Verena Pausder is the new chairwoman of the German Startup Association

The German Startup Association has elected Verena Pausder as its new CEO. Pausder, an entrepreneur and investor as well as co-founder of FC Viktoria Berlin, will drive forward the promotion of start-ups with a team of ten.

In her inaugural speech, she emphasized the importance of an "entrepreneurial awakening" for Germany. She emphasized the need to create a culture of courage in which people are prepared to take risks and drive innovation. In her opinion, Germany must use the potential of start-ups to commercialize its strengths in research and development more effectively.

Pausder is planning a comprehensive "innovation agenda" for the coming decade in order to catch up with Germany in international comparison. In order to strengthen German start-ups, it is crucial for the new CEO to mobilize more capital, especially for deep-tech start-ups and large financing rounds. She emphasized the need to improve exit conditions and called for a joint commitment from all stakeholders.

Current board of the German Startup Association

1. Verena Pausder (Chairwoman of the Board; entrepreneur, investor & co-founder of FC Viktoria Berlin)
2. Nicole Büttner (Founder & CEO Merantix Momentum)
3. Jochen Engert (Co-Founder & Vice Chairman Flix)
4. Kati Ernst (Co-Founder & Co-CEO Ooia)
5. Zoé Fabian (Growth Investor)
6. Hélène Huby (Co-Founder & CEO The Exploration Company)
7. Benedict Kurz (CEO & Founder Knowunity)
8. Magdalena Oehl (Founder and Managing Director TalentRocket)
9. Sebastian Pollok (Founding Partner Visionaries Club)
10. Helmut Schönenberger (Co-Founder & CEO UnternehmerTUM)

Germany should remain a center of innovation

Pausder warned that failure could cost Germany its position as a center of innovation. She also emphasized that avoiding risks could be more expensive in the long term than taking decisive action. The new Executive Board team reflects the diversity of the German start-up landscape and sends a strong signal for gender equality.

Verena Pausder and her team want to make Germany the most start-up-friendly location in Europe. To this end, they are planning measures such as facilitating access for international talent, improving the transfer from research, activating capital for technology-oriented start-ups, strengthening impact entrepreneurship and integrating entrepreneurship into educational curricula. Their main goal is to bring Germany back to the forefront of international innovation competition by promoting cooperation between start-ups and the established economy in order to create synergies and open up new markets.

Congratulations from the Startbase

The entire Startbase team would like to congratulate Verena Pausder on her election as Chairwoman of the German Startup Association. We are convinced that her leadership will give startups in Germany a strong voice. We wish her every success in implementing her planned projects and fully support her goals of strengthening the startup landscape in the country.