Infographic: How To Start Your Startup In Munich

Check out the complete Munich Startup City Guide!

Munich is located in Southern Germany (Bavaria), very close to Switzerland, Austria, and France. It is also extremely well-connected to the rest of Europe through great railways services. At the same time, the airport of Munich is the second busiest in Germany and 7th busiest in Europe.

Bavaria has long been considered the very traditional and conservative part of Germany but this has been changing in the past 10 years: Munich itself is becoming more and more of a modern industry city while attracting international talent. The tech-startup scene in the city has been growing over the last years, and even though it’s still in Berlin‘s shadow, Munich is slowly positioning itself as a strong European startup hub.

Entering Munich’s Startup Scene

The startup scene in Munich is developing fast and there are many reasons why Munich is a great place to build a startup, but also there are a few things to be careful about during the process.

Munich was named one of the top 5 cities in terms of quality-of-life lists for a couple of years, above any other German city. But not only the quality of life is a major plus for Munich, it’s also the benefits Germany as a whole, offers to its labor force. For example 14 months of parental leave that can be split between mother and father as they prefer; minimum 20, but usually 25-30 days of annual paid leave among other perks.

Financially strong and economically diverse: Munich is considered to be one of the richest (if not even the richest) cities in Germany. Next to that, it also has a diverse economy and a mixture of both traditional and modern industries: tech is growing, but car-manufacturing is still going strong (BMW is headquartered in Munich, Audi in Ingolstadt, which is very close).

Being this financially strong city also comes with downsides: it’s expensive. Munich is by far the most expensive city to live in Germany, which might influence the expenses of your startup. On the other hand, it’s still cheaper than other main European startup hubs like London or Stockholm.

In terms of language, there’s no need to stress: the number of people coming to Munich from all over the world is growing and with it the number of English-speakers. However, there are government sectors where people might not speak English at all and there are conferences/meet-ups being held in German, so it’s a good idea to work on your German language skills. Or consider having at least one German-speaking co-founder.

Despite all the things that you need to consider, Munich is a place worth taking your business idea to and being a part of the ever-growing startup scene of the city.

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