German entrepreneurs are suffering from significant losses in sales due to the lockdown measures introduced by the German government.

That's the result of the latest Founders Sentiment Index, a weekly survey conducted by Bits & Pretzels, Europe’s leading founder festival, to discover the sentiments and the economic situation of the German startup community.  

In the survey 60 percent of German entrepreneurs said that they’ve recognized a decline in turnover due to the current contact restrictions. 34 percent indicated that leading a company out of the home office is hurting results. And 6 percent called limited production capabilities their main problem.

At the same time optimism seems to be on the rise within the German startup community according to the survey. The index shows a 19 percent increase in all-over optimism. 71 percent of participants said they are "rather optimistic" and 12 percent even called themselves "very optimistic“ about the future.

Still, the measures introduced by the German government to help startups are still considered insufficient by 57 percent of the entrepreneurial community even though this week slightly more survey attendees (+5 percent) said they're happy with them.

Mobility startups which have been hit the hardest by the effect of Corona crisis seems to be awaiting a mild recovery. Two weeks ago, prospects indicated by the survey were a lot poorer, with 85 percent of mobility entrepreneurs forecasting a decrease in turnover. Last week that number decreased to 75 percent. Now, it’s down to 64 percent which is a promising 21 percent decline in the past two weeks.

Cashflow in the startup community improves as well. This week, 23 percent of entrepreneurs indicated to have liquidity for more than a year (+18 percent). 25 percent are equipped for 7 to 12 months (+3 percent). At the same time, just 5 percent say they have cash for less than a month (-12 percent).