTech #EntrepreneurialLeadership #4Gamechangers #TechChange #FutureIsNow #SustainableInnovation #Innovation #Technology #Entrepreneurship #Investment #Networking #InnovaticGroup #BusinessGrowth #SustainableInnovation #GlobalImpact #Investors #BusinessAngels #VentureCapital #LPs #GPs #Innovation #DigitalRransformation #Digitalization #Startup #Scaleup

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Introduction to Venture Capital by RWTH Aachen University: Embarking on a startup journey can be exhilarating yet daunting. Understanding venture capital is crucial for any entrepreneur looking to navigate the complexities of funding and growth. The "Introduction to Venture Capital" course by the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Group (WIN) offers valuable insights into the mechanics of venture capital, aiming to demystify the process for startups at every stage. Key Highlights: 1) Understanding Venture Capital: Learn what VC is, how funds work, and the critical role they play in turning ideas into successful businesses. 2) Investment Process: Gain insights into the VC investment process, from choosing the right venture capital to negotiating terms and managing post-investment relationships. 3) Strategic Advantages: Discover how to leverage VC knowledge to grow your business, avoid common pitfalls, and strategically position your company for success. 4) Expert Knowledge: The course features first-hand advice from industry experts, offering practical tips and real-world applications to enhance learning. For startups, securing venture capital can be a gateway to significant growth. This course not only equips entrepreneurs with the knowledge to seek and secure funding but also helps them understand the value-added services VCs bring, such as strategic advice and networking opportunities. PS. check out 🔔 for a winning pitch deck the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel https://lnkd.in/eqe8ANiy

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The diversity and variety of startups in the WHU ecosystem becomes very clear when we look at the June investment update... 🎇 CUREosity GmbH, co-founded by Caesar van Heyningen, has secured €3.8 million in Seed funding to advance their immersive VR-based therapy solutions in the Med-Tech sector. 🥂 DeepSkill GmbH, founded by Miriam Mertens and Peter Goeke, has raised €1.5 million in Seed funding to enhance holistic personal and professional development through their digital platform. ✨ Vytal | The reuse system, led by Dr. Tim Breker, has received €6.3 million in Early VC funding to promote sustainability with their smart and reusable to-go packaging solutions. 🤘 Fjorden, showcasing the impact and demand for their advanced smartphone accessories and founded by Victor Henning, has recently been acquired. 💪 hellgrün, co-founded by Roman Steigertahl and focused on sustainable solutions for commercial real estate has received significant seed funding. 🤘 Crafthunt, co-founded by Dr. Anna Hocker has raised €3m of funding. Crafthunt, Europe's largest construction career platform, connects skilled workers with construction companies, offering features like anonymous job searches, AI-powered translation, and a community for knowledge exchange. 👌 Narratic Labs, co-founded by Arne Wolfewicz raised €750k in a Pre-Seed round. This AI startup aims to make B2B sales more efficient by leveraging millions of data points to identify and research optimal partners for companies, using advanced AI models for intuitive, natural language searches.

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🚀 Fuel the future of #HealthTech! Do you want to make a significant impact in the world of #HealthTech? Then join us at MEDKAP, a non-profit association for business angels. In Switzerland we have a great foundation for healthcare innovation but lack behind in terms of pre-seed funding especially. At MEDKAP, our mission is to bring all healthtech investors under one roof, while making early-stage investments accessible and easy. The healthcare ecosystem needs more successful entrepreneurs who want to become investors and share their experience with the next generation. We enable healthcare investors to play a key role in shaping the future, even after their active careers, no excuses. Help us to spread the word, so every Medtech entrepreneur, hospital executive, and doctor in Switzerland has heard about MEDKAP. What to expect when joining MEDKAP: 🔐 Exclusive access: leverage our expertly curated deal flow to discover and invest in the most promising health tech startups.  👥 Community of experts: connect with a network of healthcare professionals and executives, all committed to advancing healthcare innovation. 💡 Insights and expertise: tap into the collective knowledge of our expert jury and your fellow investors. 📈 Diversified portfolio: benefit from our syndication approach to build a robust, varied investment portfolio. ✨ Hassle-free investing: focus purely on your investment choices - leave the paperwork to us. Do you want to discover more about MEDKAP? Join our monthly online Info Session and get an invitation to our Pitch Events 👉 Register here to join our next info session: https://lnkd.in/dH5Sgy6G 🌐 Visit our website medkap.org or reach out to Vincent Irrling for further questions

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🔥 Get exclusive access to the Product Discovery Cheat Sheet 🔥 with 26 Product Discovery Methods that will enable you to "build the RIGHT THING" and not just "build the THING RIGHT" for your users. At konversionsKRAFT AG, we collected the most relevant methods that we have used in order to help our clients build and grow their digital products - you can use this board to evaluate your status quo and select the matching methods based on where you stand. To get access, follow these simple steps: 1️⃣ Connect with me and Anastasia Shvedova 2️⃣ Like this post ❤️  3️⃣ Comment on this post ("Brilliant, I want access!") 🚨 Disclaimer: this is the first version of the Product Discovery Cheat Sheet and we are looking forward to your questions and feedback while you are using it. Please feel free to approach us any time with your thoughts! #productdiscovery #discoverycheatsheet #productexperimentation #cromethods #testing #experimentation #growthmarketingsummit #growthmindedsuperheros #productmanagement

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Obviously still some room to grow for the German & EU-VC/Startup-Ecosystem! Important sidenote: Whereas these charts look "bad" at first sight and should motivate all of us to further improve the German and EU-system, let's not forget that "less capital in the market" also correlates a lot with "attractive investment terms for the ones that are investing" - so likely investing in German/EU startups / grownups and funds will continue to provide a more attractive return than standing with 100 peers in a long queue in a potentially exagerated US/Chinese-funding round (and e.g. the FoF EIF-data from Bjorn Tremmerie et al seems to prove that assumption). (Ulrike Hinrichs; Verena Pausder; Christoph J. Stresing; Anna Christmann; Anna Alex; David Wortmann; Thomas Jarzombek; Holger Clemens Hinz, CEFA ...)

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📰 My Cofounder is featured in two leading newspapers this morning!👏👏 My cofounder at Footprint Technologies, Carolin Kleinert, gave two interviews for #Sueddeutsche and #Tagesspiegel about a recent study of Startup-Verband that investigated the socio demographic background of #startup founders. It clearly proofs founders typically are originating from families with academic backgrounds or from parents who are entrepreneurs themselves. The majority - but not all of them. Carolin is a great example of this minority who also made it without academic parents or without entrepreneurial role-models within their core families. I am sharing a similar family background, both of my parents do neither have an academic education, nor are they entrepreneurs themselves. It is possible, but it needs more visibility and sharing of such positive examples, so that more and more #Arbeiterkinder are considering becoming entrepreneurs as a career option. This would be a benefit for themselves as well as for our society and economy! For that reason I am celebrating the two articles about Carolin's personal story! 😍 👏 👉 Please check the articles and share them! 🙏

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Our close collaboration with other VCs in our network is going into the next round. 🥊 Dina Mehulić and I are hosting today another workshop around the topic of storytelling and how founders can shape their narrative for their startups, but especially during pitching their businesses to investors. Did you know that there are 4 storytelling formats for your fundraising? You can tell the... 1️⃣ Industry Story: A story of WHAT you offer and how it impacts the whole industry 2️⃣ Origin Story: A story of WHO you are and how the company began 3️⃣ Purpose Story: A story of alignment and inspiring people to take action 4️⃣ Customer Story: A story of the customer's journey and how you improve it This session is part of Fil Rouge Capital's accelerator program and is exclusively done for the selected startups that are part of the program this year. We are already looking forward to hosting the session tonight and seeing the amazing pitches from the founders 🚀 Thanks for the collaboration Aleš Pustovrh and Sonja Žigić #storytelling #pitching #accelerator

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36 Top Angel Investors according to German Women Entrepreneurs Thank you for this beautiful recognition. What a power squad of co-investors! I truly feel privileged to be named here, especially by founders I cherish working with most. These top 36 trailblazers were highlighted by 200 German founders who relevantly raised and were asked about their most value-adding angel investors. However, the statistic also reveals that 50% of women-led startups do not have one single female investor at their cap table even though they aimed for it. This fact underscores the ongoing challenge in achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion in European tech (even for female founders). In VC land wealth is generated at cap tables - creating awareness and hopefully encouraging more women to invest will further amplify the (much needed) positive change also on the GP and LP side of things. PS. Just in case the founders I am lucky to back felt pressured to drop my name at this the Evangelistas survey 😜 please take this opportunity to name more amazing value-adding angels. It might help founders who are currently raising for access to investors and to diversify cap table. More here: https://lnkd.in/gzRwvY_M #startups #founders #captablediversity #theevangelistas

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👶 Cradle of Innovation: Meet the Baby-Startups at MassChallenge Switzerland! The past weeks at MassChallenge have been an inspiring journey, connecting with fellow innovators dedicated to transforming #infanthealth. Together, we’re finding new ways to nurture our smallest and most precious consumers. 🍼 Christina from Hulk Bio is revolutionizing infant nutrition with their pioneering cell-based human milk for situations where breastfeeding isn’t possible. Addressing a critical need in a substantial market, Hulk provides a vital alternative that mimics human milk, offering a compatible and sustainable option for infants. 🥦 Dimitrios at Nulicious Baby Food is transforming baby food with their fresh and organic meals that deliver the taste and nutrients of homemade food right to your door. Utilizing High Pressure Processing (HPP), Nulicious ensures their baby food is as nutritious as it is fresh, establishing healthy eating habits from the start. 🧬 At Ventra, we’re aiming to reduce allergies and chronic diseases for babies impacted by c-sections, antibiotic exposure, or lack of breastfeeding—affecting more than 50% of babies worldwide, and over 90% in countries like Brazil. By analyzing the trillions of gut bacteria, we provide personalized nutrition and supplementation advice tailored to each infant’s unique needs. With our AI-driven analytics platform, we are paving the way for a healthier, happier generation. These connections underscore the transformative innovations shaping the future of infant nutrition. It’s thrilling to be part of this vibrant community, pushing the boundaries of health and wellness for the next generation. Stay tuned as we continue to explore these exciting collaborations and advancements in infant health! #MassChallenge2024 #HealthTech #Innovation #StartupJourney”

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This is really interesting. We won the Health-X dataLOFT prize in Berlin. Really excited to start collaboration. Especially interesting is the EHDS angle. EHDS legislation was accepted in the European Parliament a couple of weeks ago. Centric in the legislation is how to facilitate secondary use of health data while safeguarding people's privacy. Health-X dataLOFT is tasked with developing a platform suitable for that in Germany and Europe. We are very excited to be a part of that journey! Berlin Institute of Health @@Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Digital Entrepreneurship Hub hashtag #EHDS #GDPR #dataprivacy #dataanonymization #healthtech #federatedlearning

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5 founders in Germany decide to start a company together. How many should be Managing Directors (Geschäftsführer) of the company and who should that be? (They each hold 20% of the equity and make a material contribution to the company) Whilst moderating the Founder Institute Startup Legal Panel last week in Munich I asked this to our highly experienced panel of investors and lawyers? Surprisingly there were different answers, each of which was backed up by an intelligent and well articulated reasoning. So what do you think and why? Especially interested in your answer if you have been in a similar situation and needed to make this decisions? I'll add the answers our expert panel gave and their reasons for doing so to the comments later. #founderjourney #startuplife #investors #legal #vc #earlystage

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It is only the first edition, but HLTH Europe has already established itself as the leading #HealthTech conference in Europe. Besides my 4 highlights, I also had the chance to moderate a panel on the topic "Last mile: Localising access for underserved areas" with 3 fantastic panelists: · Prathibha (President, Mayo Clinic Health System) · Minal (National Director of Primary Care and Community Transformation, NHS England) · Harmony (SVP, Chief Medical Officer & Head of Global Medical at ViiV Healthcare) PS: Amira (SVP Innovation at Siemens Healthineers): we missed you! Here are the key insights of the panel: Bringing healthcare #access to all, especially to underserved areas, has been a challenge since the inception of healthcare. With all the technology of our modern world, is #Healthcare access on the verge of being solved? The short answer is no. But there is hope. In the UK: ➝ There is a 15-year life expectancy gap between deprived areas, and wealthier neighbourhoods nearby. ➝ Funding struggles to keep up: In the next 15 years, a 37% increase in "ill-health costs" is expected, while the working population will increase by 4% over the same period. ➝ Increasing productivity is essential to solve the problem: A 1% decrease in productivity costs 1.5 billion pounds. In the US: ➝ The zip code is (still) a better determinant of health than the genetic code. ➝ Enabling access to underserved areas can also be seen as an opportunity rather than a problem. Tech adoption will be faster due to higher unmet needs, accelerating innovation that can later benefit well-served areas. Debunking one myth: ➝ For HiV, there is now a better access and coverage in Africa than in certain parts of developed countries (US and Europe). Pockets of innovation: ➝ To unlock HCP capacity, the NHS has a national program to move towards a modern General Practice, moving away from "first come first serve" to a new model based on population health and segmentation: the right care for the right person in the right way. First results show that 30% of GP appointments could be done via "messaging only" (instead of F2F visits), bringing massive efficiency gains. ➝ Mayo Clinic already has 75 specialties that are technology enabled, bringing the “Mayo medical care" in the rural areas via virtual and hybrid models, and also embedding the 50+ AI algorithms already active at Mayo. ➝ But increasing access is not only about Tech. Sometimes, it is about boldness: Viiv Healthcare, a pharma company specialised in HiV, gave the patent of its drugs away in 90+ underserved markets, enabling cheap and at-scale production. What does the future hold? Will someone living in an underserved area be able to visit the "Mayo Clinic in the metaverse with his / her digital twin?" Special thanks to Katy, Lina and Henry for this fantastic conference!

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In a recent @Brutkasten article, I shared my view on the @European Union's Nature Restoration Law, and I'm proud that inoqo and Triple Impact Ventures stand with 375 Austrian companies supporting this initiative! The law aims to restore 20% of the EU's land and marine areas by 2030 and address all ecosystems in need by 2050. It's a bold step to revitalize our planet. A big thank you to Leonore Gewessler for taking a bold step and making this important law a reality! @Blühendes Österreich - BILLA gemeinnützige Privatstiftung non-profit foundation has launched a business initiative to support the law's implementation in Austria. Here the link to the article: https://lnkd.in/dF6JkCa7   ✍️Show your support and sign here: https://lnkd.in/dTjSbVYt #Sustainability #EU #NatureRestorationLaw #EnvironmentalProtection #Austria #SustainableDevelopment #Ecosystems

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