Ecosystem

How Bitcoin Lost Its Way As A Means Of Exchange – Crunchbase News https://buff.ly/2yJ4Ve8

Competition in the Age of Amazon https://buff.ly/2CbBCGS

Taking On Amazon in Retail: Smart Curation, In-Store #Robots, And Wowing Shoppers https://buff.ly/2opEuu2

Amazon wants to open brick and mortar stores in #Germany. Kleber, Germany CEO said “it is not a question if, but when” reports manager magazin https://buff.ly/2oEtTeX

Gruenderszene writes Rocket Internet is shiftingitss #strategy. The former startup factory turns itself into a more traditional Private Equity company, investing in established companies https://buff.ly/2AGJUmc

Hubs

Frankfurt

Frankfurt listed fintech Naga completes it’s ICO, raising more than 50 mn US$ reports deutsche-startups.de. This is also good for the share price, IPO in Juli 2017 for 2,60 €, now trading at 13 Euros http://ow.ly/qBgp30hmWgk

Frankfurt based energy startup Node Energy raises six digits Venture Capital writes WiWo Gründer. Node.Energy’s software helps to manage micro grids https://buff.ly/2p0P8HO

Frankfurt PropTech Accelerator blackprint Booster takes in #Berlin based proptech Simplifa, which is focusing on elevators https://buff.ly/2yS3WIo

Rocket Internet boss Oliver Samwer wants to enter the business with loans to startups, up to 30 mn per ticket. Therefore they have set up a #London based subsidiary “Global Growth Capital”, without references on their website https://buff.ly/2AYsrtC

Companies

Hamburg based gaming startup Goodgame Studios is bought for a whooping 270 mn Euros in shares by swedish Stillfront reports deutsche-startups.de http://ow.ly/PNh330h86rv

trivago Düsseldorf-based travel search engine is under pressure. It IPOed in December 2016 at NASDAQ for 11 US$ and is now trading at 7 US$. Now Handelsblatt  writes US investors considering a law suit reports Gruenderszene https://buff.ly/2BCEgFs

Related: The UK’s competition watchdog is investigating whether comparison sites like #Trivago and Hotels.com actually give people the best deals https://buff.ly/2oBUNUD

Startup CodeDoor.org trains refugees in Gießen to become developers http://ow.ly/ZKmy30h0cb6

Online bank Revolut attacks Berlin-based hype fintech N26 with bitcoin trading and premium services writes Gruenderszene https://buff.ly/2ksIswW

India: Frankfurt-listed Delivery Hero swaps its shares of foodpanda for shares in the local heavy weight OLA reports deutsche-startups.de https://buff.ly/2BGjkgP  

This Secretive German Firm Is Consolidating The US Coffee Industry https://buff.ly/2BI3Lll “JAB serves as the investment vehicle for the Reimann family, the descendants of businessman Johan A. Benckiser who founded industrial chemicals company Benckiser in the 1820s.”

Venture Capitalist Sven Schmidt invested in Maschinensucher, a German competitor of  TradeMachines and Machinio writes NGIN Mobility. Schmidt will help with the scaling of the (since day one) profitable platform https://buff.ly/2BGNaPu 

Exit and back – Berlin-based healthcare startup Vimeda offers blood tests for health screenings. Company was sold 2016 for “eight digits” to US-based Neoteryx, but barely one year later, the founder buys the company back. New company to be named Lykon https://buff.ly/2kTXfAT

Instant Software, a supplier of business management and online solutions for vacation rental companies, raised 20 mn Euros in Venture Capital, from Accel and Target Partners https://buff.ly/2yJCmgz

They position themselves as a competitor for WeWork and Factory. Have a look how Rent24 looks from the inside in Berlin https://buff.ly/2CnFhxD

Berlin-based crowdinvesting pioneer Companisto still not profitable and tripled losses in 2016 reports Finanz-Szene.de, after digging through published balance sheets http://ow.ly/zxFs30hdAT2

Further Reading

Building for the Long Term: Lessons from Leonardo da Vinci – Knowledge@Wharton https://buff.ly/2zCQs3S 

Subscription Businesses Are Booming. Here’s How to Value Them https://buff.ly/2C4vEFr  

Frankfurt Refugee integration in Germany: A future made to measure – Qantara.de https://buff.ly/2p9JSSC  

We Analyzed 9 Of The Biggest Direct-to-Consumer Success Stories To Figure Out The Secrets to Their Growth — Here’s What We Learned via CB insights https://buff.ly/2CHAh8h