It means that we give each funded member of your team (Max. 3 people) 2,000€ per month for one year (24,000€ total) but do not take any ownership in your startup upfront. 

We try to keep the application process short and sweet. So apply here. Be sure to include a pitch deck; We only accept English applications because that is our company’s operating language.

Any team member that has already received EXIST or Berlin Startup Stipendium (BSS) funding is not eligible for the BFF. Here’s a list of other BSS programs. However, other team members who have not received EXIST or BSS funding before are eligible to receive our funding.

Private investment, grant funding or any other investment in your startup is OK, providing that the investor is not the majority shareholder. If you have any questions just ask us.

It’s OK to apply to the BFF before your startup is registered. However, when it’s time to register your startup (Gewerberanmeldung), this is different to incorporating a company (forming a GmbH or UG); your startup must register in Berlin. If your startup is already registered in another city or country, you must register Berlin as your office headquarters.

Yes, if the company hasn’t yet been registered. Or the company has been registered but for less than 90 days at the date of applying to the BFF. (Exceptions are possible if companies are not yet fully and sustainably active, but must be approved separately) 

NOTE: Incorporation and Registration (Gewerbeanmeldung) are two different things. Incorporation is the legal establishment of a company, ie. GmbH, uG, Ltd, LLC, but business registration in Berlin is an intent to trade and operate.

Yes. We can fund up to three co-founders or first-hires through BFF, but we reserve the right to choose only one team member. So please only submit one application per team.

Because every startup has a unique mix of characteristics, we have preferences rather than rules that guide us when evaluating who to invest in. Therefore, we don’t expect startups to be equally perfect across all criteria. Still, we do expect no severe warning signs or absences in your application, and we hope to be pleasantly surprised that your startup excels in a handful of the below-listed preferences. 

Our Preferences:

-An apparent problem or challenge that is significant and needs to be addressed urgently.

-A solution that is well-positioned to address the problem in a meaningful and novel manner.

-A business plan/model that is scalable and convincingly presented.

-A passionate multi-founder team with complementary skills and relevant experience/education as founders or industry experts or personal history with the problem being addressed.

-The solution is actively contributing to ESG goals, is inclusive, sustainable and/or diversity-promoting.

-The market and the opportunity are sizable and the applicant has the potential and desire to build a large, internationally scalable business from Berlin.

-A Go to Market (GTM) strategy that is sufficiently addressed and backed up (show some traction/feedback).

-A team that has a strong command of English, both verbal and written.

-A strong pitch deck covering all relevant information and criteria.

-A good understanding and reasoning for your target audience

Our one main rule is that your application must be health tech-related. However, our definition of health tech is broad, and you may be able to stretch it further. So if your startup is MedTech, DeathTech, SexTech or something else that relates to supporting the health of sentient beings, or works in the background of these industries, then be sure to apply.

1. Each month our BFF Manager reviews each application.
2. The BFF Manager shortlists eligible applications. 
3. The five members of out review committee then review all eligible applications. Each team member uses their experience and a scoresheet to evaluate which applications should be brought to the monthly team meeting for discussion.
4. During a monthly team meeting, we discuss which applications to send to our external network for review.
5. Three independent investors, experts, or founders review the revised list of applications. They recommend which startups should proceed.
6. The teams that our external reviewers recommended are invited for a 60-minute interview with our five-member BFF team. The interview can be online or in person. 
7. After all, interviews have been conducted, our BFF team votes on who we should invest in. We provide feedback to all applicants who have made it this far and make offers to successful startups.

Be present. We host lots of open events related to BFF and additional activities on campus and virtually. The best way to let the team know you’re a great candidate is to get involved in our community. Attending our monthly meetup is a great place to start.

Not for BFF. We are currently only looking for early-stage startups working across health technology. 

If you’re not in health tech but still looking for support, please drop our team an email clearly outlining who in our network you’d like to meet and we will always see what we can do!

As entrepreneurs ourselves, we know you don’t need a babysitter. Each month, we bring in world-class operators for you to hear from and connect with. We do organize additional social and educational activities that may be valuable for you but allow you to decide if you would like to join or not. We expect you to remain in Berlin working full-time on your startup for the funding duration (1 year).

Yes. The main requirement is that you are registered (anmeldung) as living in Berlin and have a visa that allows you to remain in Berlin.

It depends. Private investment, grant funding or any other investment in your startup is OK, providing that the investor is not the majority shareholder. Typically startups that come from a company-builder are not eligible. In contrast, startups from an incubator or accelerator qualify because the founders are still majority shareholders. In contrast, the parent company is the majority shareholder at a company-builder.

You can apply, but you must quit your job if accepted and focus full-time on building your startup. You can, however, work part-time as a freelancer while part of the BFF; however, this will impact the success of your startup.

There’s no catch. The BFF is funded by the Berliner Startup Stipendium (BSS). The objective of the BSS is to strengthen Berlin’s startup growing digital health ecosystem and develop individuals into exceptional entrepreneurs.

The funding you receive is most likely taxable, but that depends on your circumstances with the German Tax Authority (Finanzamt). You will need to organize your public health insurance.

We are the team behind Silicon Allee. Our founders are experienced entrepreneurs who have been supporting the Berlin and European startup ecosystem for over a decade. The rest of our team has a depth of experience in community and event management and are here to ensure that your setup in Berlin is smooth and hassle free and you make the right connections to hone your business.

The Berlin Founders Fund is financed through the European Social Fund and the State of Berlin. These are our first “LPs”. We launched BFF in this constellation to bring more jobs to Berlin and support the foundation of more startups.

We strive to be aware of our biases and commit to funding a minimum of 50% women founders. We also prioritize founders with an immigration background. We aim to have values-led partnerships with everyone connected to the BFF, from founders like you to our staff to our network of experts and investors. Our entire Silicon Allee team, current BFF founders, and some BFF mentors participated in a DEI program in November 2021.

We have an internal climate and sustainability officer whose role is to ensure that we are continually reducing our carbon footprint. We encourage all our portfolio companies to make a sustainability pledge as well.

BFF is based in the Silicon Allee Campus, at the heart of the Berlin tech scene, as well as online and (when permitted) we’re often making pit stops around Europe at other startup hubs.

Feel free to contact bff@siliconallee.com should you have any additional questions.