The Werner Bonhoff Foundation has included our founder Milan von dem Bussche in its collection of case studies on bureaucracy therapy. The detailed report documents the bureaucratic hurdles we have had to overcome since founding our companies — QiTech GmbH and QiTech Industries GmbH.
From student start-up to company—a path with many obstacles
In 2018, Milan and his then co-founder Paul Nehme won the "Jugend gründet" competition with their idea of producing cell phone cases from recycled plastic using a 3D printer. After that, the two wanted to start a business — but as minors in Germany, starting a business is difficult. What followed was months of back and forth between the family court, the tax office, the youth welfare office, and the school administration. Clearance certificates that no one could issue. A rejected application because it was signed by the founders instead of their parents. The summer holidays as a forced break because the school principal was unavailable.
"In my case, it was about 600 euros of my savings, which I could have invested in a game console without anyone minding (perhaps with parental consent, if in doubt) – but not as a capital contribution to my own student company."
- Milan von dem Bussche
And the bureaucracy just keeps on haunting us...
At the beginning of 2025, we moved from Oppenheim (Rhineland-Palatinate) to Darmstadt (Hesse), about 30 km away. The relocation across the state border meant that around 15 authorities had to be informed – the trade office, chamber of commerce, tax office, employers' liability insurance association, and more. Separately for both companies. Milan criticizes the fact that there is no way to report changed data centrally once and have it forwarded to all relevant authorities. The planned once-only principle is intended to make this possible – but concrete implementation is still pending.
Crash course in bureaucracy: Passing on knowledge
These experiences gave rise to the"Crashkurs Bürokratie" (Crash Course inBureaucracy) project, which Milan runs as a YouTube series with the Young Founders Network e.V. The videos explain topics such as business registration, Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) fees, broadcasting fees, and commercial register registration step by step—with real forms, sample documents, and expert advice from tax advisors and auditors.
You can read the entire article on the Werner Bonhoff Foundation website.
