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Exploration phase ends on 30 Sep 2026 still 111 days
Internal workspace

Exploration

A working space for the ideas, research, hypotheses, and open questions behind the fund. Ongoing, with our work-in-progress on view.

Structured work results

What we’ve worked through so far

First draft

Landscape

Initiatives the Entrepreneurs’ Fund needs to be compared against, side by side along ownership, funding, target group, allocation, and volume.
First draft

Origin & manifesto

Three versions: a 16-point manifesto, Christoph Backes’ biographical narrative (theatre in Bremen → Witten → u-institut → a trust-based fund), and an extended reading with the cultural and creative industries as the root.
First draft

Glossary

38 terms that appear across the exploration pages and need a definition, from allocation modes through trust capital to gambling law. Two explicitly flagged as „in progress". Marked terms in the text open short tooltip definitions.
Strategic building blocks

20 building blocks we’re working on

Tile markers: Pitch-critical, sort priority Detail page with rendered content
Research Impact

Impact & measurement model

How do we measure SROI for early-stage ventures without oversimplifying or paralysing decisions?
Concept Mechanics & Finance

Funding structure

Ratio of micro contributions to investor capital, minimum cohorts, risk allocation.
First sketch Mechanics & Finance

Funding criteria & programme design

Which ventures fit, how we select, what the no-gos are.
First sketch Communications & Brand

Target groups

Which personas live inside the three target groups, and through which channels do we reach them?
Research Communications & Brand

Problem & competition

Which problems are we actually solving that state funding and other funds don’t cover? Where do we differentiate from crowdfunding platforms, foundations, and VC, and where do we overlap?
Concept Mechanics & Finance

Allocation modes

How do we distribute funds to founders? A lottery among vetted applicants, a community panel, an expert panel, hybrid models. Which modes are values-aligned, fair, and legitimate, and what effects do they have on whom?
In progress Legal

Legal form & governance

GmgV as carrier structure, what does that mean for voting rights, profit use, and investor participation?
Open Impact

Scientific evaluation

Embedding a scientific evaluation: do the allocation approach (modes, criteria, selection process) and funding conditions have a measurable effect on the success of funded projects?
Concept Impact

Academy

Which topics are relevant to the three target groups, founders, micro-investors, investors? What learning and enablement programme should we build?
Research Legal

Charitable status & tax deductibility

Could charitable recognition leverage micro-donations because contributions become tax-deductible? Which legal-form paths get us there, and what flexibility does it cost?
Research Legal

Taxes and compliance

Relevant levies depending on the design: gift tax, gambling levy. Coordination with BaFin (financial regulator) and GGL (joint German gambling authority) may be required. Plus questions of charitable status: recognition, conditions, reporting obligations.
Noted Communications & Brand

Name & positioning

From a campaign-logic perspective, putting micro-investors instead of entrepreneurs in the foreground may be advisable, if mobilising mass micro-contributions is the goal, the current name and framing choice deserves review.
Concept Community UX

Friends feature

Micro-investors invite friends, invitations, joint contributions, visible impact among peers. Which mechanics align with the fund's values?
Concept Community UX

Gamification & badges

Badges, milestones, visible contributions, how much playful recognition fits with a purpose orientation without tipping into competition or status logic? Concrete building blocks on the table: a first-mover badge for the first X micro-investors, loyalty badges for uninterrupted commitment (independent of amount), …. What honours belonging rather than wealth?
Concept Communications & Brand

Launch & public visibility

“One-shot” launch with invitations, federal press conference, press releases, launch event, and livestream. Optional soft launch for inner-circle supporters beforehand. Embedding the launch narrative in current high-impact topics with big numbers.
Discussion Communications & Brand

Tone & language

Do we speak from need (“Help us!”) or from positive impact (“We're shaping!”)? Which tone mobilises micro-investors sustainably, without triggering pathos fatigue?
Concept Mechanics & Finance

Incentives & matching

Which mechanics leverage micro-investments? E.g. matching models, where larger funders add a sum once a target is reached through many small contributions. Which incentives stay values-aligned, which tip into shallow gamification?
Research Legal

Fundraising law in Europe

What legal frameworks apply to cross-border fundraising in the EU? How do donation, securities, and charitable-status regulations differ between member states, and where do we need local partners for the European Track?
Concept Mechanics & Finance

Staffing & AI leverage

Which roles do we genuinely need as full-time positions, and where does AI carry the load? A full community-management role is non-negotiable, because relationships and trust stay human. Design, copy, and code can be AI-augmented at scale, provided a centrally maintained design system (e.g. via Claude Design or similar) exists as the source of truth.
Concept Communications & Brand

Campaign push & threshold matching

How do we deliberately activate campaign momentum? Example: a major investor doubles the pot once micro-investors hit a threshold X, and the funded companies are pulled in to use their own reach to push the threshold across the line. Which thresholds, timeframes, and incentive ladders actually work, without it feeling like a hard sell?
Research

What we’re reading and checking

2026-05 Compare GmgV · gGmbH · Foundation Legal 2026-04 SROI methods for early-stage participation Impact 2026-04 Crowdfunding models: German regulatory landscape Legal 2026-03 Partner foundations with impact focus Network 2026-05 Lottery and random allocation in European funding Allocation
Open questions

Open questions, as things stand today

01

How do we weight the four modes against each other in fund allocation?

02

Which participation formats for micro-investors are regulatorily viable?

03

How do we communicate SROI clearly without oversimplifying?

04

When do we scale federally vs. start regionally?

05

How do we safeguard independence when taking on larger investors?

06

Impact narratives, trust-building, and communication codes aren’t universal, where do our messages scale, where do they need local translation?

Workshops & meetings

What happened, what’s coming

Past
  • 2026-04-18 Core-team concept workshop
  • 2026-03-12 Stakeholder interviews with foundations
Upcoming
  • 2026-06-10 Legal-form clarification with notary
  • 2026-07-04 Pilot funding: design session
Materials

Documents and decks

Concept paper PDF · draft Investor pitch deck PDF · v0.3 Theory of Change Whiteboard · Miro Financial model Spreadsheet Concept: founders’ grant by lottery PDF · 15 pages · draft 2024-08

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