The best startups to work for in North Rhine-Westphalia

With around 18 million inhabitants, North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany’s biggest and most densely populated state. It’s home to 10 cities with over 300,000 inhabitants, together with 40 universities and colleges and four international trade locations.

The region has become synonymous with startups, with Cologne and Dusseldorf emerging as the two main hubs. Cologne’s been dubbed the ‘hidden startup jewel in the economic centre of Europe’; with the region hosting people from over 180 countries, it’s an ideal spot for international startups keen to harness the region’s diverse talent.

Ernst and Young (EY) research shows that German startups, as a whole, got a record €6.2 billion in investment last year – a 36% jump on 2018. A decent chunk was concentrated in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, with investment increasing 10% to €268 million.

See yourself in a German startup?

With such promising prospects, you might feel inspired to be part of North Rhine-Westphalia’s thriving startup scene. But which companies are a cut above the rest? Here are five that get our vote…

Just Spices

If you like spice ‘n’ all things nice, then get a taste of Just Spices’ mouth-watering Instagram. The Dusseldorf-based startup specialises in two core offerings – spice mixes and recipe boxes – and announced €13 million in Series B funding at the start of this year.

Now, the company is seeking Data Engineers, Front-end UX/UI Developers and Software Developers to be a fundamental part of its continued growth. In return for your tech wizardry, you’ll enjoy perks like free drinks and food, a wear-what-you-want setup (within reason, of course), plus a chance to be part of a highly motivated team who genuinely love what they do, and the company they do it for.

View this post on Instagram

🍀 WIN 🌸 WIN 🍀 WIN 🌸 Gewinne jetzt 2 Dosen unseres bunt 🌺 blumigen Blütenmix für Dich und Deinen Food-Buddy 💗 🥳 So nimmst Du teil 👉 📌 Markiere einen jemanden, mit dem Du den Gewinn teilen möchtest🌸 👉 Folge @justspices 🍀 Und schon bist Du im Lostopf! _________ Wir verlosen je 5×2 Dosen Blütenmix. Das Gewinnspiel läuft bis zum 07.10.2020. Der Gewinner wird per Kommentar benachrichtigt. Das Gewinnspiel steht in keiner Verbindung zu Instagram. Die vollständigen TNB findest Du unter https://www.justspices.de/teilnahmebedingungen #justspices #gewinnspiel #gewinnen #kochen #gewürze #healthyfood #foodbowl #foodbowl #rezept #frühstück #lecker

A post shared by Just Spices (@justspices) on Oct 3, 2020 at 12:00am PDT

Cognigy

Cognigy is all about helping businesses harness contact centre automation to deliver personalised experiences at scale. It finished 2019 on a high by securing €5.5 in Series B funding to expand its tech in the US market.

If you like the sound of that and you’re a master of machine learning, they’re looking for people like you. You’ll need solid experience of PyTorch or Tensorflow, solid command of Python, plus an ability to deliver strong engineering contributions to a Cognigy’s robust, customer-winning solution. Flexible hours, a cracking culture, the appeal of a flat hierarchy and oodles of table football are just some of the pros about working here.

Metalshub

Metalshub is a platform for buying and selling ferroalloys and speciality metals, and last year managed to increase its platform turnover almost fivefold, reaching €100 million.

Piqued your interest? Then copper (couldn’t resist) load of this: the startup is currently on the hunt for a Backend Developer to work on designing and developing its Django REST framework, amongst other tasks. And for a Frontend Developer working on the Metalshub trading platform, delivering scalable and maintainable code.

Metalshub promises you’ll experience a ‘steep learning curve through intense autonomy and training possibilities.’ Ideal if you’re set on climbing that career ladder.

GetBaff

In August, GetBaff took the top spot in Germany’s monthly top 100 ranking of fastest-growing startups. The company brings advertising space to life by turning static images into video through augmented reality.

The office occupies an enviable spot on the Rhine in Dusseldorf, with the company calling its culture fun and positive. The team is young, dynamic and wholly committed to making sure GetBaff carries on movin’ on up.

Hello everyone & welcome to our twitter.
We’re a startup with an Augmented Reality Video platform that recently launched our very own SDK!☺️
Pictures say more than a thousand words, so we’re here to let pictures speak for themselves: enjoy a quick look into what we can do here.👀 pic.twitter.com/zWn6KxrO7R

— getbaff (@getbaff) August 16, 2020

FoxBase

FoxBase has created guided selling software that leads a business’ customers to the right products in just a few simple clicks, resulting in more qualified leads and shorter sales cycles.

If you’re a Fullstack Web Developer and someone who appreciates autonomy in a role, this might be the job for you. They’re looking for extensive dev experience, especially when it comes to web applications such as JavaScript, TypeSCript, SCSS and HTML. Practical experience with common libraries and frameworks within the JavaScript environment would be a huge plus, too. We’re talking Angular, GraphQL, Apollo, Linux and so on.

When it comes to soft skills, FoxBase is big on teamwork, entrepreneurship and motivation. Flat hierarchies, flexible working and a steep learning curve are just some of what you’ll get for taking up the job.

Set those wheels in motion!

Here at Revoco, we love placing candidates in startups as they hold so many opportunities for future growth – both personally and professionally. Jordan is currently working with a wide network of startups here in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, so if you think the energy and the excitement of a startup is for you, why not let us find you your dream job? Reach out today!

Find more blogs from Jordan and roles he has available here.