That’s how long it took Finanzamt to do all background checks on all documentation.

It appears deliberate. They don't necessarily want a bunch of Delaware-style entities doing multilayered shell shenanigans (they outsourced it to the Netherlands).

Having spent the last few years analysing European startup data, the idea there are "hardly any startups in Europe" does not match my experience. Fewer who seek VC funding, sure.

If you don’t intend to get big, fast, then you’re founding a normal business. Seeking VC funding isn’t a necessity but it’s certainly correlated with that desire.

Note I said fewer who seek VC funding, not that there aren't plenty.

Having spent the last decade-ish working for startups in Europe and never being out of work for longer than I wanted to be, I agree.

> No wonder there are hardly any startups in Europe.

And fewer scams. FTX anybody? Or have you received any emails lately from a German prince?

> GmbH took 5 months due to international founders

> No wonder there are hardly any startups in Europe

Please remember that the process is different in each country. AFAIK the equivalent process takes less than a month in my country, and that's mostly waiting for the paperwork to go through and registering for VAT (which is technically optional, but almost always necessary). There are also companies that will do all this for you for basically pocket money.

Yes, it can be worse! In Switzerland the process is quite similar to Germany, but the pain really starts not with founding the firm but when you first start to employ people. Or indeed, when you need to shut the company down.

Source: I've done this. The first time I tried to shut a company down, my advisors (who you need to handle the local paperwork) didn't tell me about the "three strikes" requirement in the public register. So it took five years to get the company fully shut down.