This is me in the mid-90s: a small room, a used PC, stacks of floppy disks and books. No startup hub. No accelerator. No VC dinners. Just curiosity — and a free state education that opened the door.
I grew up in a village of about 250 in Northern Bavaria. Soccer, beer, forest. The church had been the tallest building for 750 years. Local industry was in decline. My mom worked in a kindergarten. My dad was an electrician, unemployed for much of my youth. We didn’t have connections, capital, or a family business to inherit. What we did have was powerful: Germany’s public school and university system — free, accessible, excellent.
It gave me the chance to study physics. To earn a PhD. And in 2008, to co-found NanoTemper. Since then, with an amazing team and customers around the world, we’ve generated €364M in revenue, created 250+ jobs, and paid €44.7M in taxes. Whatever the state invested in me, I paid it back — more than 10×. And I’m proud of that. Proud to be part of a system that believes in opportunity, not privilege.
Why I’m happy to pay taxes in Germany
Taxes aren’t a penalty for success. They’re the price of belonging to a society that gave me a shot. Free state education turned a kid from a tiny village into a physicist and founder. That return on investment is real — for me, for our team, and for the next generation who will build what comes next.
When we fund education well, we don’t just create graduates. We create companies, careers and communities. We create resilience. We make it more likely that another 16-year-old, somewhere in a small town, can dream big and actually make it happen.
Innovation needs inclusion
If we want more startups, more deep tech, more scientific breakthroughs, we need wider access — not narrower gates. Talent is evenly distributed. Opportunity isn’t. The fastest way to fix that gap is to keep state education free, accessible and excellent, and to support kids who don’t start with advantages.
I’ve seen it up close: the most powerful fuel for innovation is not just money — it’s mobility. The feeling that your effort can move you forward. That’s what public schools and universities gave me.
A thank-you and a commitment
I’m grateful for the teachers and professors who pushed me. For the labs that were open late. For the exams that were hard. For a system that didn’t ask for my parents’ bank statements before it let me learn.
Paying taxes is my way of saying thank you — and of investing in the next Philipp, or Fatima, or Lukas, or Mei who will build something better. If our contribution makes their path a little easier, it’s worth every cent.
Your turn
What gave you your shot? Who opened a door for you? I’d love to hear your story.