Crowdfunding support in Munich

For more than four years, the “Munich Crowd” program has been helping startups and innovative projects to run their crowdfunding campaigns.

Drei Crowdfunding-Berater*innen auf der Bühne

Confidence, but no guarantees

While it’s important to enter a crowdfunding campaign in a spirit of hope and confidence, there can be no guarantees. Crowdfunding star Jona Christians, CEO and co-founder of SONO MOTORS, reflects this reality when recalling the crowdfunding campaign that earned SONO €50 million in just 50 days in 2019:

“We pressed the button – and had no idea what would happen!”

Jona Christians, CEO and co-founder of SONO MOTORS

Four years of crowdfunding support

Other startups and projects that appeared at the event to celebrate four years of Munich’s crowdfunding program had clearer targets. The majority were thus able to benefit from Munich’s support for their campaigns – the first German municipality to establish such an initiative in 2018.

The program supports and connects on two fronts – the entrepreneurs themselves, and Munich’s cultural and creative industries. A grant of 50 percent (rising to 90 percent for a time during the pandemic), up to a maximum of €3,000, is available for creative services such as videos, photos or text that are needed to prepare a campaign – on the condition that other creatives in Munich are commissioned to deliver them.

Thanks to efficient cooperation between the startup scene, creative industries, and the city government, Munich’s Economic Development Department was able to provide almost €400,000 in funding from 2018 to 2021.

Photo: RAW

During this period, more than 150 projects used funding to optimize their ideas with help from creatives in Munich. They managed to raise a total of around two million euros via crowdfunding.

From pipe dream to market hit

With great commitment, and a bit of financial help, ideas can be turned into real business models. New products have been created, some extremely tasty: For example the date truffles from Djoon, the fair and sustainable kids’ snacks from palimdu, cheese from the Münchner Käsemanufaktur or the tea from Uptea that delivers a special caffeine kick. But other projects, including those born of social and seemingly utopian ideals, such as Günes Seyfarth’s ComKit, have also taken shape.

Günes, whose energy could mobilize an entire football stadium, realized her idea of distributing food that would otherwise be thrown away. She puts it as follows:

“It really is possible to do something good for a living. And that’s exactly what we do at Community Kitchen: We now have over 20 employees. We have over 50 volunteers. And last week alone we saved over 40 tons of food!”

Günes Seyfarth, initiator of ComKit

Photo: RAW

Munich Crowd

Munich also offers its funding program and networking opportunities via the partner platform crowdfundinginmuenchen (“Munich Crowd”) – with the aim of supporting many other exciting and impressive local projects.

“It’s important to us that there’s a business aspect. It was under this condition we got funding from the City Council.”

Kurt Kapp, Head of Munich’s Economic Development Department

However, this does not mean that the cultural and creative industries are neglected. Far from it. Some actors from this sector first found the courage to apply for campaign funding after getting advice from the Team of Excellence for the Cultural and Creative Industries.

One example is the Munich jazz duo Elwood&Reßle, who perform striking, virtuoso songs and improvisations.

Artists often turn to crowdfunding to raise money to record their own compositions in a studio.

The other two artists at the celebratory event – Christin Henkel with fleet-footed, razor-sharp chansons and the band SiEA, who closed the party with their wild blend of styles – used crowdfunding and the accompanying support to finance their first albums.

Useful feedback and knock-on effects

To get back to the original point. Not everyone manages to raise the sum desired for their campaign. Even when well promoted, success depends on many additional factors.

Nevertheless, Uli Press from UpLock and Annette Barth from Ajuma, whose crowdfunding failed to meet targets, said that they still got useful feedback from the public. Both are very proud of their products, which found other forms of funding.

The campaign can even lead unexpectedly to the next level, as was the case with Ajuma. The German reality TV show for startups “Höhle der Löwen” became aware of their innovative UV sensors. They appeared on the show, and soon after got an offer from an international manufacturer.

Support for crowdfunding

percent grant for funding campaigns

euros in funding allocated from 2018 to 2021

projects funded over three years

Contact

Munich’s Business Startup Office

Alexander Schmidbauer

Team of Excellence #kreativmuenchen

Britta Buck