{"id":343371,"date":"2025-12-14T06:57:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T06:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/angel-investor\/german-startup-changemakers-richard-gros\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T06:57:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T06:57:41","slug":"german-startup-changemakers-richard-gros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=343371","title":{"rendered":"German Startup Changemakers: Richard Gro\u00df"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Richard Gro\u00df is the Community Manager & Sales Agent at betahaus<\/a><\/span>, which offers co-working spaces, private offices, and event spaces in Europe since 2009. He contributes to the startup ecosystem in Berlin by trying to introduce the right people and spot opportunities where others may not see them. Find out which advice for founders he shared with us and what he predicts for the ecosystem in the near future.
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<\/span>1. Hi Richard, thank you for agreeing to do the interview. Could you tell us a bit about your background and how you\u2019re connected to the startup world?<\/b><\/p>\n

Thank you for having me. I finished my Masters in International Management and Intercultural Studies in Scotland and wrote my thesis on entrepreneurship. So I interviewed eight different founders regarding what they took from their universities into their later businesses. I was curious to find out how their universities affected their entrepreneurial spirit. This really got me hooked on the whole startup scene and the people who create something from scratch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though I was born in Mainz and grew up in the south of Germany, this pulled me to Berlin because the startup scene here is quite unique. I wanted to dive into the Berlin startup atmosphere.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. You\u2019re the Community Manager & Sales Agent at\u00a0betahaus<\/a>, which offers coworking spaces, private offices, and event spaces in Europe since 2009. Tell us more about your mission.<\/b><\/p>\n

If you want to sum up the mission of betahaus<\/a> in two words it would be: facilitate entrepreneurship. What we do is anything that supports founders in their mission. We try to create the perfect infrastructure so that individuals can come here and focus completely on their businesses. betahaus is one of the first co-working spaces in Europe. When the founders started with their mission they weren\u2019t understood but it worked out beautifully in the long run.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. What would you say are the pros and the cons of the startup ecosystem in Berlin? How do you feel you\u2019re contributing to it?<\/b><\/p>\n

What drew me to the ecosystem in Berlin is the 360 approach. I looked into other ecosystems, especially within Europe, such as Dublin and Barcelona. But what I always liked about the Berlin startup scene is that it doesn\u2019t seem to have a niche. There isn\u2019t a focus on one certain industry, there are companies from all over the scheme.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do I contribute to the ecosystem? As a Community Manager, I try to create opportunities. I don\u2019t see myself as an entertainer, but more as a facilitator. I\u2019d rather provide stages for other people to meet, interact and exchange ideas. I feel I\u2019m contributing by introducing the right people to each other through networking events and doing my best to spot opportunities where others may not see them.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re interested in joining a networking event, we have our betabreakfast every Thursday. That\u2019s been around for the past ten years and it\u2019s a good opportunity to meet someone. I also have a good overview of the teams we have in-house. So I do my best to support and complement companies that should work together.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. What do you think are the top lessons entrepreneurs should keep in mind?<\/b><\/p>\n

Currently, I\u2019m doing a bit of entrepreneurship myself. They say some are born and some are made entrepreneurs. I\u2019m definitely made. I have a Networking Agency that\u2019s still in a very much beta phase. I started a one-man agency where I try to network as best as I can on a donation base. Even though it\u2019s still in an early stage, my heart and soul are in it, and it makes me happy.<\/span><\/p>\n