Post by Kseniya Dockhorn

💥💸 😵‍💫 The hard truth about startup financing. It’s raw. It’s real. And it’s time we talk about it. 🎥 I was recently invited to give an interview for the mex. TV news series by Hessischer Rundfunk – to represent the AI startup community in Hessen and share what we’re building at mixNmatch, alongside my perspective on what makes (and breaks) #Hessen as a location for AI innovation. (will leave a link to ARD Mediathek in comments) It was an honor to speak about our mission to make fashion discovery intuitive, AI-powered, and personalized. But let’s be honest: We’re missing what we need the most – 💸 funding. 😵‍💫 In today’s climate, early-stage fundraising feels like chasing a mirage: - Investors expect not just a POC — but real revenue traction (yes, for Preseed). - Corporates want free pilots (and yes, also with customizations), and negotiation cycles take 3–12 months. - Founders are expected to bootstrap everything — product, tech, GTM — with zero salary, zero fallback. And that’s simply not realistic. Not sustainable. Not scalable. The startup ecosystem needs bold, structural changes: 💶 Startup-friendly funding programs for MVP-stage ventures (not just pre-founding), with decisions in 1–2 months — not 6–9. Age, alma mater, or origin shouldn’t matter. 🤝 Pilot co-financing & matching platforms to help corporates test innovation faster, with shared risk and realistic incentives for both sides. ⚖️ Lighter regulatory load & founder/investor-friendly legal frameworks — to let builders build and investors invest confidently. That’s why I’m genuinely excited about the Futury x hessian.AI collaboration and everything in the works at AI Hub Frankfurt. Let’s keep building a faster, innovative, more founder-frinedly ecosystem. 🙌 🙏 Huge thanks to: • 💡💻Marcel Isbert & Sebastian Heinz from AI Hub Frankfurt • Petra Boberg and her amazing filming crew from Hessischer Rundfunk • Team from Fusion Design e.V. for the warm hosting 💙 ⚡One startup at a time, toward a system shift. P.S. Sharing is caring🫶. Startup founders – this is for you: 🔥Today I have started the Fundraising Battle by AddedVal.io - Business Angels finden.io, run by Arnas Bräutigam. This is your secret weapon to learn how to fundraise. It’s a FREE 14-session sprint (1h each morning) and hands down one of the most practical fundraising bootcamps I’ve seen. It has just started today - you have still a chance to get the most out of it. If you’re raising or planning to – follow the link in the comments. #FoundersLife #AIStartups #StartupFunding #FemaleFounders #FrankfurtTech #AIinHessen #EarlyStage #B2BStartups #StartupSupport #FundraisingTips #MVPtoMarket

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