Germany, like most rich countries, has various incorporation forms, some which limit liability and some which do not. The GmbH and AG (translated literally "company with limited liability" and "stock company") are the standard startup vehicles. Recently there was also a new simpler form created, the UG ("founders' company"), which is also limited liability and doesn't require the initial stock value to any particular amount, unlike the GmbH (€25k+) and AG (€50k+).
Furthermore, Germany is very much a country of entrepreneurs. 66% of Germans are employed at a company that has fewer than 250 employees [1]. Germany does not have nearly as much of the shoot-for-the-moon entrepreneurship that the US is famous for, but to claim that founding companies is an oddity is nowhere close to being factually correct.
In contrast, in the US, half of Americans work for companies of under 500 people [2].
[1] http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleine_und_mittlere_Unternehmen...
[2] http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/international/news/upload/BERLIN%...