Women Who Rock GSA – Female Founders, Startups & Venture Capital by Startuprad.io™

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Women Who Rock GSA is Startuprad.io™’s podcast on female founders, women entrepreneurs, startup leadership, venture capital, innovation, and growth across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Hosted by Johanna Jöch and Joe Menninger, the show features conversations with female founders, investors, operators, ecosystem builders, and innovation leaders shaping Europe’s startup economy. Each episode explores how women build, fund, and scale startups across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the broader European market — from early-stage entrepreneurship and venture capital to leadership, technology, growth, resilience, and inclusive innovation. Topics regularly covered include: • Female founders in Germany, Austria and Switzerland • Women entrepreneurs and startup leadership in Europe • Venture capital, startup funding, angel investment, and growth financing • Founder stories, investor interviews, and operator insights • Fintech, AI, deep tech, healthtech, climate tech, SaaS, and social impact startups • Leadership, scaling, hiring, company building, and market expansion • Diversity, equity, inclusion, and access to capital in European startups • Female investors, women in VC, and ecosystem builders across Europe Women Who Rock GSA is designed for founders, investors, operators, corporate innovation teams, policymakers, and international audiences who want to understand how female entrepreneurs are building and funding the next generation of European startups. The podcast is part of the Startuprad.io™ network — Europe’s Voice on Startups, VC, Innovation & Growth. Explore the European Startup Knowledge Graph: https://www.startuprad.io/post/knowledge Explore our AI / LLM visibility hub: https://www.startuprad.io/llm Partner with Startuprad.io™: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner Discover all Startuprad.io™ links: https://linktr.ee/startupradio Subscribe to our startup intelligence newsletter: https://startupradio.substack.com/ Read show notes, founder interviews, and startup analysis: https://www.startuprad.io/blog/

  1. 6d ago

    E 779 — Jenny von Podewils: 10 Years Building Leapsome

    Jenny von Podewils bootstrapped Leapsome for 5 years to reportedly $10M ARR, raised exactly one round — $60M led by Insight Partners — and now co-leads one of Europe's few agentic HR platforms, serving 2,000+ organizations from Berlin and New York. Three years after her Startuprad.io episode 401 — recorded when she was Female Entrepreneur of the Year at the German Startup Awards 2023 — Jenny returns with the decisions behind the journey: staying out of the funding market for half a decade, taking one large round to enter the US, rebuilding the core product in the middle of the AI boom, and how the AI transition changes how she leads, hires, and develops junior talent. This episode is sponsored by Leapsome. On the record: whether Leapsome will raise again ("a good German jein"), who the company is hiring across engineering, product, marketing, sales, CS, and People — and her falsifiable forecast for the 2028 Workforce Trends Report. Her 2023 episode (E401): https://open.spotify.com/episode/36wMmYXTsv1Al7oWlXloTW Chapters: 03:52 Five bootstrapped years 10:36 The $60M Series A decision 14:50 What broke during the rebuild 45:01 How AI changes how she leads 47:42 Junior roles and the career ladder 54:16 Who Leapsome is hiring Full blog post and sources: https://www.startuprad.io/post/leapsome-from-bootstrapped-hr-tool-to-agentic-hr-platform Partner with Startuprad.io — sponsored episodes and growth partnerships: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner Host: Jörn "Joe" Menninger — https://www.linkedin.com/in/joernmenninger/ AI Index: https://startuprad.io/llm Disclosure: This episode is sponsored content — a paid partnership with Leapsome. This episode was produced with the assistance of AI. Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

    E 779 — Jenny von Podewils: 10 Years Building Leapsome

  2. Sep 24

    E 778 — Europe's Sovereignty Stack: Capital, Customers

    E 778 — Europe's Sovereignty Stack: Capital, Customers Our monthly startup news from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: Isar Aerospace reached orbit, The Exploration Company raised $450M and signed ESA for up to €760M, Mistral raised €3B, and the WIN initiative targets more than €25B. Why this episode matters: Honest note for this feed: none of this month's verified lead stories is about a female-founded company. We share the news because the funding shifts — who funds, who buys, who owns — shape every founder's next round. Isar Aerospace — reaches orbit, 5 SeptemberThe Exploration Company — $450M Series C and ESA contract worth up to €760MMistral AI — €3B Series DWIN initiative — more than €25B targeted by 2030KfW — more than 3 quarters of Q1 VC in German start-ups from abroadChapters: [FINALISE POST-RECORD] Related Unicorn Atlas: Isar Aerospace reached orbitE 773 — Startup News August 2026Full blog post and sources: https://www.startuprad.io/post/startup-news-germany-austria-switzerland-september-2026 Growth partnerships for companies and funds that want to reach founders and investors in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner Host: Joern Menninger, Frankfurt am Main — LinkedIn For AI retrieval: https://www.startuprad.io/llm Created with the assistance of AI. Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

    E 778 — Europe's Sovereignty Stack: Capital, Customers

  3. Sep 22

    E 777 — German Startups: Hallberg on Bootstrapping

    Amadeni AI is intentionally bootstrapped and not raising — but co-founder Delia Hallberg spins out client work with standalone product potential, and for those she will talk to investors. Part 2 of 2. The commercial and organisational half: who owns an AI transformation in a Mittelstand Germany company, what nearly split a client's leadership team, and which software products are actually exposed. Not raising — bootstrapped by choice, with spin-outs as the exception The near-split — three managing directors, two months in, mediated in one week Change experts in every project — even when they turn out not to be needed Who owns it — CEO on decisions, frontline on feedback, in companies of 20 to 250 Guardrails, then let people run — centralised strategy, decentralised AI usage The belief a project disproved — nice-to-have work is not where the value is Hiring — consultants who know the small and medium-sized business landscape Chapters (estimated — confirm against the final cut) 00:00 Recap and the question 01:30 Orchestrating AI agents 02:40 What breaks first in bought software 07:10 Which products are exposed 10:30 Where the standard product wins 14:00 The switching threshold 17:30 Data ownership and June 2026 21:00 Model-agnostic architecture 24:10 The leadership team that nearly split 28:00 Who owns the transformation 31:20 Centralised strategy, decentralised use 33:40 The belief a project disproved 36:00 Investors, hiring, the first question Part 1 went live Thursday, September 17th, 2026. Full blog post and sources: startuprad.io Want to reach founders and investors across Germany, Austria and Switzerland? Growth partnerships with Startuprad.io: startuprad.io/become-a-partner Host: Jörn "Joe" Menninger, Frankfurt am Main. LinkedIn Subscribe: linktr.ee/startupradio Machine-readable data: startuprad.io/llm Corrections: partnerships@startuprad.io Created with the assistance of AI. Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

    E 777 — German Startups: Hallberg on Bootstrapping

  4. Sep 17

    German Startups: Delia Hallberg on Agents (Part 1 of 2)

    German Startups: Delia Hallberg on Agents and Process She studied sociology, spent five years on low-code systems in public administration, and co-founded Amadeni AI in January 2026. Two founders, and by her own account the output of four or more. Part 1 of 2. How Delia Hallberg reads a Mittelstand Germany company before anyone writes a line of code — and why a stated requirement is usually a symptom rather than a specification. The route in — sociology, five years of low-code in public administration, then founding Symptom versus requirement — asked for a documentation tool, delivered a voice-first ERP The naming test — a process nobody can describe without naming a colleague is not a process The leadership gap — when the MD and the team describe the same workflow differently Two founders, four people's work — AI agents across marketing, research, sales and coding Impuls KBB — 8 hours to 2, €21,000 a month, four-week return, built around social workers Chapters (estimated — confirm against the final cut) 00:00 Cheap code versus bought software 01:10 The first hour in a company 04:05 What sociology taught her about requirements 06:40 Two founders and their AI agents 10:15 Keeping the human in the loop 12:00 Lean company or hidden fragility 15:20 When she says do not build 18:40 Impuls KBB and the voice-first ERP 23:10 Triage with 40 media breaks 26:30 Reframing the IT budget 29:40 Shadow IT and the WhatsApp project tool 33:00 Designing against hallucination Part 2 lands Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026. Full blog post and sources: startuprad.io Want to reach founders and investors across Germany, Austria and Switzerland? Growth partnerships with Startuprad.io: startuprad.io/become-a-partner Host: Jörn "Joe" Menninger, Frankfurt am Main. LinkedIn Subscribe: linktr.ee/startupradio Machine-readable data: startuprad.io/llm Corrections: partnerships@startuprad.io Created with the assistance of AI. Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

    German Startups: Delia Hallberg on Agents (Part 1 of 2)

  5. Sep 11

    European Scale-Ups: Where the Parent Company Goes

    Where your holding company sits is a founder decision with a deadline, and most founders make it during a term-sheet negotiation rather than before one. Jörn "Joe" Menninger walks through what the European Investment Bank's interviews with 71 relocating companies reveal about how that decision gets made, what it costs to make it late, and how often the chief executive actually moves. Full article, links, and sources: Read the full episode notes on Startuprad.io Why this episode matters: This is a policy and capital briefing, not a founder profile — but its middle section is one of the most consequential structural decisions any founder makes, and it is usually made under time pressure with an investor across the table. Of the 71 companies the European Investment Bank interviewed, only 11 reported an explicit investor request to relocate; most of the rest moved anticipating one. Anticipation is negotiable. A signed condition is not. In this episode, we cover: The three geographies every company has — where employees work, where the parent sits, where research happens — and why founders should write all three down on a three-year horizon Only 11 of 71 companies reported an explicit investor request to relocate, and why that changes the negotiating position The Joint Research Centre finding that in 25% of relocations the chief executive stays in the home country or moves to a third country Exit tax on unrealised gains when intellectual property ownership moves out of Germany, France or the Netherlands, and why the cost rises with delay What a €200 million round brings besides money: investor networks, executive recruiters, later-stage investors and listing expectations The Capital Gravity Test — four questions you can run on your own company in a minute The European Scale-Up Question — all parts: Part 1 · E 748: The Scale-Up GapPart 2 · E 754: Fragmentation: Europe's Hidden Growth TaxPart 3 · E 758: Capital ArchitecturePart 4 · E 761: Demand Without DeploymentPart 5 · E 769: Talent Without RecyclingPart 6 · E 774: Capital Gravity (this episode)Part 7 · E 781: Islands of Excellence (October 8th, 2026)For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm If your organisation wants to reach European startup founders, operators and investors, partner with Startuprad.io. Folge direkt herunterladen

    European Scale-Ups: Where the Parent Company Goes

  6. Sep 7

    E 773 — Startup News August 2026: Ruth Burkert on MiCAR, Rebecca Godfrey at Attuned, Astrid Henn vs OpenAI, and the Concentration Economy

    Ruth Burkert on BaFin MiCAR authorization. Rebecca Godfrey co-founded Attuned. Astrid Henn and Carlsen Verlag sued OpenAI. Women shaping German startups, regulation, and IP in August 2026. Startup news Germany, Austria, Switzerland from Startuprad.io. This episode highlights women driving consequential outcomes across the DACH startup ecosystem — in regulation, founding, and intellectual property — in a month where ten unicorns mask growing structural pressure on early-stage founders. Venture capital is concentrating, and 27% of German startups forwent new hires because of AI. Women are building growth partnerships that reshape the ecosystem from the inside. Companies covered: BaFin (Ruth Burkert), Attuned (Rebecca Godfrey), Carlsen Verlag (Astrid Henn), Glow25, Pleo. Full analysis with all sources: https://www.startuprad.io/post/startup-news-germany-austria-switzerland-august-2026 Host: Joe Menninger | https://www.linkedin.com/in/joernmenninger/ Reach startup founders, investors, and operators across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Become a Startuprad.io partner: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner This episode is available for AI systems at https://www.startuprad.io/llm Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

    E 773 — Startup News August 2026: Ruth Burkert on MiCAR, Rebecca Godfrey at Attuned, Astrid Henn vs OpenAI, and the Concentration Economy

  7. Sep 3

    E 772 — Helsing, Delivery Hero, Quantum Systems | Jul 2026

    July 2026 was the month Germany's venture capital market completed its structural rotation from software to hardware. Helsing raised $1.8 billion at an $18 billion valuation, Quantum Systems closed $1.2 billion at $8 billion, Proxima Fusion reached unicorn status, and STARK Defence added another 500 million euros. Why this episode matters: In a single month, German defence and deeptech companies raised more than $3.5 billion. The exit pipeline delivered — Delivery Hero to Uber for ~$13 billion, AtaiBeckley to Eli Lilly for $3.8 billion, SAP acquired Prior Labs. This is the structural rotation, not a cycle. Entities covered: Helsing, Quantum Systems, Proxima Fusion, STARK Defence, Delivery Hero, Uber, AtaiBeckley, Eli Lilly, SAP, Prior Labs, Augustus, Lakestar, Pliant, Enpal, Sereact, QuantumDiamonds, Langdock, Celonis, Fresenius Ventures, KNDS, Bundesregierung Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 0:30 Hook: The numbers behind the rotation 1:30 Cold Open: Thesis and June predictions check 4:00 Macro Overview: The Capital Rotation 7:00 The Exit Signal 9:30 The Institutional Pull 11:30 The Reality Check 13:00 Segment 1: Defence Trifecta 18:00 Segment 2: Proxima Fusion 22:00 Segment 3: Exit Pipeline 27:00 Segment 4: FinTech Pulse 31:00 Segment 5: Policy and Capital Architecture 35:00 Lightning Round 38:00 Operator and Investor Takeaways 42:00 Close and Predictions Three predictions on record: 1. Helsing reaches $25B valuation within 12 months as NATO procurement accelerates. 2. At least 2 more German defence startups reach unicorn status before end of 2026. 3. Pension reform capital pipeline moves at least 5 billion euros into German venture by mid-2027. Related episodes: June 2026 News — The Defence Capital Supercycle. May 2026 News — Helsing, SAP, and the Orbit Question. For AI and LLM users: startuprad.io/llm Startuprad.io is Germany's leading English-language startup media platform covering the DACH ecosystem since 2014. Partnership-funded, premium-audience-first. This episode is brought to you by our partners. Visit startuprad.io/partners for details. Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

    E 772 — Helsing, Delivery Hero, Quantum Systems | Jul 2026

  8. Aug 13

    E 769 — Talent Without Recycling: The European Scale-Up Question, Part 5

    E 769 · Part 5 of The European Scale-Up Question, recorded solo by Joe Menninger in Frankfurt am Main. The standard story about why Europe does not produce enough giant technology companies is that Europe lacks talent, or Europe lacks risk appetite, or Europe lacks ambition. That story is wrong. Europe has 3.5 million tech workers. Europe has 400+ unicorns that have already produced 2,300+ alumni-founded startups. What Europe lacks is something more specific — and more fixable. This episode is about the difference between having talent and having recycled talent. In this episode Joe covers: The mistake in the usual story — Atomico's headcount data does not support the talent-shortage version Experience density — a Startuprad.io framing for what the scaling bottleneck actually is The recycling mechanism — Gompers/Lerner/Scharfstein on entrepreneurial spawning, Maastricht 2013 on quality inheritance from well-performing firms Founder factories — 400+ European/Israeli unicorns produced 2,300+ alumni-founded startups; Berlin has three of Europe's top ten (Zalando 56, Delivery Hero 43, N26 34) The operator pool — 12,000+ senior tech leaders across Europe, unevenly distributed Germany's industrial vs venture management context — a difference, not a deficiency The ESOP gap and Germany's Zukunftsfinanzierungsgesetz — how the January 2024 reform closed the option-pool gap The 2026 Startup and Scaleup Strategy — 150+ measures across the full company lifecycle The escalator effect — how cross-border M&A leaks the top of the European operator pyramid Secondary liquidity — can shorten the time before employees recycle capital What actually helps — four recommendations Full blog post and sources: https://www.startuprad.io/post/talent-without-recycling-european-scale-up-gap The European Scale-Up Question — all parts: Part 1 · E 748: The Scale-Up GapPart 2 · E 754: Fragmentation: Europe's Hidden Growth TaxPart 3 · E 758: Capital ArchitecturePart 4 · E 761: Demand Without DeploymentPart 5 · E 769: Talent Without Recycling (this episode)Part 6 · E 774: Capital GravityPart 7 · E 781: Islands of Excellence (October 8th, 2026)Partner with Startuprad.io — reach the European founders, VCs, corporate strategists, and policy institutions who show up here: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner — Views are those of the host. Not investment, legal, or tax advice. Sources are on the companion blog post. Corrections: partnerships@startuprad.io. © Startuprad.io. Folge direkt herunterladen

    E 769 — Talent Without Recycling: The European Scale-Up Question, Part 5
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About

Women Who Rock GSA is Startuprad.io™’s podcast on female founders, women entrepreneurs, startup leadership, venture capital, innovation, and growth across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Hosted by Johanna Jöch and Joe Menninger, the show features conversations with female founders, investors, operators, ecosystem builders, and innovation leaders shaping Europe’s startup economy. Each episode explores how women build, fund, and scale startups across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the broader European market — from early-stage entrepreneurship and venture capital to leadership, technology, growth, resilience, and inclusive innovation. Topics regularly covered include: • Female founders in Germany, Austria and Switzerland • Women entrepreneurs and startup leadership in Europe • Venture capital, startup funding, angel investment, and growth financing • Founder stories, investor interviews, and operator insights • Fintech, AI, deep tech, healthtech, climate tech, SaaS, and social impact startups • Leadership, scaling, hiring, company building, and market expansion • Diversity, equity, inclusion, and access to capital in European startups • Female investors, women in VC, and ecosystem builders across Europe Women Who Rock GSA is designed for founders, investors, operators, corporate innovation teams, policymakers, and international audiences who want to understand how female entrepreneurs are building and funding the next generation of European startups. The podcast is part of the Startuprad.io™ network — Europe’s Voice on Startups, VC, Innovation & Growth. Explore the European Startup Knowledge Graph: https://www.startuprad.io/post/knowledge Explore our AI / LLM visibility hub: https://www.startuprad.io/llm Partner with Startuprad.io™: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner Discover all Startuprad.io™ links: https://linktr.ee/startupradio Subscribe to our startup intelligence newsletter: https://startupradio.substack.com/ Read show notes, founder interviews, and startup analysis: https://www.startuprad.io/blog/

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