I get that this gives you less liquidity personally, but (a) you're only required to pay in half, i.e., 6,250 EUR each, and (b) this money isn't gone, and you don't lose the ability to recover it should you decide to liquidate the company later. As others have pointed out, you can use that money to pay costs associated with the founding (e.g., the notary) and also expenses required to maintain the company (IHK dues, bookkeeping, etc.).

Don’t let the insults get to you.

But yeah, obviously, the more capital you pay in, the more “credible” your company looks. The whole concept of limited liability means that if your company capital is X €, the creditors can only get the X € (unless you do something stupid, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piercing_the_corporate_veil).

The fact that the minimum capital amount is so high in Germany is bonkers to me.

> I have founded a UG and upgraded to a GmbH before.

So why not to the same here, instead of going with this more complicated setup?

HN commenters are acid, but from one author to another don't let them get to you because they'll shun you for losing your temper even if it's totally justified.