The study was concerned with Germany's public funding policy between the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the characteristics, the investment behaviour and the investment process of early-stage investors. The aim of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the public funding measures and to examine financial crisis related effects on the level of the venture capital firms. Both qualitative and quantitative data sources were analysed by means of descriptive statistics. The results showed a significant expansion of the public support measures on the federal level which calls for a realignment of Germany's economic policy in the light of Schumpeter (1987, 2006). Moreover, the results revealed that the different groups of early-stage investors did not operate in direct competition and that the management team was still the most important factor for investor's decision making.