Franz

Building for a better Europe

Deeptech Startup

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

Two headlines from Ankara this week: Denmark buying Boeing P-8As, and Saab's Gripen E finally heading to Ukraine. One is what happens when "buy European" is optional. The other is what's possible when Europe stands together.

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

@TTrimoreau It's really good at turning "we don't have a working solution yet" into a keynote.

Polish becomes a substitute for progress, and nobody notices until the product has to actually work.

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

@lenika44 Ride like this doesn't happen by accident. This is exactly the kind of startup Europe needs more of 🇪🇺🚀

[Leon @lenika44]

I’m genuinely proud of what we’ve experienced and accomplished at LILY over the past few months.

To the team: thank you. Your dedication has been incredible, and it already feels like we’re aiming far beyond the stars.

Our alpha has been live for a little while now, and the response has been surreal. Invitations to the US, late night calls, and conversations we never imagined having. It’s been an unforgettable ride.

Now we’re moving toward our stable beta, and soon everyone will be able to sign up.

I’m grateful to be part of this journey, and even more excited for what’s ahead.

“People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” - Steve Jobs

Here’s to what’s next.

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

@connorkapoor That's not a New Year's resolution, that's a subpoena from your bloodline.

Interested to see where things are going.

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

European defence tech is hitting a record high funding year after another. Genuinely good news until you ask what happens after the check clears. Capital finds startups fine.

It's ministries that still can't find the door.

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

@alextoussss This is a solved problem: detect, track, terminate, autonomously. Genuinely impressive.

Also genuinely the exact capability every defence ethicist has been trying to get ahead of. The target happens to be a mosquito today.

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

@Dkirtley This is exactly right and it's not just a US story. Europe has decades of fusion R&D and promising startups sitting on top of an industrial base that badly needs a transformation of the status quo.

Time the capital catches up to the physics.

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

Unpopular opinion: 'Buy European' shouldn't be a slogan for defence procurement. It should be the law. Every euro spent on a foreign primes when a European alternative exists is a euro spent renting our own sovereignty.

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

@Wiedekraut22 Fully agree with you on that. Europe has so much potential but it’s being hold back by this conservative mindset. The rate at which innovation happens nowadays outpaces this old way of thinking. If nothing changes in the near future, Europe will loose the innovation race.

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

Deep tech founders in Europe are building fusion reactors and rocket engines.

Meanwhile in Berlin: "we're like Uber but for..." raising €5M to disrupt something normal people already do fine themselves.

Physics is hard. Naming your startup after a Berghain night is not

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

@lenika44 Totally agree. There is no value created in such formats. Real money is earned in person pitching

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

@lenika44 @Marlayna29 I'll teach you

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

@lenika44 @_Riyatwt so relatable

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

@lenika44 I thought you were doing B2B SaaS?

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

@lenika44 100%

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

@lenika44 and once you have funding, everyone wants you.

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

@lenika44 Well the hours spend before the notary is the real work no one sees. Especially public backed investments are a pain in the ass as they have to fulfill so many formalities.

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

Spending 4 HOURS tomorrow at the notary while someone reads the contracts we’ve already read 100 times, just so we can operate. Peak european bureaucracy. Incredible waste of time. At least the skyline view is nice while innovation is on pause 🙃

[Franz @Der_Deubner]

Europe wants to lead in deep tech but funds it like a government procurement process. While VCs “circle back,�� founders run out of runway and breakthroughs move elsewhere.