event

Startups in Asia and Germany: Models of success by Ganesh Murrurti

Saturday, August 13th, 2016
Location: Berlin

We arrived at the Airport and was picked up by both Rahel and Armin. We proceeded then to the hotel and was given a 3 hour plus rest grace period before heading out for dinner where we were welcomed officially and was introduced the program itinerary accompanied by amazing Vietnamese cuisine. We were also briefed on the logistical arrangements and also the importance of punctuality was reinforced due to the tight schedule we had on the following days. 
 

Sunday, August 14th, 2016
Location: Berlin

We met the hotel lobby and walked over to the FNF office where we had an introductory meeting on the topic of Startups in Germany – legal framework, promotion and development of new products. We were showcased on the Facts and Figures Germany, Legal Framework, Funding and promotion, Venture capital in Germany, Marketing and sale strategies, New technologies/Smart Cities/E-commerce sector (examples), Development and implementation of innovative products, Sustainability, Challenges and solutions. This amazing and eye opening seminar of  the  ecosystem was conducted  by Steffen Terberl, Team leader, Profound Innovation of Freie Universität Berlin.

Monday, August 15th, 2016
Location: Berlin

We  departed  from  the  hotel  lobby  to  meet  with  Maria Deutschmann, Department KfW start-up financing. She was kind enough to share with us on the The economic importance and public promotion of startups In detail it was related to Governmental  promotion  of  startups,  Venture  capital  in Germany, Anti-Angel-law, Dealing with copy right and patents, Intentions and effects of the EXIST-program by BMWi. 

We then proceeded to take the Boat tour "City-Spreefahrt"

Following the boat tour, we then proceeded to meet with Tobias Szarowicz, Consultant to the board for legal matters and political communication of the Deutsche Start-Ups e.V.We discussed on the subject of Berlin as a hub for innovative businesses in Germany. This was inclusive of the Situation of start-up scene, Development of marketing and sales strategies, Potentials of E-Commerce and other sectors, Dealing with new technologies,  Crowd-Funding,  Innovation  management, Startbooster (channels of distribution) and Business trends that is picking up in the scene. 

We  then  visited  Project  A  Ventures  which  takes  a  very different  approach in investing  in a company. Project A ventures is much more involved in the planning and execution from an idea itself. It is quite refreshing to see something new like this compared to the typical approach that investment firms take. The meeting with Project A Ventures was with Holger Witte, Director Investor Relations.
 

Tuesday, August 16th, 2015
Location: Hamburg

We arrived in Hamburg and got some rest. Following that we had a working lunch with Michael Rager, Associate Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners Management GmbH. They were kind enough to share with me on the work they do and also on the portfolio of the companies they invest in. It was quite surprising to know the size of their new investment firm and also the verticals they invest in. 

Co-Working Space “MindSpace”

We then proceeded to Mindspace to have a guided tour by Moritz von Kummer. It was really impressive to see the amount of money being invested to develop and maintain such an amazing space.

Women Empowerment in StartUps

We then had a public event with our Asian Hero Aisa Mijeno being part of the panel. It was really amazing to see them speak on the work these spectacular women are doing.

Wednesday, August 17th, 2016
Location: Düsseldorf

STARTPLATZ: Experiences of a German Startup Incubator

 
We then arrived in Dusseldorf to visit STARTPLATZ. It was super exciting to first hand see 3D printing machines that were used for product creation and also prototyping. It was also great to see different ideas and projects that is being worked on. We also discussed on the regional support and financial aid for startups. The Discussion was conducted with Dr. Lorenz Gräf, Managing director. 

We then proceeded to Update Camp NRW - World Edition which is a startup pitch and public networking event. We were welcomed with drinks and then was followed by an introduction by Jan- Frederik Kremer, Regional Director Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Project director innovation campaign “SME & Start-Ups”. Following that Armin Reinartz, Regional Project Manager, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Bangkok spoke a bit on Startups in Asia.

We then heard first hand from Silke Roggermann, The Founder of Coworking Space Gewächshaus Düsseldorf.We went on with Networking  with additional benefit: The StartupVillage by Hanns  Tappen  Chairman  StartupDorf  e.V.  –Association  of Startups  und  Startup  ecosystem Düsseldorf, Founder  of BETAWERKE

After that we had a 3&3 Pitches: Startups in Asia and Germany whereby 3 Founders from Asia and 3 Founder from Germany presented on their projects and report on the impact of the social and political framework.

Thursday, August 18th, 2016
Location: Oberhausen
 

We  started  off  early  with  the  Start-Up  Camp  Ruhr, International Start-Up Dialogue. It was an All-day Workshop for registered participants.It was an Exchange between Startup Entrepreneurs from NRW and Asia in cooperation with Weiterbildungsinstitut WbI in Oberhausen:

The topics that we covered was on How to become an effective start-up? What are good conditions for doing business and how do social, economic and political factors influence start-ups in Asia, Europe and Germany? How to manage change projects on a large scale? Together we invited successful founders and experts from Asia and Germany to present their projects, share their  knowledge,  discuss  those  questions,  and  acquire firsthand information from well-known experts and to link with each other.

First we were welcomed by Meike Ströhmer, Project Manager, Weiterbildungsinstitut  WbI  and  followed  by  Jan-Frederik Kremer, Regional Director Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Project director innovation campaign “SME & Start- Ups”

We then had a short session on Powerful tools: Successful market entry through solid market analysis by Stefan Slaby, WbI Senior Expert Marketing & Sales. We then proceeded to a session on How to become a successful founder in Asia.

We then had project Project Pitches and expert discussion on surrounding  social, economic and  political conditions and their impact on doing business in those countries Following that we transfered to Centro-Oberhausen (Europe’s largest shopping mall).
 

Thursday, August 19th, 2016
Location: Duisburg
 

International Startup-Dialogue

We then transferred to Duisburg where we had the International Startup-Dialogue whereby Startup stories from the other side of the world. The opening welcome was made by, Jan-Frederik Kremer, Regional Director Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Project director innovation campaign “SME & Start-Ups”

Then we had a short talk on Startups in Asia by Armin Reinartz,   Regional  Project  Manager,  Friedrich  Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Bangkok and  then  Ruhrgründer,  Carmen  Radeck,  Founder  of  portal Ruhrgründer. We  had  Sheila  Fitschen Social Innovation/Entrepreneurship, Consultant in  IDE-project InnovationHUB from InnovationHUB gave us a short introduction. As usual we had a 3&3 Pitches: Startups in Asia and Germany Where Three entrepreneurs from Asia and three from Germany present their projects and report on the impact of the social and political framework

The last session with FNF was very interesting whereby we had a concrete discussion with Marcel Hafke, Member of state parliament,  Spokesperson for startup culture and digitalization, member of the board for innovation, science, research and technology, FDP on the Political initiatives and the startup scene in NRW.

We also spoke on the Demands on politics in my home country as regards start-ups ecosystems. This included financing, networking, mentoring, cooperation with established companies, innovation management, knowledge transfer from research into the start-up sector, internationalization etc.

We also discussed on the demands on politics in the individual asian home country as regards start-ups ecosystems.Lastly we then had an evaluation on the program itself as the last item to be done.