Yessica Klein
8 min read
09 November 2025
Catharina van Delden’s entrepreneurial journey began at the Technical University of Munich, where she cofounded innosabi, a software company that grew from a student project into one of Europe’s leading platforms for innovation management. After bootstrapping the company to over 50 employees and guiding it through its acquisition by the French unicorn Questel, Catharina faced a moment of personal reckoning: “I said, I’m not a manager of a medium-sized software company. I’m a founder. I’m the person who goes from zero to one.” This conviction led her in an unexpected direction: Uruguay. She bought a small farm there and began spending part of the year in the South American countryside. “It was supposed to be a side hustle,” she says. But her personal experience with extreme weather and failed harvests became the seed for her next startup, Finches.
Finches is a data-driven platform that helps agri-procurement teams anticipate supply chain risks brought on by climate change. “It’s about helping the companies that depend on the farmers – food producers, textile brands and consumer goods companies – understand and mitigate risk in sourcing.” Combining on-the-ground agronomist tools with AI-driven risk forecasting, Finches translates environmental volatility into actionable decisions and business impact. As Catharina puts it, “No tomatoes, no ketchup. For these companies, crop failure isn’t a hiccup: it’s existential.”
What beginner mistakes did you avoid when founding a company the second time around?
At innosabi, especially in the early days, I felt I had to take every opportunity that came my way – partly because we hadn’t yet proven ourselves. That was helpful for building a network and gaining experience, but it also created a lot of distraction. This time, I’m much more intentional. I ask: Does this opportunity really help us build the business? I’m more focused and clearer on what to say no to.
Another big change is how I approach hiring. Previously, we mostly hired brilliant but very junior people. We trained them and invested in them. But often, once they got really good, they left to pursue their own path. Now I look for people with more experience who can contribute from day one and scale the company faster. Both approaches are valid, but this one aligns better with our current goals and pace.
How has Munich’s startup ecosystem changed since your early days?
It’s changed 100%. When I founded my first company, Berlin was seen as the only place to build a startup, especially if you were working on something digital. Back then, the spotlight was on B2C marketplaces: selling shoes, sex toys and custom shirts. No one was talking about building business software. That made it harder to get recognition or traction if you were doing something more technical or enterprise-focused, like we were.
Now that’s shifted. Munich has really crystallized as the place for B2B founders. It’s where people go to build serious, scalable digital business models. And that identity is strong now. It’s no longer about trying to follow the Berlin hype; it’s about owning what Munich is best at: deeptech, enterprise and industrial applications.
“Customer conversations aren’t just about sales. They’re how you shape your product, your strategy, your whole company.”
How did your personal experience on the farm shape the vision for Finches?
One season, ants ate all my cucumber plants overnight. It sounds anecdotal, but when you’ve nurtured something for weeks and it disappears in one night, that pain stays with you. It made me think about volatility and what that means across the agricultural value chain.
What does your startup validation process look like today?
We did 100 interviews before even committing to the company. We talked to everyone, from chief risk officers to tomato buyers for fast food chains. We only moved forward once we could confirm repeatedly that the problem was relevant and big enough.
What was the best advice you received?
Founders need to be salespeople. Revenue is the only good money. It confirms your idea, it’s non-dilutive, and it builds your market understanding. If you’re not excited to sell, find someone who is.
And what about founder's anxiety? Do you still get it?
Absolutely. With innosabi, we bootstrapped. Now with Finches, we’re investing other people’s money, including friends and family, which adds another layer of pressure. But talking to customers is what grounds me. When someone says, “Yes, we need this,” that gives me clarity and confidence.
“The highest pressure is never from investors. It’s the pressure the founder puts on themselves.”