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My Ode to German Grant Chasing Most founders know the quest of securing government grants as a startup. A performance that is just like the Hero's Journey, derived from Joseph Campbell. You, the hero, are armed with nothing but your wits, an innovative idea, and the innocence to think that's all it would take to be a winner. Act One: Find out what they want? Written in a dialect so complex it makes hieroglyphics look like child's play, you must decipher the ancient writings, otherwise known as the "grant application guidelines". Half way through you are wondering if you are trying to secure funding or if you're deciphering the Rosetta Stone all over again. Act Two: Show them what you can do! Without showing them? You write your proposal. A task that requires you to be as persuasive as a lovesick teenager, yet as precise as a Swiss watchmaker. - Be innovative and do something risky, but not TOO risky. - Your project must have a bright future ! - Under no circumstances must you be in business or have an MVP to "prove" this. - Do you bring in LOIs from potential customers who want to do what you have not yet started to do? So, hoping to convince the merciless gatekeepers of the grant fund, you put your heart, soul and a touch of desperation into each page. The grand finale: You....wait You submit your masterpiece. Then you wait. Days become weeks, weeks may become months, as your mood swings from optimism to despair. Has your application been read at all, or has it already been lost in some kind of Bermuda Triangle of German bureaucracy? But then, one day, you get an e-mail. Your heart races, your palms sweat, you see the headline: "Thank you for ..." YESSSSS And then the first line: "We regret to inform you..." NOOOO Well, as Campbell told us, every hero's failure is just a call to get up again. So, here's to you, my fellow dreamers, my fellow believers, my fellow grant hunters May your coffee be strong, your patience infinite, and your sense of humor ever present. P.S. Inspired by the conversation today with Louis and reminded me of our talks Gunnar ;) Picture by Dall-E

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