Germany's Problem With Tech

European Straits #29

Dear all,

I'm spending a few weeks in Germany, a place I’ve been visiting quite often ever since my early childhood. As always, staying here is the perfect opportunity to read and reflect on this great country. It only helps that The Family has been operating in Germany for almost a year now, exploring the Berlin ecosystem and working with local entrepreneurs. We also recently welcomed Global Founders Capital (Oliver Samwer’s venture capital arm) as an investor, which contributes to deepening our German connection.

From a technology point of view, Germany is an enigma. On the one hand, it is currently standing out as the strongest economy in Europe, with Chancellor Angela Merkel the de facto leader of the Free World. On the other hand, despite exceptions such as Delivery Hero and Zalando, there are hardly any signs of Germany succeeding in tech on a scale comparable to the US, China, and Israel.

The origins of the German economic advantage date back to 1948, when then-finance minister Lu…