Camel Startups: How Capital-Efficient Founders Scale in the DACH Region

What if you could build a startup that survives downturns, grows profitably, and never depends on constant fundraising? That’s the core of the camel startup strategy — and in this episode, STS Ventures investor Stephan Schubert breaks it down with 25+ years of operator-investor experience. From founding OnVista in the early internet era to backing some of Germany’s most successful exits, Stephan has refined a model built on capital efficiency, high-margin niches, and KPI-driven execution. Our sponsor:🚀 Exclusive Black Friday offer – NordStellar x Startuprad.io. NordStellar, developed by the team behind NordVPN, gives startups and scaleups real-time insights into leaked credentials, darknet threats, and unprotected assets – before attackers can exploit them. 👉 Get 20% off with code blackfriday20 at nordstellar.com/startupradio. 🕒 Offer valid until December 10, 2025 – protect your business before your data is offered for sale on the darknet. NordStellar – Know what attackers know. Act first. In this episode, you’ll learn: – Why camel startups outperform hype-driven growth – How to use high-margin niches to scale from customer revenue – The KPI playbook STS Ventures uses with every founder – Why raise when you can, not when you must is a game-changer in DACH – How to stay capital-efficient without limiting your growth potential – Why Stephan avoids hype cycles like LLM infrastructure and focuses on AI as a tool for real industries like waste processing – What founders can learn from exits like Audibene, Emma, JustWatch, and others Whether you're building in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland, this episode offers one of the clearest explanations of capital-efficient growth, B2B startup scaling, and long-term founder wealth creation. Guest Spotlight: Stephan Schubert, Investor & Managing Director, STS Ventures Founder of OnVista and Ligatus, early investor in Audibene, Emma, JustWatch, and other major DACH success cases. If this episode helped you, follow the podcast and share it with a founder who needs this playbook. Enjoy the show? Follow, review, and share this episode with your team. - Blog: https://www.startuprad.io/post/camel-startups-in-dach-the-sts-ventures-playbook-with-stephan-schubert - YouTube: https://youtu.be/BYs50t7oZ14 🎧 The Audio PodcastSubscribe here: https://linktr.ee/startupradio 🚪 Connect with UsPartner with us: [email protected] Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/startupradio Feedback: https://forms.gle/SrcGUpycu26fvMFE9 Follow Joe on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=joernmenninger

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