Topics
Deep dives, explainers, opinions
Long reads on the questions we hear most often. Pain points, definitions, where the field is heading.
Why 44.7% of EXIST applications get rejected (and what makes the 55% that pass)
Read this before you submit, not after.
Read
Rejected EXIST application: your 4-week recovery plan
Week-by-week plan to turn a Nachbesserungs-Aufforderung into a Bewilligung.
Read
Behind the scenes: how Grants reviews your EXIST application
An inside look at our four review dimensions.
Read
Success story: how aicuflow secured EXIST funding
Clear application, pilot customers, and follow-on financing planned early.
Read
Success story: NextStepHR – AI-powered recruiting with EXIST
Validate first, co-locate early, and keep a single sharp focus.
Read
EXIST Gründerstipendium in numbers: 2007-2024 statistics
What 17 years of EXIST data tell us about your chances.
Read
The grant-consultant 10% trap: how to negotiate your fees (or skip the consultant entirely)
When a Förderberater earns their fee - and when they don't.
Read
What reviewers actually score: inside the EXIST Bewertungskriterien
The four criteria buckets and how to write to each.
Read
After the Bewilligung: Mittelabruf, Zwischenbericht, and the obligations nobody warns you about
Calling down funds, interim reports, and keeping receipts audit-ready.
Read
Why the Finanzplan sinks applications: the eight rejection patterns reviewers see
Round numbers, orphan lines, double funding, and five more patterns that cost points.
Read
The team gap: how to name a missing role without sinking the team criterion
Why a named gap beats a faked competence, and the four credible ways to close one.
Read
Regional vs federal: when a Bayern, NRW, or Berlin programme beats a Bundesprogramm
How the two layers differ, where each wins, and how to sequence them without double funding.
Read
Start using Grants
Free plan, no credit card. We host in Germany. You can export and delete everything self-serve.