SUBSCRIBE THE POD: SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS
From Nepal to Munich: Building Startups and Mastering LinkedIn in Germany 🇩🇪
In this episode, I sat down with Sanjeev Thapa, a three-time technical founder who’s navigated the complex journey from student visa to German citizenship while building multiple companies. His story is packed with practical insights about the startup ecosystem, visa challenges, and why he completely wiped his LinkedIn network to start fresh.
Meet Sanjeev 👨💻
Sanjeev Thapa is originally from Nepal and moved to Germany in early 2015 to pursue his Master’s in computer science. What started as a study abroad plan turned into a permanent move when he met German clients early in his career and realized he wouldn’t need to find new work if he relocated. After living in Frankfurt for three and a half years, he moved to Munich with his wife, and now has a 4-year-old son. He’s a three-time technical founder specializing in the product and tech side of startups, currently working as Head of Engineering at a Munich/Austria-based startup while also providing fractional CTO services.
From Nepal to Germany
Sanjeev came to Germany in 2015 with a clear plan – he already had German clients from his work back home, so moving here meant he wouldn’t have to start from scratch professionally. “I did my Bachelor’s in computer science in my country and then I wanted to continue my study. Coincidentally, I end up with German customers in the beginning of my professional career and Germany became like, okay, if I go there, I don’t have to find new work.”
He chose Munich over Frankfurt partly because of the mountains – coming from Nepal, he felt more at home with the natural surroundings. The people and existing network in Bavaria also made the decision easier. As he put it: “I come from Nepal, full of mountains and nature, so I could feel home slightly more than Frankfurt.”
Sanjeev’s Multi-Founder Journey
As a three-time technical founder, Sanjeev focuses specifically on the product and tech side of startups rather than sales or executive functions. He’s currently Head of Engineering at a one-year-old startup based in Munich and Austria, but also works as a fractional CTO consultant helping early-stage founders build the right foundations.
Interestingly, most of his consulting clients are from the UK despite living in Germany – something he attributes to potentially having a stronger network there than in his local German market. He works primarily with founders in the pre-seed to seed stage, helping them figure out what to build, how to build it, and where to start with their engineering and product departments.
The Germany Visa Reality
The visa journey from Nepal was particularly challenging. Sanjeev started with a student visa that required a blocked account with €8,000 (which doubled to €16,000 when his wife joined him). The process included getting initial three-month visa, extending it to 1-2 years, then having 18 months after graduation to find work – with restrictions on which industries he could work in.
The bureaucracy was intense, but Sanjeev had a secret weapon: exceptional organization. When he applied for German citizenship, he got it processed in just 2.5 months in Freising. “The lady from this called me say, I have never seen this organized document. You structured it so well,” he recalls. His advice? Apply in smaller towns like Freising where the process might be faster.
Three Startup Stories
The Foundation Builder (2014-2018)
His first company was actually founded before coming to Germany and grew to 55-60 people by 2018, serving major German clients. This experience taught him everything about business – going from senior engineer to CEO/CTO without really knowing what those responsibilities entailed. “That four years taught me everything. Like what I think most of the things that I have learned so far is the product.”
The Over-Engineered Mistake (15 months)
The second startup was a cautionary tale about premature optimization. Despite having €700,000 in funding and 20 engineers, they never reached even 10,000 users. “I wanted to build everything so perfect, built for millions and millions of users, architected everything. And we had amazing team, but we never get even up to 10,000 users.” This failure taught him valuable lessons about fundraising, founding team dynamics, and the importance of not over-complicating things from the start.
The Vision Mismatch
His third venture was an AI products company that ran for about a year before the co-founders realized they had different priorities and visions. Rather than force it, they decided to part ways amicably.
The LinkedIn Network Reboot
One of the most interesting parts of our conversation was Sanjeev’s decision to completely reset his LinkedIn presence. He deleted 3,500 connections and started fresh with just 300, implementing a highly strategic approach to networking.
His new strategy was laser-focused: 60% founders, 20-25% investors, and the rest tech executives and product people. He posted content seven days a week for months, actively sought 15-20 new connections daily, and sent personalized welcome messages to every new connection. “I was very specific that, okay, I want 60% of my networks to be founders, 20%, 20, 25% investors, because I want still want to build companies.”
The disciplined approach paid off. After months of consistent effort, he started seeing real client conversions in early 2024. His advice? Have a system, be strategic about who you connect with, and be patient with the long-term investment.
Surprises Starting a Fractional CTO Consultancy in Germany
The biggest surprise about going independent was how crucial German language skills became, even after working in English for 15 years in international companies. “What I realized is like if you as a consultant means like you are going there as some sort of expert or like some sort of external help and… for them I think to find those companies, like to find those profiles, it was super hard if you can’t really, really communicate well in German.”
Despite studying German up to C1 level and speaking around B1-B2, he found that executive-level consulting required much deeper language proficiency than he expected. Good resume and experience weren’t enough without the ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly in German.
The German Startup Scene
Sanjeev has a balanced view of Germany’s startup ecosystem. While he doesn’t see innovation as the main problem, he acknowledges that the heavy regulation and bureaucracy can slow things down significantly. Setting up companies requires notaries, translators, and lengthy appointment processes – especially challenging if you don’t speak the language fluently.
“Everything you do like you cannot really like, you know, experiment much and everything needs to be so you have to do everything right and sometimes it, it slows you down,” he explains. His second startup spent valuable time handling music licensing and other regulatory requirements before even reaching market.
However, he’s come to appreciate the regulatory approach after working at a fintech startup in Berlin. “There I realized that why they are doing it certain way… because they care about like they just don’t want to do something now and then immediately regret in the next six months or 12.”
The access to capital is more limited compared to the US, and breaking into investor networks can be challenging without existing connections. But he’s optimistic about improvements, noting increased local investment focus due to recent political situations.
Munich vs Berlin for Startups
If he were starting over, Sanjeev would probably begin in Berlin and move to Munich later. Berlin offers more international diversity among founders and a more established startup community, while Munich might be better for later-stage growth.
Founder Advice
Sanjeev’s core advice is refreshingly direct: don’t wait for the right time, and surround yourself with positive, passionate people rather than those who focus on why things won’t work. “Everything is hard anyway wherever you go. So just stick with the right people.”
He emphasizes the importance of consistency, having systems and strategies, and – crucially – seeking help rather than trying to do everything alone.
“I never like get coaching or like get help and talk to other founders and so on. I thought I knew myself, I would crack it on my own. But now you don’t need to do it alone.”
Key Takeaways 🎯
- 🎓 Getting a visa in Germany, the timeline: Student visa → 18 months job search → blue card → citizenship (get organized for faster processing!)
- 🏔️ Munich vs. Berlin: Munich wins for mountains and network, Berlin better for international startup community
- 💼 Learning by Doing with Startups: First taught him business, second taught him not to over-engineer, third taught him about vision alignment
- 🔄 LinkedIn Strategy: Wiped 3,500 connections, rebuilt with 60% founders/25% investors, posted daily for months
- 🗣️ Language matters! German skills more crucial for consulting than expected, even at executive level
- ⚖️ Pros & Cons of German Startup Scene: Heavy regulation slows experimentation but provides stability, limited capital access vs US
- 🚀 Fractional CTO Work: Helps pre-seed to seed stage founders, mostly UK clients despite living in Germany
- 📈 Going Solo in Germany: Consistency and systems matter, don’t try to do everything alone
- 💡 Founder Advice: Don’t wait for perfect timing, surround yourself with positive people, seek help and coaching
- 🌐 Strategic Network Building: Target specific types of connections, send personal messages, be patient with long-term investment
Connect with Sanjeev
💼 LinkedIn: Sanjeev Thapa
🌐 Website: sanjeevhq.com