Vol.090 "Failing" a Startup is the Fastest Way to Learn in Germany (Zara, Ann)

2.5 years ago, Zara chose entrepreneurship over a job offer. 2.5 years later, she chose to shut her company down. Surprisingly, she doesn't regret either decision.

In this episode, I sat down with Zara, the former co-founder of Amendio. The company raised over €215,000 in public funding, won several startup awards, and spent years building a product designed to make home repairs more accessible through remote expert guidance.

Eventually, the team made one of the hardest decisions: they shut the company down. But this conversation isn't really about failure. It's about what happens after you've spent years building something from nothing, what entrepreneurship teaches you that no classroom ever could, and why Zara still believes she'd make exactly the same decision all over again.

If you've ever wondered what building a startup in Germany actually looks like, from funding and bureaucracy to uncertainty, resilience, and starting over, this episode is for you.

About Zara
Zara, former co-founder of Amendio. Originally from Tajikistan, Zara came to Germany to pursue her MBA. Her business idea came from a university entrepreneurship project, later evolved into a funded startup supported by both the Berlin Startup Scholarship and the EXIST Startup Grant.

After closing Amendio, she joined a German technology company as a Senior Strategic Development Manager, bringing the lessons from entrepreneurship into her new role.

Timeline
01:35 Zara's background and why she chose Germany for her MBA
03:10 Why she started a company instead of looking for a job
04:41 What Amendio was and the problem it wanted to solve
06:50 Why customer interviews became the foundation of the business
09:11 The biggest challenges of building a startup in Germany
12:20 Why having a German co-founder made a huge difference
17:33 Registering a company in Germany: UG vs. GmbH
20:40 What the team focused on before officially launching
22:20 Why Amendio eventually shut down
24:38 Raising more than €215,000 through public funding
29:36 Do investors favor certain founders and industries?
35:13 Why Zara doesn't see closing the company as failure
38:49 From founder to Senior Strategic Development Manager
40:25 How German employers view entrepreneurial experience
42:45 Advice for aspiring founders

Follow Zara
LinkedIn: Zarangez Muminova

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Instagram: ann_lin66
YouTube: Ann Lin