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Inbot wants to be your customer relationship assistant

I met with Mikko Alassaarela, founder of Inbot while I was in Berlin right before they closed their $2.6 million seed fund. Inbot's team had just moved to Berlin, Germany from Finland and Poland. Inbot transplanted to Berlin, Germany due to burgeoning tech eco-system, accessibility to good developers, cheaper rents and overall energy of the city.

Inbot opened their offices in Berlin on September 23rd and has been pro-active within the mobile community. They host a series of mobile focused meet & greets in their office in Berlin. Their goal is to foster innovation within the Berlin mobile community.

While chatting with Mikko, I felt the staff's enthusiasm of being in a new city ready to plug-in within its new community. Linko was excited by amount of resources Berlin, Germany had to offer. Many of Europe's top talent is slowly migrating to Berlin and since conferences, incubators, etc.. have followed.

Inbot is an automated CRM app which plugs-in within your mobile activity to provide weekly sales reports, customer conversation statuses and more... The perfect tool for busy sales professional as it enables them to focus on sales versus filling out cumbersome paperwork. The app is available at the Itunes store but by invitation only. They currently have 3,000 customers.

#berlin technology start-up #Berlin #inbot

Igor Schwarzmann and why copying the Silicon Valley will not work in Europe

I was introduced to Igor Schwarzmann, a co-founder of Third Wave, through a mutual friend. I was directed to a controversial article he wrote about his skepticism to the technology industry. It's a great thought provoking blog post which I highly encourage you read: http://thirdwaveberlin.com/2013/10/week-158/

Here is an excerpt

I met Igor bright and early at a cafe in Mitte a few months ago. After we grabbed our coffees, I immediately asked about Berliners techies obsession with San Francisco. We laughed it off. SF is "the" tech mecca, I get it, I interjected, but why can't they just focus in creating their own infrastructure in Berlin. He admitted that Germans love to emulate. He therefore challenges the Berlin tech industry to create their own ecosystem. He hopes Berlin will set the example for global start-ups by tackling social problems. "It's time to think about making people's life better". "How can we solve cultural, economical, environmental problems?" Technology must positively impact the greatest number of people; such as finding solutions to the ever growing unemployment rate.

Thankfully, he mentioned, Berlin give individuals the flexibility to think and create. It's a city where one doesn't need much to stay afloat. Twenty years ago, when the wall came down, Berlin had an influx of artists. The city's energy was completely different from today's. Berlin became an international hub once the media picked up on Soundcloud's success story. Berlin has no real denominator that binds people besides the fact that it is cheap. Talents from every breed move here. This is why, he suspects, Berlin is having a bit of a identity crisis. It trying to replicate the San Francisco model without considering the differences between the European and American culture.

He urges Berlin start-ups to better acknowledge their environment and build from there. Imitating always fail. He hopes the lessons will be learned as the Berlin start-up scene evolves.

#third wave #berlin #start-up #tech #entrepreneurship #humanitarian #good cause

Blinkist shares their Berlin Tech start-up experience

I stumbled upon Blinkist while browsing online looking for interesting start-ups in Berlin. As soon as I tweeted about them, we started engaging in a live tweet discussion. The following lead to meeting them in person at their office in Kreutzberg.

Blinkist is the modern cliff notes hybrid. It enables users to scavenger through a plethora of non-fiction books and read their summaries. In less than 10 minutes you can skim through the principle ideas from an array of books. I have become addicted.

The founders met in University and started the company in August 2012. It was natural for them to be based in Berlin. The city welcomed them with open arms from the beginning. They got accepted in the Hubraum accelerator program and quickly found seeds funds. They also easily found talent to develop their MVP.

Their hard work paid off. Their word of advice for other start-ups in Berlin is to spend a considerable amount of time nurturing their Marketing / PR initiative. Blinkist admitted that getting national/ international press took time. The German national publications are guarded. They still feel uneasy writing about start-ups. They often wait for start-ups to have received International coverage prior writing about them. Another challenge start-ups should keep into consideration is how fickle the German market is. Finding early adopters in Germany takes time. Germans demographic doesn't avidly try new products. They need time to enlist.

Besides some of these downfalls, Holger, one of the founders, wouldn't see it any other way. Berlin is a supportive environment for entrepreneurs. He just wishes there would be more influx of reporters in Berlin to help the scene thrive.

All in all, Blinkist is thankful to be part of the Berlin scene. Despite, all their challenges, they recently launched in the US, an accomplishment not many Berlin start-ups can vouch for.

Meet Olga Steidl, your quintessential digital nomad

Meet Olga Steidl. I first met her at the Linko launch party where she was struggling with a bad case of jet-lag. She had just come back from an extended business trip from San Francisco and Hong Kong. You wouldn't expect any less from someone nominated as the top 10 Russian Entrepreneurs to watch by Moscow Times.

She is a powerhouse keeping herself busy between being VP of Strategy at Omate, Partner at Dots'n'Spaces, mentor at Techstars and StartUpBootcamp. She got her start a few years back, as the youngest VP at Yandex, the google for Russian speaking countries. She is passionate about hardware, business strategy and mentorship. Her latest project Omate, is one of top 10 kickstarters, having raised more than $1Million dollars this September. Olga is in charge of Omate's software ecosystem.

Olga however re-assured me that she mainly divides her time between Zurich and Berlin. It's important for her to divide her time between these two tech hubs to keep a balance. Zurich has a more corporate environment and more VCs. Giants like Google, Ebay and Evernote have headquarters in Zurich. Berlin on the other hand is more nimble. It's a great place to incubate ideas and start prototypes. Berlin has had an influx of high quality talent these last few years. Bigger entities, whom are migrating here, are also bringing their top notch teams. For example, Shutterstock transplanted a team in Berlin. Olga speculates this type of migration will bring to the city more business expertise and individuals with strong opinions whom know how to scale a business. Currently Berlin is a double edge sword, a playground where anything goes but with very little corporate experience.

So if you are an early stage start-up, Berlin is the place to be. There are a plethora of accelerator programs to help you through the entrepreneurial journey, such as Berlin start-up academy, Microsoft Venture Accelerator Berlin and Axel Springer Plug & Play to name a few.

However, Olga advises you do your research. German bureaucracy is excruciating painful and can cost a fortune. Where it takes just a day in Zurich to form a company, it takes several months in Germany.

I than asked her, why are all European start-ups so eager to enter the US market and why can't they just create their own ecosystem in Europe and expand from there. She explained because valuation is higher in US than it is in Europe. European and Asian investors look at spreadsheets, both of these cultures are risk averse. American venture capitalist have the reputation of taking risks and investing accordingly. Americans have a reputation of being visionaries. We chatted a bit about these perceptions, as I know first hand these practices in the US are changing and finding investors is a lot tricker these days.

Besides mentioned challenges, Olga recommends Berlin as a great launch pad for start-ups: the hiring potential, proximity to potential clients, strong English community, low operational costs, the strong German economic market, access to more VC $ than London and finally flex immigration laws. So come make it happen…

Conferences to check out in Berlin include: Tech Crunch Disrupt, Next, HY! Berlin, Open Air Tech

#berlin technology start-up #Berlin

Jenny Jung is eagerly waiting for Silicon Allee to make its mark

I met Jenny at a typical Berliner cafe. Jenny, COO at the Factory, was frantically replying back to emails when I first sat down with her. She explained the official launch of the main Factory building is approaching and the email influx has doubled. She has been guiding future tenants, partners, and current residents to ensure everything goes smoothly before she goes on Maternity leave. I thanked her for taking the time to meet with me.

Being the new kid on the block, I asked she explain the concept behind the Factory. I gathered online all the anticipation behind the project but didn't grasp the big picture. I wanted to understand the origin of the project.

She explained the Factory grew organically. The goal from the onset was to offer a gravitational pole to the tech industry by creating a campus where Berlin's start-ups can work, hold events, and share ideas. The project quickly caught the attention of the media and giants like Google. Companies like Soundcloud, 6 Wunderkinder, Mozilla amongst others will be tenants. Unlike other co-working spaces in Berlin, the Factory will admit companies based on a rigorous application process, to build a viable business center.

Jenny explained currently the community is scattered oddly enough within the U8 U-bahn line from the Technical U campus in Ernst-Reuter-Platz to various co-working spaces in Morritzplatz, Hermanstrasse and Rosenthaler Platz. The Factory wants to bring all the movers and shakers in one place. Additionally, the Factory wants to accommodate larger start-ups whom are currently having a hard time finding business centers that can cater to their needs. As a result, the Factory created a silicon valley campus with restaurants, deli, fitness centre, sauna, basketball court, art gallery and conference space to breed a new form of entrepreneurship.

So I asked her with all these positive changes taking place, when do you anticipate the next "big" start-up will come out of Berlin?

Having worked in San Francisco, Jenny is worried many Berlin start-ups don't understand the dedication needed to build a business: "In many early stage startups the hustle is missing". European teams can be risk averse. Many start-ups will create apps for their friends in Kreutzberg and have a hard time thinking bigger.

Another hurdle Europe is faced with is the remnant bureaucracy in each individual countries, it's hard for start-ups to grow organically. Each European country has it's own rule and regulations; a start-up must go through a mountain of bureaucratic and legal fees to get its technology approved.

All that being said, Jenny is confident the Berlin tech scene will be able to create it's own ecosystem. She hopes the scene will mature into a driving ideation tech force.

#factory #berlin technology start-up #jennyjung

Miqua Johnson, Office Manager at EyeEM

Miqua Johnson has been around the block. She started her career in Berlin, in 2008 working in sales for Vice Magazine and transitioned in 2010 to Soundcloud, where she helped build the office team/culture. These days, she is at EyeEm, enjoying the perks of working with a smaller team. She loves to bake and dreams of having her own cupcake shop someday.

When I asked about her thoughts on the uniqueness of Berlin Tech scene, she immediately took a step back and sighted "things were completely different five years ago, we have come a long way... back then, there was no structure in place for start-ups, no help from the government or understanding as to what the Streber (geeks) where up to." She mentioned how Vice Magazine and a few others were the pioneers. They knew something was brewing but couldn't quite figure what to call it just yet.

The shift happened when Soundcloud became a global player in the tech industry and in 2011 when Ashton Kusher invested in their start-up. Berlin suddenly became a hot commodity with plenty of opportunities for growth. The German government took notice and started to get more involved.

These days, Miqua feels there are two kinds of start-up cultures in Berlin. The self made creative type and the rocket internet entrepreneurs. Rocket Internet GmbH is a German online startup incubator founded in Berlin in 2007 by the Samwer brothers. The company's business model is to identify successful internet ideas, usually from the US, and replicate them in predominantly emerging markets. They have been a major player in the Berlin tech scene and invested in plenty of start-ups. There are some rivalries between the two schools of thoughts but all in good fun.

If you are coming to visit and want to be in the center of it all, Miqua recommends you start with Rosenthaler Platz. Check out cafés like Oberholz and Mein Haus am See then head over to Moritzplatz at BetaHaus. She also recommended to check out the soonish place to be Factory.

Overall, Berlin has plenty of pro's such as access to strong talent, cheap rents and creative fervor. Anyone with a need for inspiration must come visit. She warns new start-ups to be aware of regulations, extra taxes and strong competition for talent. It can be gruesome when you first get started in Berlin because of all the governmental regulations.

Miqua is thankful to have witness the growth of Silicon Alley and can't wait to experience how will turn out.

#berlin technology start-up #Berlin #start-up #culture

Traditional Leaders vs Collaborative Leaders. Why collaborative leadership is the way to grow your business in today's rapidly changing and more challenging economic climate.

#leaders #leadership #change #collaboration

My meeting with Madeleine, founder of BetaHaus

A few weeks ago, I met remarkable power gal, Madeleine, the founder of BetaHaus. I had reached out to her about my research. She was immediately eager to help. We briefly chatted about the future of the Berlin Tech scene. Her voice was filled with aspiration as she described how nascent the scene still is and therefore providing a huge array of opportunities.

She explained how these last 5 years, there has been an influx of international talent in Berlin, which catapulted a spirit of "We are in this together" and "let's make each others dreams become a reality" mentality.

To help breed this form of collaboration, BetaHaus hosts numerous events throughout the week, including their BetaBreakfast where start-ups can present what they have been working on to their peers.

Madeleine hopes that Berlin will continue to be a creative/technology hub for the years to come, a city where individuals from around the world can connect and create the next big thing.

#betaHaus #start-up #berlin

Somewhere shares thoughts on building a global community from Berlin

I was introduced to the Somewhere platform through Instagram. They liked a few of my #Berlin photos and being the digital spy that I am, I stumbled on their site and asked for a beta invite. I started playing around with their platform and shared some of my preliminary findings about Berlin tech scene. Eager to share their positive Berlin experience, the Somewhere team responded to my posts immediately. We scheduled an interview so we could continue our conversation.

I spoke with Duncan, the co-founder, with whom I shared a similar story. He lived 10 years in London working for a handful of agencies, got bored of the routine, founded Somewhere with his business partner and decided to make the magic happen in Berlin. He described how moving to Berlin enhanced his creativity and helped shape the Somewhere platform. The cheap rents, the access to talent, the wide international network and lack of infrastructure makes it the perfect playground for any entrepreneur.

Berlin has helped challenge Somewhere's perception on the influence and possibilities within digital media.

The team recently moved to their own office but misses the communal feel of BetaHaus, a start-up campus/co-working space. Duncan described BetaHaus as a rite of passage, the training wheels to the Berlin tech community until you are ready to be on your own.

While I visited Somewhere, I felt this infectious collaborative and "change the world" spirit I haven't felt in a while. I was propelled back to 2009. Could it be because Somewhere's very platform is about collaboration? Their motto is to encourage users to share a visual representation of how they work in the hopes to help other individuals better streamline their work methodologies. Think GitHub for creatives. Clever indeed!

Berlin is full of hopes as everyone in the community is working hard to be the next soundcloud. Somewhere is ready to claim that title. However, they admitted to be faced with challenge of getting Somewhere platform beyond the Berlin circuit. Berlin is still isolated from international media outlets and this has forced them to travel to US in the hopes to gain more international exposure.

Conclusion: Berlin is a great incubator who needs to reinforce it's international klout by having more international start-ups like soundcloud.

PS: Thanks Monica for the mean nutella treats.

#somewhere #berlin technology start-up #Berlin

Service Design Drinks re-envisioning networking events

Last night, I attended Service Design Drinks events, a hybrid networking event/workshop for service design innovators. In a hope to guide me through the plethora of tech events in Berlin, the team at Somewhere recommended I check it out. The event was unpretentious and educational. I was introduced to Service Design, a methodology of planning and organizing infrastructure, communication and material components of a service in order to improve its quality and the interaction between service provider and customers. I met a diversity of people from graduate students, to start-up owners and other marketing professionals. The most refreshing element is that there weren't any hard pitches which often come hand in hand with these types of events.

I briefly talked to one of the event organizers, Olga. She explained the event simply emerged from a need to inform their peers about the burgeoning field of Service Design. They hence created a playful event/workshop where event goers can learn about each other through participating in cheeky exercises versus the awkward sticker/cold pitch approach.

#service design #berlin technology start-up #berlin

You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

Steve Jobs

I found some optimists... Hooray.

I will be meeting with Somewhere , a tech start-up based in Berlin. They are insuring me I was mis-guided. I can't wait to speak to them and hear about all of the wonderful things Berlin has to offer. I am a big believer that optimism breeds creativity.

#berlin technology start-up

Berlin start-up 101: BetaHaus

As I am looking to plug-in to Berlin start-up scene, it was only natural I check-out BetaHaus.

BetaHaus is "the" co-working space in Berlin. It is not only the home to many international start-ups but also hosts a plethora of events. Their cafe is also a fav hangout for many looking for a free work space where you devour their wifi and croissants.

As I start my journey discovering the berlin tech scene, I am looking forward to getting to know the BetaHaus community.

#Berlin #betahaus #start-up #technology

Is pessimism killing Berlin tech scene?

I have been in Berlin for a month now and tip toed my way through the burgeoning tech scene. I have spoken and met with a few people to learn about the good and the bad of the Berlin tech scene. There has been such buzz around the Berlin tech scene especially since giants like Amazon, Google, Twitter, Ebay, to name a few recently opened European headquarters here. As a result, I have been on a quest to delve deeper and understand what is brewing here.

To my surprise, I have only had negative reviews thus far. The main complains included an overall lack of creativity, good talent, funding and panache. So I quickly retorted: “why are you here if it’s so awful?” To which I received half baked answers, “this is as good as it gets”.

I felt defeated after these meetings and questioned my decision to come to Berlin. Did I make a huge mistake? But then, I remembered, having being born in Paris, the city of cynics, some Europeans (and I am making a stereotype please forgive me) like to be pessimistic. It’s a cultural phenomenon, nothing is ever good enough. I, myself, had to battle with this inclination my whole life. The challenges the Berlin tech scene is afflicted with are similar to issues found in the US tech scene: good talents are hard to find, funding doesn’t grow on trees and there are just as many mediocre start-ups. Americans are just overzealous self promoters which enables them to fight through their rough patches.

My question then is - could the lack of optimism be hindering the Berlin tech scene?

I want your answers hoping I spoke to the only pessimists in Berlin.

#berlin #start-up #tech

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