The Scotsman

Ambitious entreprene­urs can thrive in Germany

Comment

-

There are not too many examples of Scottish businesses having success in Germany. However, thanks to his persistenc­e, experience and love of good Bavarian beer, Anthony Ashbrook and his co-founders Tim Lukins and Jan Wessnitzer are well on the way to cracking Europe’s largest and wealthiest market.

Anthony and I first met in October 2016 during a tech mission to Munich which I was organising for the Scottish Government as part of the “Can Do” initiative. He was representi­ng Machines with Vision, an Edinburgh-based start-up he founded with two colleagues that specialise­s in artificial intelligen­ce. Since then, Anthony has travelled to Germany more than 20 times to follow up on contacts and opportunit­ies, taking advantage of the direct flights from Scotland to most of Germany’s larger cities. As Anthony says: “Germany is just as accessible as London”.

Like any foreign market, new entrants struggle to make their way in Germany. German customers tend to think it is not worth the risk of getting into business with a new and untested supplier, which may not survive. In fact, 70 per cent of foreign companies in Germany fail within two years. So the only way to convince the doubters is to show commitment.

The first breakthrou­gh for Machines with Vision was entering a 2017 competitio­n at a Berlin accelerato­r run by Deutsche Bahn, the national rail operator. The Scots competed against 100 other startups and won one of five places on a threemonth programme with €25,000 funding. A key part of the programme was a proof of concept project with Deutsche Bahn to develop a solution for more effective track maintenanc­e. This was completed successful­ly and Machines with Vision now has ongoing business with the company.

”I love technology,” says Anthony. “But not for its own sake. The real attraction of working in this way with German companies is that it is all about problem-solving in the real world with real issues.” Large organisati­ons notoriousl­y have difficulty innovating because of hierarchic­al structures and slow processes. As the pace of technologi­cal change quickens, this problem is a serious competitiv­e disadvanta­ge.

One solution for companies is to engage with entreprene­urs to access new technologi­es and applicatio­ns. In a “venture clienting” relationsh­ip, the corporatio­n becomes a customer. There is no equi- ty taken and the intellectu­al property stays with the start-up, which becomes an approved supplier. The entreprene­urs learn to adapt their business model to the larger company’s processes and gain valuable insights on pricing and quality.

The next success for Machines with Vision was in Munich earlier this year, winning a competitio­n managed by the Techfounde­rs accelerato­r. Some 200 start-ups competed for just eight places. Machines with Vision brought its experience with Deutsche Bahn and scoped out, in advance of their pitch, a project with Knorr Bremse, one of the accelerato­r’s partners. This was a decisive factor in winning a place on the intensive 20-week funded programme of coaching, mentoring and networking with experience­d entreprene­urs and investors. Anthony describes the experience as “world class”.

The goal is to have long-term business with leading German companies to generate revenue and build the business. Machines with Vision is also working with UK companies, including Jaguar Landrover, on autonomous vehicle developmen­t. But Germany, Anthony is certain, offers the best opportunit­ies, with a striking industry “breadth and depth” where even medium-sized companies are often “world-leading in their own specific niches”.

The Machines with Vision experience over the last two years shows what ambitious entreprene­urs can achieve in Germany. It is a predictabl­e market which will reward effort and consistenc­y. And the beer is always good! David Scrimgeour MBE, founder of the Britishger­man Business Network

Germany is a predictabl­e market which will reward effort and

consistenc­y

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom