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Wiesbaden (dpa / lhe) - The corona pandemic continues to slow down the entrepreneurial spirit in Hesse.
After a decline compared to the same period in the previous year in business registrations in the first half of the year, there was a slight recovery in the summer months, but the tightened lockdown is likely to cause a further damper, expects the managing director of the Hessian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HIHK), Robert Lippmann .
This does not make the founding sad.
«In many industries the risk increases due to unclear business prospects.
But the same applies now: Necessity makes inventive, ”says Lippmann. Even if a decline is to be expected, the entrepreneurial courage of the Hessians should not be underestimated.
It can also be seen from the development of high-growth start-ups that the crisis also offers opportunities.
You have also felt the effects of the pandemic in the past few months, such as declining sales, scarce liquidity and delayed orders, as Frank Müller, the executive board member of the Business Angels FrankfurtRheinMain, told the German press agency.
The number of start-ups applying for venture capital has therefore not decreased - on the contrary: There were many high-quality applications even in the crisis months.
"Even in industries that were badly hit by Corona, there were start-ups that turned the crisis into an opportunity and developed new approaches to counter the restrictions of the crisis."
Start-ups are very agile and used to adapt business concepts in the event of problems.
Some founders have just used the consequences of the pandemic for their own business ideas: "We saw many start-ups from the eHealth and homeschooling sectors, among other things," said Müller.
Start-ups are also increasingly active in the field of artificial intelligence - for example for medical diagnosis support and troubleshooting in mechanical engineering.
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However, there were restrictions in terms of financing: "Start-ups that applied up to the summer sometimes had a bit more difficulty finding business angels as equity financiers, as the slump in the stock market has made some - not all - more cautious," explained Müller.
There was also initially a great deal of reluctance in the area of venture capital.
"But the willingness to invest increased again in the second half of the year."
From Müller's point of view, anyone who as a founder has a good concept that may even turn the corona pandemic into an opportunity should not wait, then it is "high time" to found the company.
"However, the concept should still work after Corona," said Müller.
HIHK managing director Lippmann also reported that those seeking advice are currently turning to the Hessian IHKs that were just about to set up.
“The corona pandemic creates market niches and gives digital business models a boost.
Some founders, both men and women, see this as an opportunity and enter the market with creative business models. "
As before, most start-ups are sole proprietorships.
This is precisely where Müller from the Business Angels FrankfurtRheinMain sees advantages for start-ups, which are often founded by several people and are therefore more stress-resistant than individual start-ups.
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With the new lockdown, the HIHK expects a similar decline in start-up activity as in spring 2020. On the one hand, the lockdown could possibly take significantly longer, on the other hand, the advantages of digital sales opportunities would currently be more evident in many areas.
From the point of view of HIHK managing director Lippmanns, every potential founder has to decide for himself whether it makes sense in these uncertain times to delay setting up a company.
On the one hand, it could minimize the business risk of waiting for a broadly effective vaccination option against Covid-19 - on the other hand, it could give the competition a time advantage.
“Market opportunities don't wait,” explained Lippmann.
Especially since developments such as the advancing digitization outlast the current corona crisis and would be accelerated by it.