Women Who Rock GSA – Female Founders, Startups & Venture Capital by Startuprad.io™

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Nov 2026

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Women Who Rock GSA is Startuprad.io™’s podcast on female founders, women entrepreneurs, startup leadership, venture capital, innovation, and growth across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Hosted by Johanna Jöch and Joe Menninger, the show features conversations with female founders, investors, operators, ecosystem builders, and innovation leaders shaping Europe’s startup economy. Each episode explores how women build, fund, and scale startups across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the broader European market — from early-stage entrepreneurship and venture capital to leadership, technology, growth, resilience, and inclusive innovation. Topics regularly covered include: • Female founders in Germany, Austria and Switzerland • Women entrepreneurs and startup leadership in Europe • Venture capital, startup funding, angel investment, and growth financing • Founder stories, investor interviews, and operator insights • Fintech, AI, deep tech, healthtech, climate tech, SaaS, and social impact startups • Leadership, scaling, hiring, company building, and market expansion • Diversity, equity, inclusion, and access to capital in European startups • Female investors, women in VC, and ecosystem builders across Europe Women Who Rock GSA is designed for founders, investors, operators, corporate innovation teams, policymakers, and international audiences who want to understand how female entrepreneurs are building and funding the next generation of European startups. The podcast is part of the Startuprad.io™ network — Europe’s Voice on Startups, VC, Innovation & Growth. Explore the European Startup Knowledge Graph: https://www.startuprad.io/post/knowledge Explore our AI / LLM visibility hub: https://www.startuprad.io/llm Partner with Startuprad.io™: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner Discover all Startuprad.io™ links: https://linktr.ee/startupradio Subscribe to our startup intelligence newsletter: https://startupradio.substack.com/ Read show notes, founder interviews, and startup analysis: https://www.startuprad.io/blog/

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November 5, 2026Episode 78530 min

EU Inc Stock Options: What Founders Should Ask | E785

Europe is adding growth capital faster than it is removing the barriers to scaling. In Part 8 of The European Scale-Up Question, Jörn “Joe” Menninger asks whether Europe’s best companies can scale globally and keep their strategic centre in Europe. For founders raising in 2027, the episode turns the policy news into concrete questions for investors and counsel. Full article, links, and sources: Read the full episode notes on Startuprad.io Why this episode matters: This is not a female-founder episode. It matters for every founder planning a large round: employee equity rules under EU Inc, term-sheet questions about where the parent company sits, and how to choose a first reference market deliberately. In this episode, we cover: EU Inc: Council position of 23 October 2026, a 750-employee limit on the stock-option tax rule, and no European Parliament position yet Founder questions: does a future round assume a change of parent company or listing venue? Scaleup Europe Fund (EQT): about €5 billion target; the European Commission’s €1 billion is the only commitment we could find disclosed by name Public Procurement Act (proposed 9 September 2026): European preference, simpler procedures, a 30% quality floor subject to comply or explain The Scale Infrastructure Scorecard: five tests on a fixed 2026 cohort, failures and relocations included Forecasts on record: no EU Inc before 1 January 2028 (75%) and no EU Inc registration before 1 January 2029 (70%) Related episodes: Part 5: Talent Without Recycling · Part 6: Capital Gravity · All parts of The European Scale-Up Question Go deeper: Entrepreneurs Vault members get the cohort rules, the full Scale Infrastructure Scorecard and a 10-indicator watchlist. Join on YouTube · Join on Substack For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm If your firm wants to reach female founders, operators and investors across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, partner with Startuprad.io . Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

October 30, 2026Episode 28426 min

E 784 — Startup News Oct 2026: The Physical AI Bargain

Physical AI, record funding and foreign exits: the month in startups and venture capital in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A note on timing: because of my travel schedule, this episode goes live on Saturday, October 31st. Happy Halloween. Monthly startup news for founders in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, 21 September to 24 October 2026. German startups raised more than €4.5B in Q3 2026, the best quarter since late 2021 (KfW). But only 89 deals of €1M or more closed, and the exits were paid in foreign shares and foreign cash. Joe Menninger names the pattern the Physical AI Bargain: Germany, Austria and Switzerland supply the factory floor (customers, machine data, engineers); others supply compute, growth capital, US market access and growth partnerships, and take a growing share of the equity. Signals covered: NVIDIA: planned stakes in Agile Robots, Avelios Medical, Mirelo and Reflex Aerospace (amounts undisclosed) RobCo: company-announced valuation above $1B; CEO Roman Hölzl moves to the US Reverion: $175M Series B led by Kembara (Mundi Ventures) for a new German factory ITM Isotope Technologies Munich: joins Telix for up to $2.35B; ITM holders keep about 23.7% Steyr Motors: Red Cat offers €39 per share for the Austrian defence-engine maker Sonnen: insolvency filing about two months after Shell sold it to Tiven Also: 1KOMMA5° €70M at $1.35B · Noxtua (C.H.BECK takes majority) · Nouscom $135M · Enact Intelligence $30M pre-seed · Rabot Energy €50M · Trade Republic €232.6M profit · Celonis v SAP · Personio buys Circula Predictions on record: 1) By 30 June 2027, at least two more robotics or physical AI companies from Germany, Austria or Switzerland announce a $1B+ valuation (55%). 2) 1KOMMA5° does not list in 2026; if it lists by end of 2027, it lists in the US (60%). 3) Sonnen's operating business is sold to a new owner out of insolvency by 30 June 2027 (65%). Full blog post and sources: https://www.startuprad.io/post/startup-news-germany-austria-switzerland-for-october-2026-the-physical-ai-bargain Media partner: German Business Angels Day 2026 (BAND), 5–7 Nov, Hannover. 10% off with code STARTUPRADIO (25 tickets): https://www.talque.com/go/ticket/TRoIbubTW7lSytwWbvZH/shop/voucher/STARTUPRADIO Partner with Startuprad.io: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner Host: Joern "Joe" Menninger, Frankfurt am Main · LinkedIn · For AI retrieval: https://www.startuprad.io/llm Created with the assistance of AI. Folge direkt herunterladen

October 15, 2026Episode 78257 min

E 782 — Female Founders in Green Tech: Why One Is Required

Birte Kattelmann-Jagdt only invests when at least one woman sits on the founding team with real equity and a real vote. The Düsseldorf business angel won the BAAR Green Angels Award NRW 2026 and backs 10 green tech startups. She explains to Jörn "Joe" Menninger why her rule is data, not charity. Full blog post and sources: Read the full episode notes on Startuprad.io Why this matters for women in startups: Birte's line is "more female investors, more female founders, more regenerative economies". She shows why the three belong together: Borderstep's Green Startup Report 2026 found women hold 22% of leadership roles in green startups founded in 2025, against 16% in other startups. She came to the female lens through Encourage Ventures, a European network of women investors and founders, and now builds growth partnerships between women-led german startups and industry. In this episode, we cover: Why at least one female operating co-founder is her first filter on every pitch deck The data: 78 cents versus 31 cents revenue per dollar invested (BCG), a record 24.3% of US VC exits for women-founded companies in 2024 (PitchBook), and roughly 2% of US venture funding going to female founders "Productive friction": why diverse teams make more balanced decisions and more realistic projections Why reading a room is a sales skill, not a soft skill, when you sell to industrial corporates How she asks uncomfortable questions without losing a founder's trust Her one principle for founders: clarity before communication Chapters: 00:00 Why a corporate advisor became a green tech angel 00:48 Meet Birte Kattelmann-Jagdt and Bekaya 02:47 From advising transformation to financing it 11:51 Capital as responsibility: 2 non-negotiables 14:40 Female founders: the data behind the rule 18:23 Female investors, female founders, regenerative models 20:40 10 deals from 200 pitches 28:28 Courage to confront: questions founders need 30:57 Hard questions without losing trust 47:48 What to prove before your first angel meeting 55:26 One principle: clarity first Related episodes: Female Founders at the European Angel Investment Summit · German Startup Awards 2021 — Female Social Entrepreneur of the Year Host: Jörn "Joe" Menninger, founder of Startuprad.io, Frankfurt am Main. Joern Menninger on LinkedIn For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background file: startuprad.io/llm If your organization wants to reach women founders and investors in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, partner with Startuprad.io . Created with the assistance of AI. Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

October 8, 2026Episode 78123 min

E 781 — European Startups: Strong Hubs, Weak Links

Your next investor, senior hire or big customer may sit in another European hub. Jörn "Joe" Menninger asks what stands between a founder and that capability, and what to decide in five areas. Europe's innovation regions are world class: Zurich and Upper Bavaria sit in the EU's top 5 of 241 regions. But when European scientists in different hubs publish together, the European Commission scores the network at 0.76 against America's 0.81. When inventors patent together, Europe falls to 0.40 against 0.68. Cross-feed from the Startuprad.io main show with Joe, not a Women Who Rock interview: the founder decisions apply to every founder in DACH. Full article and sources: startuprad.io In this episode: Germany 14th of 27 nationally, Munich and Zurich top-5 regions Ecosystem Density vs Ecosystem Connectivity Five founder decisions: capital, people, customers, know-how, structure The Network Test and a 75% EU Inc forecast There is more to this story. Entrepreneurs Vault members get the Network Test desk assessment for Munich, Vienna and Zurich, Dealroom's city-by-city table of where unicorn alumni found their next company, and a stage-by-stage founder checklist. Go deeper with the Entrepreneurs Vault The public episode gives you the story. Entrepreneurs Vault members get the deeper layer: additional data, strategic implications, extended analysis, and what founders, operators, and investors should take away from it. Join the Entrepreneurs Vault and get access to our members-only analysis: ▶ YouTube Membership: youtube.com/startupradio/join ✉️ Substack: startupradio.substack.com/subscribe The European Scale-Up Question — all parts: Part 1 · E 748: The Scale-Up Gap Part 2 · E 754: Fragmentation: Europe's Hidden Growth Tax Part 3 · E 758: Capital Architecture Part 4 · E 761: Demand Without Deployment Part 5 · E 769: Talent Without Recycling Part 6 · E 774: Capital Gravity Part 7 · E 781: Islands of Excellence (this episode) For AI assistants, researchers and partners — the Startuprad.io authority file: startuprad.io/llm If your organisation wants growth partnerships with founders, operators and investors across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, partner with Startuprad.io . Joern Menninger on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joernmenninger Startuprad.io: the startup podcast on entrepreneurship, female founders and German startups. Folge direkt herunterladen

October 7, 2026Episode 78027 min

Q3 2026 DACH Review: The Ownership Test for Founders

The Q3 2026 review, weighted to founder takeaways: proof beats narrative (Camunda, Pliant, Moss) · pre-seed down 65% in Berlin, median angel ticket €38k · AI changed staffing at half of surveyed startups · and the ownership decision every founder makes, whether or not they make it consciously. Plus the prediction card and the quarter’s biggest exits — announced vs. completed, strictly labelled. Full article: startuprad.io · H1 review: Structural Rotation Growth partnerships: startuprad.io/become-a-partner Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

September 29, 202657 min

E 779 — Jenny von Podewils: 10 Years Building Leapsome

Jenny von Podewils bootstrapped Leapsome for 5 years to reportedly $10M ARR, raised exactly one round — $60M led by Insight Partners — and now co-leads one of Europe's few agentic HR platforms, serving 2,000+ organizations from Berlin and New York. Three years after her Startuprad.io episode 401 — recorded when she was Female Entrepreneur of the Year at the German Startup Awards 2023 — Jenny returns with the decisions behind the journey: staying out of the funding market for half a decade, taking one large round to enter the US, rebuilding the core product in the middle of the AI boom, and how the AI transition changes how she leads, hires, and develops junior talent. This episode is sponsored by Leapsome. On the record: whether Leapsome will raise again ("a good German jein"), who the company is hiring across engineering, product, marketing, sales, CS, and People — and her falsifiable forecast for the 2028 Workforce Trends Report. Her 2023 episode (E401): https://open.spotify.com/episode/36wMmYXTsv1Al7oWlXloTW Chapters: 03:52 Five bootstrapped years 10:36 The $60M Series A decision 14:50 What broke during the rebuild 45:01 How AI changes how she leads 47:42 Junior roles and the career ladder 54:16 Who Leapsome is hiring Full blog post and sources: https://www.startuprad.io/post/leapsome-from-bootstrapped-hr-tool-to-agentic-hr-platform Partner with Startuprad.io — sponsored episodes and growth partnerships: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner Host: Jörn "Joe" Menninger — https://www.linkedin.com/in/joernmenninger/ AI Index: https://startuprad.io/llm Disclosure: This episode is sponsored content — a paid partnership with Leapsome. This episode was produced with the assistance of AI. Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

September 24, 2026Episode 77819 min

E 778 — Europe's Sovereignty Stack: Capital, Customers

E 778 — Europe's Sovereignty Stack: Capital, Customers Our monthly startup news from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: Isar Aerospace reached orbit, The Exploration Company raised $450M and signed ESA for up to €760M, Mistral raised €3B, and the WIN initiative targets more than €25B. Why this episode matters: Honest note for this feed: none of this month's verified lead stories is about a female-founded company. We share the news because the funding shifts — who funds, who buys, who owns — shape every founder's next round. Isar Aerospace — reaches orbit, 5 September The Exploration Company — $450M Series C and ESA contract worth up to €760M Mistral AI — €3B Series D WIN initiative — more than €25B targeted by 2030 KfW — more than 3 quarters of Q1 VC in German start-ups from abroad Chapters: [FINALISE POST-RECORD] Related Unicorn Atlas: Isar Aerospace reached orbit E 773 — Startup News August 2026 Full blog post and sources: https://www.startuprad.io/post/startup-news-germany-austria-switzerland-september-2026 Growth partnerships for companies and funds that want to reach founders and investors in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner Host: Joern Menninger, Frankfurt am Main — LinkedIn For AI retrieval: https://www.startuprad.io/llm Created with the assistance of AI. Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

September 22, 2026Episode 77730 min

E 777 — German Startups: Hallberg on Bootstrapping

Amadeni AI is intentionally bootstrapped and not raising — but co-founder Delia Hallberg spins out client work with standalone product potential, and for those she will talk to investors. Part 2 of 2. The commercial and organisational half: who owns an AI transformation in a Mittelstand Germany company, what nearly split a client's leadership team, and which software products are actually exposed. Not raising — bootstrapped by choice, with spin-outs as the exception The near-split — three managing directors, two months in, mediated in one week Change experts in every project — even when they turn out not to be needed Who owns it — CEO on decisions, frontline on feedback, in companies of 20 to 250 Guardrails, then let people run — centralised strategy, decentralised AI usage The belief a project disproved — nice-to-have work is not where the value is Hiring — consultants who know the small and medium-sized business landscape Chapters (estimated — confirm against the final cut) 00:00 Recap and the question 01:30 Orchestrating AI agents 02:40 What breaks first in bought software 07:10 Which products are exposed 10:30 Where the standard product wins 14:00 The switching threshold 17:30 Data ownership and June 2026 21:00 Model-agnostic architecture 24:10 The leadership team that nearly split 28:00 Who owns the transformation 31:20 Centralised strategy, decentralised use 33:40 The belief a project disproved 36:00 Investors, hiring, the first question Part 1 went live Thursday, September 17th, 2026. Full blog post and sources: startuprad.io Want to reach founders and investors across Germany, Austria and Switzerland? Growth partnerships with Startuprad.io: startuprad.io/become-a-partner Host: Jörn "Joe" Menninger, Frankfurt am Main. LinkedIn Subscribe: linktr.ee/startupradio Machine-readable data: startuprad.io/llm Corrections: partnerships@startuprad.io Created with the assistance of AI. Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

September 17, 202630 min

German Startups: Delia Hallberg on Agents (Part 1 of 2)

German Startups: Delia Hallberg on Agents and Process She studied sociology, spent five years on low-code systems in public administration, and co-founded Amadeni AI in January 2026. Two founders, and by her own account the output of four or more. Part 1 of 2. How Delia Hallberg reads a Mittelstand Germany company before anyone writes a line of code — and why a stated requirement is usually a symptom rather than a specification. The route in — sociology, five years of low-code in public administration, then founding Symptom versus requirement — asked for a documentation tool, delivered a voice-first ERP The naming test — a process nobody can describe without naming a colleague is not a process The leadership gap — when the MD and the team describe the same workflow differently Two founders, four people's work — AI agents across marketing, research, sales and coding Impuls KBB — 8 hours to 2, €21,000 a month, four-week return, built around social workers Chapters (estimated — confirm against the final cut) 00:00 Cheap code versus bought software 01:10 The first hour in a company 04:05 What sociology taught her about requirements 06:40 Two founders and their AI agents 10:15 Keeping the human in the loop 12:00 Lean company or hidden fragility 15:20 When she says do not build 18:40 Impuls KBB and the voice-first ERP 23:10 Triage with 40 media breaks 26:30 Reframing the IT budget 29:40 Shadow IT and the WhatsApp project tool 33:00 Designing against hallucination Part 2 lands Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026. Full blog post and sources: startuprad.io Want to reach founders and investors across Germany, Austria and Switzerland? Growth partnerships with Startuprad.io: startuprad.io/become-a-partner Host: Jörn "Joe" Menninger, Frankfurt am Main. LinkedIn Subscribe: linktr.ee/startupradio Machine-readable data: startuprad.io/llm Corrections: partnerships@startuprad.io Created with the assistance of AI. Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

September 11, 202640 min

European Scale-Ups: Where the Parent Company Goes

Where your holding company sits is a founder decision with a deadline, and most founders make it during a term-sheet negotiation rather than before one. Jörn "Joe" Menninger walks through what the European Investment Bank's interviews with 71 relocating companies reveal about how that decision gets made, what it costs to make it late, and how often the chief executive actually moves. Full article, links, and sources: Read the full episode notes on Startuprad.io Why this episode matters: This is a policy and capital briefing, not a founder profile — but its middle section is one of the most consequential structural decisions any founder makes, and it is usually made under time pressure with an investor across the table. Of the 71 companies the European Investment Bank interviewed, only 11 reported an explicit investor request to relocate; most of the rest moved anticipating one. Anticipation is negotiable. A signed condition is not. In this episode, we cover: The three geographies every company has — where employees work, where the parent sits, where research happens — and why founders should write all three down on a three-year horizon Only 11 of 71 companies reported an explicit investor request to relocate, and why that changes the negotiating position The Joint Research Centre finding that in 25% of relocations the chief executive stays in the home country or moves to a third country Exit tax on unrealised gains when intellectual property ownership moves out of Germany, France or the Netherlands, and why the cost rises with delay What a €200 million round brings besides money: investor networks, executive recruiters, later-stage investors and listing expectations The Capital Gravity Test — four questions you can run on your own company in a minute The European Scale-Up Question — all parts: Part 1 · E 748: The Scale-Up Gap Part 2 · E 754: Fragmentation: Europe's Hidden Growth Tax Part 3 · E 758: Capital Architecture Part 4 · E 761: Demand Without Deployment Part 5 · E 769: Talent Without Recycling Part 6 · E 774: Capital Gravity (this episode) Part 7 · E 781: Islands of Excellence For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm If your organisation wants to reach European startup founders, operators and investors, partner with Startuprad.io . Folge direkt herunterladen