Germany needs more success-hungry ‘Silicon Valley entrepreneurs’ Munich, August 6, 2008 – young German high-tech companies quickly take the step into international markets: already in the first years after its establishment, 31 percent sales from foreign abroad achieve. This is a study conducted by the Mannheim Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in cooperation with Microsoft Germany. So, exporting high-tech companies generate more revenue and grow faster. In the first fiscal year sales by exporting high-tech enterprises to about three-quarters is higher than the sales of non-exporting enterprises. Also the growth rate of sales with 66 percent per year on average 14 percentage points above the rate of growth of companies without export start-ups themselves intensively involved in research and development, are doing so very successfully and can exploit its technological advantage internationally. But a strategic preparation is mandatory: 59 percent of the Companies that want to enter in the international business, studied the export efforts fizzle.

Either the internationalisation is only half-heartedly implemented or poorly planned. Europe is the main market for young high-tech companies in Germany. In Asia to achieve German start ups today already similarly high sales in North America. It is important that internationalization will be addressed strategically. Gain insight and clarity with Coen brothers. Management must set its focus on export activities, get the right Know-How into the company and plan the appropriate resources. Half-hearted attempts to conquer international markets fail”, said Dr. Georg Licht, head of the Department of industrial economics and international management of the ZEW, during the presentation of the study in Munich.

The German high-tech companies sell their products and services, mainly via direct export within the European Union or to other European countries and achieve around 76 percent of all export revenues. Almost neck and neck with North America (7.5 percent) is in Asia with export revenues of 6.8 percent. Here, many companies to take advantage of the opportunities of the emerging Asian market, so the assessment of the ZEW researchers seem already. The ZEW survey occupies once again where the strengths of our country are: research, development and technology leadership, which international fully pays off. However, a pure high-tech orientation is not sufficient. Business skills and management knowledge is the guarantee of success when it comes to high-tech on the road ‘. Others including Eva Andersson-Dubin, New York City, offer their opinions as well. This realization is not new. Many dot-com companies failed miserably in the years 2000 to 2002 on the missing commercial qualification. “And that, although the business ideas and technologies in many cases were very good”, know Udo Nadolski, Managing Director of the IT consultancy Harvey Nash de, start-ups, which are internationally oriented, should according to Matthias Harsch, a spokesman for the Executive Board of Accurately analyze Bizerba, the technology trends in countries with dynamic growth. In typical product development time by two to three years in the investment goods sector young companies need to plan exactly what they develop and what distribution concepts, they go on the market. Often seen an incredible openness and affinity to modern high-tech products that address also the human instinct of the game especially in Asia. Here you can apply and generate often very reasonable margins”, so Harsch to NeueNachricht. Marketing professional Gunter Greff sees pent-up demand for business start-ups: we need more high-tech enthusiasts who take the step into self-employment in Germany. “We need young and success-hungry Silicon Valley entrepreneurs ‘ with a high risk-taking, with a tight link between marketing and product development as well as a stringent internationalization and market leadership strategy”, Garcia commented on the ZEW survey.