# Gründerkurse

> Practical knowledge for founders of digital products: validate the idea, build an MVP, pick a legal form, apply for funding, win first customers.

- [How to Validate a Business Idea Before You Build It](https://gruenderkurse.de/en/validating-ideas/validate-business-idea/): To validate a business idea, list the two or three assumptions the business cannot survive without, then test each with real behaviour: interviews about past problems, an offer with a price attached, and a bottom-up market estimate. Decide in advance which result would make you stop, and write it down.
- [Customer Discovery Interview Questions That Work](https://gruenderkurse.de/en/validating-ideas/customer-interview-questions/): Good customer discovery interview questions ask about specific things that already happened: when the problem last occurred, what the person did about it, and what it cost them. Avoid questions about your idea, about future intentions, and anything answerable with yes or no. Close by asking for a small commitment such as an introduction.
- [Smoke Test Landing Page: Measure Demand Before Building](https://gruenderkurse.de/en/validating-ideas/smoke-test-landing-page/): A smoke test landing page presents a product that does not exist yet, with a price and one call to action, and counts how many strangers take a step that costs them something, such as pre-ordering. It only tells you something with a few hundred visitors and a pass mark you set before launch.
- [How to Calculate TAM, SAM and SOM (Bottom-Up)](https://gruenderkurse.de/en/validating-ideas/tam-sam-som/): Calculate TAM bottom-up by multiplying the number of customers who have the problem by the annual price. SAM is the slice your product can actually serve given language, region and features. SOM is the share of SAM you can realistically win within three to five years, checked against how many customers your sales effort can close.
- [MVP Development Cost: Hours, Rates and What to Cut](https://gruenderkurse.de/en/building-the-mvp/mvp-development-cost/): MVP development cost is the number of build hours multiplied by the hourly rate, plus running costs. A lean web app with accounts, payments and an admin area plausibly needs 400 to 800 hours, so the total swings from about $20,000 to well over $100,000 depending on whether you pay $50 or $150 an hour.
- [No-Code MVP: Five Patterns and Where They Break](https://gruenderkurse.de/en/building-the-mvp/no-code-mvp/): A no-code MVP works when your product is mostly forms, a database, workflows and notifications, and your first hundred customers will not stress it. It breaks down with compute-heavy or highly custom logic, strict compliance demands, or when the code itself is your competitive edge. Plan the rebuild before you need it.
- [How to Find a Technical Co-Founder (and Keep One)](https://gruenderkurse.de/en/building-the-mvp/find-technical-cofounder/): To find a technical co-founder, go where engineers already spend their spare time: university entrepreneurship programmes, hackathons, open-source projects, co-founder matching platforms and your own network of former colleagues. Lead with evidence such as customer interviews or pilots, run a paid or clearly scoped trial project, then agree equity with vesting.
- [Product Requirements Document Template for an MVP](https://gruenderkurse.de/en/building-the-mvp/product-requirements-document/): A product requirements document describes which problem the software solves, for whom, and how you will know it is finished, without prescribing how to build it. For an MVP, five to ten pages are enough: goal, user roles, user stories with acceptance criteria, non-functional requirements, integrations, scope boundaries, constraints and an acceptance process.
- [UG vs GmbH: Choosing a German Company for Your Startup](https://gruenderkurse.de/en/incorporation-and-funding/ug-vs-gmbh/): A UG is a GmbH with as little as €1 in share capital and a duty to retain a quarter of each year's profit. A GmbH needs €25,000 in share capital, at least €12,500 paid in before registration, and allows contributions in kind. Liability and tax are identical, and a UG can be upgraded to a GmbH later.
- [EXIST Business Start-up Grant: Amounts and How to Apply](https://gruenderkurse.de/en/incorporation-and-funding/exist-startup-grant/): The EXIST Business Start-up Grant funds founders from German universities and research institutes for twelve months with €1,000 to €3,000 per person per month, depending on qualification, plus up to €30,000 in material costs for teams and €5,000 for coaching. The university applies on your behalf, and teams have at most three members.
- [Gründungszuschuss: Germany's Start-up Grant Explained](https://gruenderkurse.de/en/incorporation-and-funding/gruendungszuschuss-germany/): The Gründungszuschuss is a discretionary start-up grant from Germany's Federal Employment Agency for people on unemployment benefit (ALG I). You apply before starting, need at least 150 days of benefit left on your start date and an expert opinion on viability. It pays your benefit plus €300 for six months, then possibly €300 for nine more.
- [How to Find Angel Investors for an Early-Stage Startup](https://gruenderkurse.de/en/incorporation-and-funding/find-angel-investors/): Most founders find angel investors through warm introductions from other founders, through regional angel networks and pitch events, and through targeted outreach to people who know their industry. Angels back the team, early evidence of demand and a concrete plan for the money. Tax schemes such as SEIS in the UK or INVEST in Germany make the pitch easier.

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