How did I get the Gründungszuschuss?
A short report and an unofficial guide.
Disclaimer: this is written based on my own experience. Double-check everything. No LLM was used for writing this article.
After leaving Mercedes in Stuttgart and finishing my active sabbatical—which made me realise I eventually wanted my own business—I started working at wefox, a Berlin insurtech. It was a scale-up, raising a lot of money and from the outside it felt like I was joining Stripe, or someone profoundly disrupting something.
Well, it turned out we did not disrupt much more than heaps of investors’ money, but I still appreciate the experience. After I decided not to join our Paris team on their new adventure, I was laid off.
I started receiving unemployment benefits on November 1st, 2024, still planning to return to traditional employment. But after months of searching, I couldn’t find a suitable position.
So I kept looking and, as so far, on the side worked on Handpicked Berlin, which was registered as Gewerbe and my side business already at the time of my employment.
On my first and only appointment with my advisor (Berater) at Arbeitsamt, I asked about Gründungszuschuss, but he didn’t seem too excited: he said it’s a lot of paperwork. So I forgot about it until I had lunch with Victoria on the 15th of April.
She said, “You should definitely do it.” One of the main reasons was my Handpicked Berlin income, which was being deducted from my unemployment benefits once it exceeded €165 monthly (my limit was actually higher due to previous earnings)
After lunch, I looked up the conditions - 150 days of the benefits remaining, plus a bunch of paperwork. I was “hell yeah - I am doing it!”. But before we get into the nitty-gritty…
What is Gründungszuschuss?
Gründungszuschuss is a German government subsidy program that provides financial support to unemployed individuals who want to start their own business.
It typically provides monthly payments for several months to help cover living expenses during the initial phase of building a new company.
In practice: you receive your regular unemployment amount plus €300 for health insurance. The key advantage is that any existing side income won’t be deducted from your benefits—instead, it becomes your main income alongside the full subsidy.
But if you have side income, this side income will now become your main income, but won’t be deducted from your benefits. So you get the full benefit with €300 on top for your health insurance, because it won’t be paid by the Arbeitsamt anymore.
What do you need to do?
By the book, you need to have a discussion with your berater. They will then release the required documents in the system. I requested this meeting immediately after my lunch with Victoria via their online service, but nothing happened for a while.
I argued that despite actively job searching, I hadn’t found suitable employment and wanted to develop my existing business.
After waiting for two weeks, I asked for a Rückruf, and someone called me on the 2nd of May. They explained the process, saying my berater is away, and told me which documents I need to prepare and that I will need to deregister myself as unemployed on the 1st of June.
“Since you will need a couple of weeks to prepare the documents, plus the decision itself takes around 3-4 weeks,” they explained, “you will probably be on your own for at least some time. So without any benefits and health insurance.”
This was a bit of a shock to me, but they said that in case my application is declined, I will still be able to re-register as unemployed and continue receiving the benefits.
They were very kind and released the documents to give me sufficient time, since my deadline for submission was the 1st of June.
Ok, let’s do this!
Which documents will you need?
You will need:
- Business plan
- Financial plan (capital requirements and financing plan and sales and profitability forecast)
- Statement from a qualified/expert body regarding the viability of the business start-up
- Your CV/qualifications
- Your business registration documents
This will all need to be in German. You can find a detailed explanation of the documents at IHK Berlin. They also have some templates available (you can find others online), and they are kind - they respond to my email the next day.
It looks straightforward with sufficient time. But I only had three good weeks. My goal was to do it as fast as possible, so that I get the decision as fast as possible.
What did I struggle with?
After checking the requirements, I was pretty confident that I could make it happen. I started to work on it on the 7th of May and had until 1st of June to submit the documents (because of the 150-day condition).
I used LLMs to help me write the Business plan (my German is C1), which was then reviewed by my partner – she is German, so that made it easier. At the end, it was 26 pages, and I was thinking, “Wow, this is definitely an overkill,” but we will never know.
The CV was easy, and I kept it in English (I explained why I am qualified to run my business in German in the business plan).
My main problem was the expert statement, where they assess the business plan along with the financials. IHK told me they need 2 weeks at least, and that their assessment is final (= you cannot make changes afterwards, but probably need to resubmit). After I looked into the financial documents, I realised that I cannot risk it with IHK and that I need to find someone to help me.
I asked in a group of freelancers on WhatsApp and got a contact from Ingo. And he saved my ass. I have a good understanding of finance and financial statements, but my first draft had some improvement potential.
After I improved both documents, the business plan and financials, Ingo was also able to issue the expert statement.
I sent him my first draft on the 12th of May, and we were done on the 17th of May. I submitted all the documents on the 19th of May. I registered my Gewerbe as full-time, starting on the 1st of June.
I was hoping things would somehow go very fast to get clarity asap. Boy, I was wrong.
The wait
Here’s what the timeline actually looked like:
- 15th of April, first request for a meeting
- 2nd of May, release of the documents by the Arbeitsamt
- 19th of May, my submission
- 2nd of June, I called the Arbeitsamt to deregister as unemployed, because now I am on my own and still hope for a quick resolution
- After 19th of June, I started to become nervous, no replies to my letters or phone calls
- I called the service center several times, but they aren’t able to help me further, just wait, they say
- On my last call, 11th of August, the lady told me that I got the approval
After 2 months and 23 days, the wait was finally over
They also transferred the money for June and July.
In case I did not get the subsidy, I would lose 2 (or 3) months of health insurance payments along with additional time and money invested in the application. But, I could re-register as unemployed to continue receiving the unemployment benefit until I would land a job.
What do you need to be careful with?
To get the subsidy for 6 months, you will need:
- to have the required professional qualification.
- to convince your berater that the process makes sense. If your profile is in real demand on the market, you might have a challenge.
- to clearly show that your business idea is sustainable after the initial subsidy from the state, so from month 7 onwards.
- to clearly show the need for the subsidy - in other words, if you say you will be making 10k per month from the start, you don’t need a subsidy.
- a realistic assessment of your revenue and profits, backed by an expert opinion.
In the final application PDF, you will also need to answer several questions. You should not be economically dependent on a single client or be integrated into the organised operational work processes of one client. You’ll also need your own independent business identity and marketing presence. These questions are designed to check for so-called Scheinselbstständigkeit or fake self-employment.
What is my advice?
- Start planning with it soon enough. Somehow, stars aligned for with that lunch, and I got it exactly six months before my benefits would run out. It probably doesn’t make sense to ask for it too early, either. But I was way too late, and I am lucky that it worked.
- Gründungzsuchuss is an excellent opportunity for everyone who already has a small side business but wants to turn it into a full-time business.
- Get your advisor on your side - you can even get an additional coaching subsidy, so you don’t need to pay for support of an expert, like I had to.
- Use the expert - don’t try to do the financial planning by yourself. It will be a massive time waste, and you can make mistakes that will disqualify you.
- If you don’t speak German fluently, you 100% need support; don’t rely on translations.
- If you are unlikely to create any revenue in the first six months, then it might make sense to continue applying for jobs.
- When submitting the financial sheets, make sure that it is “printed” nicely in the PDF. It took me some time to figure that out.
I can’t share my actual documents for privacy reasons, but feel free to reach out if you have questions about the process. Good luck!
How long does it take to get Gründungszuschuss approval in Germany?
Expect 3-4 months total. While Arbeitsamt claims 3-4 weeks for decisions, real experience shows much longer waits—in this case, nearly 3 months from submission to approval. Allow extra weeks upfront for document preparation, especially the expert statement.
What documents do you need for the Gründungszuschuss application?
Five main documents, all in German:
- Business plan (following a template recommended)
- Financial plan (capital requirements, financing, sales forecast)
- Expert viability statement (from IHK or consultant)
- CV showing business qualifications
- Business registration documents
Can you apply for the Gründungszuschuss with existing side business income?
Yes, and it’s advantageous. Unlike regular unemployment benefits, your side income won’t be deducted. You get your full unemployment amount plus €300 for health insurance, while your side business becomes your main income. Perfect for scaling existing small businesses.
How much money do you get with the Gründungszuschuss per month?
Your regular unemployment benefit amount plus €300 for health insurance. The total depends on your previous salary. The initial period lasts 6 months, with a possible 9-month extension (extension covers only the €300 health insurance portion).
What happens if your Gründungszuschuss application gets rejected?
You can re-register as unemployed and continue regular benefits. However, you lose time, money invested in the application, and potentially 2-3 months of health insurance payments during the waiting period. Thorough preparation is crucial to avoid rejection.
