Hy! From Berlin’s Digital Startups Summit
By Simon Rothwell, Director, London
Kano’s build your own computer for 89 Euros hot off the back of $1.5 million and 13,357 orders from Kickstarter. Tado’s intelligent central heating app. Bragi’s in-ear health sensor (and MP3 player) hoping to close at more than $3.5 million on Kickstarter. Kiwi.Ki’s Wireless Key and its partnerships with Allianz and Vodafone.
It’s where energy, excitement, creativity and the passionate belief that technology can make the world a better place for you and I to live in meets the funding and partners that will make or break these ideas.
It’s by no means a Shark Tank. The pitching comes later once introductions have been made and the outdoor deck in the sunshine by the River Spree is abuzz with networking, knowledge sharing and growing pain problem solving.
The VC sages painted a pretty downbeat picture of funding in Europe compared to the US, where high market valuations and offers based on stock mean serious financial fire power. The example, $19 billion for WhatsApp and the addition of 50% more mobile users for 10% stock dilution.
It’s enabling the big digital players to acquire Europe tech and take it across the Atlantic, for example, Google’s $250 million acquisition of German taxi app Uber as part of its growing automotive interest.
Hence the conference was all about how old and new can work together to create value for both parties and keep tech in Europe. There seems to be willing. The CEO of Bosch sat in the front row for the whole conference. But there are clearly disconnects between ‘digitally challenged’ boards of Europe’s established businesses and the founders of its start-ups.
Among the companies hoping to meet their futures in Berlin, I found a wealth of digital services start-ups. A University course-work and exam app personalized to you, your course and your University. A fertility tracking app. Mobile gaming.
It used to be all about the size and growth of user numbers. But for the VCs and incubators I spoke to, investment decisions are now being made based on the level of engagement with that community. Anyone can buy sign-ups but those ‘vanity’ metrics are a small piece of the jigsaw, it’s all about meaningful, regular and long-term engagement with a service or platform.
Attendees were advised to think carefully about how they encourage engagement. Gaming excepted, gamification may not encourage the right kind of long-term engagement. Nor paying for users.
It’s all about giving people a reason to engage around interests, needs or solving problems. So, when it comes to engagement, the established and the start-ups of Europe aren’t that different after all.
Click here to watch Weber Shandwick’s GoLive video interviews from the event.