1 The Imperative of Private Equity in Start-up Financing in Germany.- 1.1 No Equity, No Innovation.- 1.2 The Role of Venture Capital.- 1.3 Research Gap in Start-up Financing.- 1.

4 Objectives of the Book.- 1.5 Methodological Approach.- 1.6 Plan of the Book.- 2 The Nature and Characteristics of Start-ups.- 2.1 Start-ups versus Conventional Firms.

- 2.2 Start-up Characteristics.- 2.3 Financing Start-ups.- 2.4 Lifecycle and Financing Phases of Start-ups.- 2.4.

1 Phase I: Early.- 2.4.1.1 Pre-seed.- 2.4.1.

2 Seed.- 2.4.1.3 Start-up.- 2.4.2 Phase II: Expansion.

- 2.4.3 Phase III: Late.- 2.4.4 Exit.- 2.5 Challenges Start-ups face in Germany.

- 2.6 Germany''s Start-up Financing Environment.- 2.7 Germany''s Off-market Equity Financing Environment.- 3 Digital Platform Start-ups.- 3.1 Going Digital: An Undeniable Reality.- 3.

2 Qualifying Characteristics of Digital Platform Start-ups.- 3.3 Drivers of Digital Platform Start-ups.- 3.4 Digital Platform Trends.- 3.5 Digital Platform Start-ups: Four Cases.- 3.

5.1 Wimdu: at the mercy of a strong competitor.- 3.5.2 Monoqi: stagnation and investor strife.- 3.5.3 Omio: Exponential growth as a financing magnet.

- 3.5.4 Medwing: the indispensability of innovativeness.- 3.6 Criterion for Digital Platform Start-up Success in Germany.- 3.7 Distinction between Start-ups and Digital Platform Start-ups.- 4 The Emergence of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems.

- 4.1 Status Quo of Germany''s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.- 4.2 Agglomeration as a Necessary Condition.- 4.3 Transformation via Start-up Networks.- 4.4 Inadequacies and Upcoming Challenges.

- 5 Private-Equity as Start-up Financing Source.- 5.1 Features of Private Equity.- 5.2 Status Quo of Private Equity in Germany.- 5.3 Impending and Upcoming Challenges.- 5.

4 The Debate on Regulation.- 5.5 Private Equity Volume in Germany.- 6 Venture Capital as Start-up Financing Source.- 6.1 The Beginnings of Venture Capital.- 6.2 Venture Capital Characteristics.

- 6.3 Status Quo of Venture Capital in Germany.- 6.4 Expected Venture Capital Growth in Germany.- 6.5 Venture Capital Volume in Germany.- 7 Venture Capital as a Subset of Private Equity.- 7.

1 Structural Differences between Private Equity and Venture Capital7.2 Decision-Making Criteria in Private Equity.- 7.2.1 Stereotypical target company approach.- 7.2.2 Non-stereotypical basic targeting approach.

- 7.2.3 Target criteria before acquisition.- 7.2.4 Private Equity Investment Criteria.- 7.2.

4.1 Finance.- 7.2.4.2 Strategy.- 7.2.

4.3 Management.- 7.2.4.4 Product and service.- 7.2.

4.5 Additional aspects.- 7.2.5 Venture Capital Investment Criteria.- 7.2.6 Financial Resource Crunch may hamper Start-up growth.

- 8 Research Design.- 8.1 Helferrich''s (2014) Guided Expert Interview.- 8.2 Research Ethics.- 8.3 Research Questions and Hypotheses.- 8.

4 Choice and Appraisal of Method.- 8.5 Methodological Approach.- 8.6 Selection of Experts.- 8.7 Interviewee Details.- 8.

8 Guideline-based Expert Interview.- 8.9 Data preparation based on Mayring''s (2010) Content Analysis Method.- 8.10 Limitations of Employed Research Method.- 9 Research Analyses and Results.- 9.1 Founding and.

- or Managing Team.- 9.1.1 Diversity of Team Skills, Tech-world Knowhow and Marketing.- 9.1.2 Conviction of Idea and Founder.- Team Drive.

- 9.1.3 Sales Force and Process-Orientation.- 9.1.4 Multiple Founders, Clarity of Goal, and Ambition.- 9.1.

5 Pitching Quality and Argumentative Efficiency as vital to Seed Investors.- 9.1.6 Conclusion.- 9.2 Innovativeness.- 9.2.

1 Uniqueness and Market Differentiation.- 9.2.2 Functionality of Business Idea.- 9.2.3 Business Model as a Solution.- 9.

2.4 Patents and Buyer Power.- 9.2.5 Conclusion.- 9.3 Market Attractiveness.- 9.

3.1 Value of the Online Market.- 9.3.2 Size of the Identified Market.- 9.3.3 Minimum Viable Product and Uncontested Markets.

- 9.3.4 Potential Market Monopoly and Niche-Building.- 9.3.5 Conclusion.- 9.4 Financial Metrics.

- 9.4.1 Business Plan as Nice-to-Have.- 9.4.2 Customer Acquisition as Key Metric.- 9.4.

3 Customer Retention Rate and Key Account Management.- 9.4.4 Conclusion.- 9.5 Scalability.- 9.5.

1 Scalability enhances Valuation.- 9.5.2 Pace of Critical Mass.- 9.5.3 Exponential User Growth.- 9.

5.4 Scalability as Founders'' Attribute.- 9.5.5 Conclusion.- 9.6 Prominent Investor.- 9.

6.1 Investors as Endorsers.- 9.6.2 Tier-1 Investors enhance Start-up Competitiveness.- 9.6.3 Conclusion.

- 9.7 Revenue Growth.- 9.8 Location.- 10 Summary and Recommendations.- 10.1 Research Design Summary.- 10.

2 Discussion of Results.- 10.2.1 Primary Criteria.- 10.2.2 Secondary Criteria.- 10.

2.3 Tertiary Criteria.- 10.2.4 Non-Criteria.- 10.2.5 Conclusion.

- 10.3 Implications for Venture Capital Strategy.- 10.3.1 Skillset and Team Structure.- 10.3.2 Sales Mapping.

- 10.3.3 Team Dynamics in Hardships.- 10.3.4 Dynamic Capabilities.- 10.3.

5 Drive for Innovativeness.- 10.3.6 Elucidation of Unique Selling Proposition.- 10.3.7 Problem-Solving Approach.- 10.

3.8 Indispensability of Online Market.- 10.3.9 Niche-Market Value.- 10.3.10 Expected Customer Growth, Retention and Churn Rate.

- 10.3.11 Clarification of Scalability Potential.- 10.3.12 Track Record of Venture Capital Investor.- 10.3.

13 Team-Building and Long-Term Skill-Planning.- 10.4 Implications for Research.