TOA Berlin 2013 Day 1 – Dan Taylor – Heisenberg Media, used with permission
Tech Open Air Berlin is back! We’ve partnered with the TOA team to bring you this year’s edition of the most quintessentially Berlin “unconference”, as official media sponsors. Why? Because we share Tech Open Air’s mission, “to connect, grow, and inspire the human spirit through knowledge exchange and collaboration”, especially since we’ve opened up our own collaborative coworking space.
Also, TOA 2014 is going to be cool as hell. Staged at the quirky location of Alte Teppichfabrik, just down the road from Zur wilden Renate, Tech Open Air presents two days of inspirational story telling, interactive panels, knowshops, pillowtalks, art installations, live music and much more, with guests from SXSW, IndieGoGo, AKQA and TechCrunch.
Sounds too good to miss? Then don’t! Pick up your tickets for Tech Open Air 2014 here, and we’ll see you at this awesome event!
Tech Open Air Berlin 2013 – Day 1 (Ronni Shendar), used with permission
Tech Open Air Berlin 2013 – Day 1 (Ronni Shendar), used with permission
If you have even a passing familiarity with the Berlin startup scene, you’ll have seen this blog post on The Guardian website, written by someone who recently returned to the UK after a brief immersion in the city’s tech “bubble”. Well, The Local asked for my reaction – as someone who has a lot of contact with expats in the startup world and part of the team about to open Berlin’s first tech campus – and I thought I’d share it here. Read their response “Ten points in defence of Berlin’s startup scene” here, and my comments below.
The Guardian article contains nothing we haven’t heard before. As one of Berlin’s biggest English language blogs, we attract a lot of questions and enquiries from the group to which the writer (who we know) belongs: young non-German speakers who are early in their careers, and attracted to the city’s competitive creative scene. Their observations are valid, but represent a very narrow experience of the Berlin tech ecosystem, one with fairly predictable outcomes.
If you land an internship at an English-speaking company, you are likely to remain in that bubble, speak (and hear) very little German – and you’re most at risk of losing your “job”. We know lots of people who have discovered that “the streets are not paved with gold”, and have had to move back home or onto somewhere where they can more easily lay the foundations for their career. But we also know plenty of people who’ve landed (very) real jobs at successful companies, who have stable work and are appropriately rewarded for their experience and qualifications.
We’re sick of the mainstream media cycle of hype and backlash when it comes to Berlin in general, and the startup scene in particular. No one in their right mind would believe that Berlin is the next Silicon Valley, or the only European startup hub that matters – but, equally, no one should dismiss it as just a hipster party town. We turn out innovative, productive businesses with global impact (SoundCloud, 6Wunderkinder, ResearchGate), and we’re only going to see more success like this. But we still have a long way to go…
To the Berlin startup community we say: ignore all of this. Keep your heads down and keep up the good work. To anyone thinking of moving to the city to follow their startup dreams, we say: don’t believe the hype! Follow the advice of this article and do your homework, find a company that you fit with and feel passionate about, and enter the Berlin startup scene with open eyes and realistic expectations. Good luck
As someone who works in tech, but not a startup I look forward to the day where more people understand the distinction. And it’s possible to build a successful, independent and sustainable company in this field.
My research shows that most of the startups are exploiting the young and talented, and I say “can’t pay, don’t hire! You’re not working for free, why should anyone?”. And everyone knows there are no instructors who’d teach you, you’re expected to work independently from the 1st day. The internships at startups unfortunately are NOT for the benefit of the intern, but vice versa and it’s against the law. Creative sector is full of sins too, Transmediale and Berlinale survive totally thanks to un(der)paid interns.
Thanks for sharing. We agree that the intern culture is a rotten one, especially here in Berlin. As someone who works in marketing/communications/community management, I hate to see my work devalued by ads for interns to do the work of juniors in this field. The example of the cleaner earning 3 x that of the marketing intern speaks volumes – should companies be allowed to pay insulting wages for roles, just because there’s a queue of people waiting to fill them? Should they only pay decent wages for jobs that no one else wants to do? Thanks for taking it upon yourself to champion this worthwhile cause – good luck with it!
It’s a dead circle here in Berlin; if they don’t sing the law about €8,50/h for all graduate-interns, young people (especially expats) will struggle just more and more.
InternsGoPro, a European organisation, came up with the idea to publish quality listings of the companies who offer internships, anyone who’s done one, can fill out a short questionnaire and rate the company. This would help at least future interns. https://internsgopro.com/rate-your-internships/
It is sad, absurd and totally wrong to be paid €300/m when you already have a BA or MA. You’ve invested money and time in your studies, while working part-time in a shop, and then you graduate and get paid 3 times less for all your hard work. This a broken economy.
I my experience of almost two years in the environment I would say that, when you arrive, you will notice two kinds of dimensions: the “let me tell you about my startup/idea(r)” one and the one in which there is people who started a company. You don’t want to fall in the first one.
Oh, just seen your Facebook comment. You mean the latter.
That is an important distinction – between startups searching for a business case, and successful companies who have found theirs. Berlin needs more of the latter, but that doesn’t discount the work of the pioneers!
I’m excited about Social Media Week Berlin (24th – 28th September), for three good reasons: 1) social media is both my job and my private life – and the reason I can’t always tell the difference between the two; 2) this year’s schedule is full of even more awesome than last year’s (read my highlights here); 3) oh, and I was part of the Advisory Board responsible for putting it all together (see my biog and moody photo here). Here are my personal picks of what is shaping up to be a very special week here in Berlin. All events are free, and open to the public (although you do need to register), so I’ll see you down there!
MONDAY 24th SEPTEMBER
Social Media Week Official Opening Party @ Fluxbau (event info) A no-brainer this one, with free drinks (the Nokia-sponsored Social Bar will give away beer, wine or long drinks, depending on which of three hashtags is most popular at the time), views of the Spree and a performance by an Italian band touring all the European Social Media Weeks: Gardens of Alibis woooooo. Friday’s closing party should be something special too – silent disco, anyone?
TUESDAY 25th SEPTEMBER
Network Awesome @ Naherholung Sternchen (event info) No more information on this yet, but if it’s half as awesome as Network Awesome’s cleverly curated YouTube videos, it should be Fucking Awesome. Par example, here’s a collection of their head-bangingest, mind-fuckingest heavy metal videos:
Yellow– The Movie Screening @ Naherholung Sternchen (event info) The cast and crew of this neo-Gallo horror shot right here in Berlin will explain how crowdfunding made it happen, before screening the gruesome short film itself. The movie’s been shown at Film 4 Fright Fest in London and other festivals, and is already picking up rave reviews. I’ll be down the front, hiding behind my box of popcorn.
WEDNESDAY 26th SEPTEMBER
Collaborative Consumption @ Naherholung Sternchen (event info) People from companies such as Gidsy and Wimdu put their heads together to address the important business of using technology and human ingenuity to develop new ways of sharing, lending and exchanging time, skills and resources.
Beer Tasting @ Naherholung Sternchen (event info) Need I say more?
I Wanna Dance with Somebody… in Chicago! @ Naherholung Sternchen (event info) Berlin’s own Paulo Reachi (Tresor) goes up against a Chicago DJ as their sets are simultaneously broadcast in both cities. To get you warmed up, here’s a playlist from Reachi’s Airdrop Records, including the likes of Soul Clap.
THURSDAY 27th SEPTEMBER
Berlapthlon – The Berlin based Heptathlon @ Naherholung Sternchen (event info) I’ll be taking a break from the day’s hardcore gaming/business content for the appallingly-named, but fun-sounding Berlapthlon. Don’t know if I’ll be taking part in what sounds like a silly sporting event to rival the Slowlympics, but I’ll certainly be there to witness the following activities:
1) Chess (10 minutes)
2) Table tennis
3) Find and eat a vegan currywurst
4) Swim in a lake
5) Bottle opening
6) Bottle collection
7) Get into Berghain
FRIDAY 28th SEPTEMBER
Tod und Social Media / Talking Death @ Design Akademie Berlin (event info / event info) Both are in German, but I might test my language skills at the closing, and potentially most interesting, sessions of Social Media Week 2012. The first is a talk by Jörg Eisfeld-Reschke of ikosom.de, who is then joined by a journalist, founder and an academic for a discussion about what happens to us – on Facebook – after we die. After all that Deutsch and death, I’m going to need a drink!
For the full Berlin schedule, go to SocialMediaWeek.org. If you were curious about what’s happening ALL OVER THE WORLD on Social Media Week, check out these curated guides:
Not only is Berlin the startup capital of Europe, it’s fast becoming its App-icentre. Developers and netrepreneurs are coming up with mobile solutions for problems you never knew existed, in the hopes of earning geek points and investment from Ashton Kutcher. Whether you want to explore Berlin, buy your buddy a beer or just make sure that you’re never alone again, if there isn’t already an app for that, there soon will be. überlin thought it was time to halt the march towards App-igeddon, and to come up with five apps that Berlin really needs.
Summerfy
Berlin winters getting you down? Can’t bear another miserable grey sky? We have the perfect solution with our Summerfy app! Using augmented reality our app can turn the most depressing of scenes into a beautiful summer’s day. Simply point your mobile device at whatever is bumming you out and see it transformed instantly. Berlin – and Berliners – never looked so good!
iProtest
Berliners’ favourite pastime just got social! Now you can earn badges, as well as bragging rights, when you attend the city’s countless demonstrations. Stick it to The Man and be crowned Green God/dess, Nuclear Reactor, Nazi Hunter or Baby Bugger-Off-er. One day you could be the proud owner of the coveted WTF?! badge, issued when everyone is rallied together to protest, but no one seems to know why.
Buskamatic
This app recreates the Berlin busker experience in all its horror. Bursting with over 100 badly-sung songs, played poorly on outmoded instruments, Buskamatic will annoy your fellow commuters just like the real deal! With styles like “Atonal Accordion”, “Ballad Bollocks” and “Fuck off Folk”, you’ll blend seamlessly with your busker buddies, and wonder how you ever lived – and paid the rent – without this mobile music maker.
Find-a-Pfand
The Berlin streets aren’t exactly paved with gold, but every other bin contains treasure – bottles that can be returned for a deposit, or Pfand. Find-a-Pfand hacks Google Maps to show the location of the bottle banks and trash cans that are overflowing with glass goodies, and the closest place to collect your cents. The bottle icons glow red when collection time approaches – get there fast to pick up your pay day!
Angry Berliners
Sick of dealing with German bureacracy? Why not take out your frustrations on this classic strategy game?! Fire your Angry Berliner through webs of red tape, topple over mountains of paperwork, and repeatedly bang his head against brick walls, in order to defeat the pencil-pushing Office Pigs. With over 200 levels available in the App Store, you’ll really be getting somewhere – unlike in real life. Angry Berliner soft toys coming soon!
What Berlin apps would you like to see? Drop us a comment below.
We’re slowly going stir-crazy in our office/flat/shared cell. We can’t carry on like this, so we’ve started seriously looking at coworking spaces – and the city’s startup blog Venture Village is proving an invaluable resource. Not only have they published a list of the ten best coworking spaces, and are running a competition to find an overall winner, but they’ve also assembled this bumper map of all(?) the shared workspaces that Berlin has to offer. So much choice!
Do any of you have experience of coworking in general, or these places in particular? Feel free to leave your tips in the comments below – we’d love to hear from you.
We have opened up a new Arts, Cultural and Business Center in Friedrichshain, Kulturschöpfer. As a organization we organize a co-working space with 12 desks, 4 of which are already rented out. It is a unique place in a great location. Feel free to contact me for more information.
Als Verein organisieren wir ein Gemeinschaftsbüro mit Platz für insgesamt 12 Arbeitsplätze. Du bekommst hier aber nicht nur einen Schreibtisch sondern darüber hinaus noch viel mehr! Wir haben viel Platz und den möchten wir gerne mit Euch teilen. Es soll ein ganz besonderer Ort entstehen, bei dem sich jeder selbst einbringen kann. Angefangen bei den Möbeln, die wir aus Holz alle selbst gebaut haben. Uns ist es wichtig eine bunte Mischung von Arbeitsbereichen vertreten zu haben, bei denen wir uns alle gegenseitig ergänzen können. In unseren Augen hat jeder Arbeitsbereich seinen ganz eigenen Wert und wir bieten einen Raum diesen Wert zu entfalten. Du kannst hier professionell arbeiten und Dich dennoch wie Zuhause fühlen.
Great idea for a blog. We’re in the same boat. May girlfriend and I have worked at home for nearly 12 months now and starting to go mad!
So far we have tried Betahaus. They are super friendly to deal with and it’s a cool space. We need to make a few calls though so have just been going there on a Monday when we do our non-phone work. Kitchen not ideal if you a clean freak.
We’ll be trying a new place next month. Probably somewhere that we can get a phone line. As we’re in Kreuzberg we’re looking for something relatively nearby although a kind lady at Betahaus mentioned a place at Alexanderplatz that we may try. I’ll post a review when we do.
Thanks for the comment Mark, and for letting us know if the creative|media|lab works out. Looks nice!
We’re the same, we’d only be able to work one or two days in whatever coworking space we pick – but would be nice to have some buddies there when we do!
Hi I am currently working at Club-Office in Bundesalle (in the border between Willmersdorf and Shoeneberg) It is an unfashionable part of town, old burgeois west Berlin buildings peppered by dire post war architecture and next to a big road. Nevertheless the office space itself offers excellent facilities and the best of all, the people have been very welcoming. (I don’t speak German yet). My fellow coworkers are young business men and women I am the only ‘creative’ a graphic designer. They suggested that I might be better of going to another place towards the East, but I like it here and I am sure they all are as creative in their business world. Another plus is that I think that this is one of the most economic coworking spaces. They will open new branches in Friedrichstrasse (near the Friedrichstadt-Palast) and in Kreuzberg in a couple of months, but I hear that they are already fully booked. A good thing is that if you are based in one you can always drop in any of the other if you need to. Hope this helps. View from the canteen: https://twitter.com/#!/sprng_graphics/status/170149681228300288/photo/1
Thanks for the feedback! Club-Office certainly looks the most plush of all VV’s top 10, and looks the most businesslike… but I agree that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
We’re more interested in being surrounded by likeminded people and projects, so are unlikely to make the trip out West – but offices in Fstrasse and Kberg, and the ability to work between the two, sounds very promising. We’ll probably check out the Kreuzberg office when it opens and maybe get on whatever waiting list they have.
Thanks again for the comment, have a good day at work!
Mark Wilson 
James 
papaerk 
[…] gilt nicht nur für Deutschland, aber: Jungejunge, was für ein Medienhype geht da […]
Author lists 3 examples of Berlin startups that make global impact. One of those, 6Wunderkinder, returns a 404 on the index page.
Their site’s back up!
As someone who works in tech, but not a startup I look forward to the day where more people understand the distinction. And it’s possible to build a successful, independent and sustainable company in this field.
Genau.
Here is my article about the internships in Berlin:
https://avanthard.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/all-the-truth-about-internships/
My research shows that most of the startups are exploiting the young and talented, and I say “can’t pay, don’t hire! You’re not working for free, why should anyone?”. And everyone knows there are no instructors who’d teach you, you’re expected to work independently from the 1st day. The internships at startups unfortunately are NOT for the benefit of the intern, but vice versa and it’s against the law.
Creative sector is full of sins too, Transmediale and Berlinale survive totally thanks to un(der)paid interns.
Want to know the German law and your rights as an intern? Check this presentation: https://www.slideshare.net/JekaterinaPetrova/internship-culture-in-berlin-13nov
Thanks,
Katja
Thanks for sharing. We agree that the intern culture is a rotten one, especially here in Berlin. As someone who works in marketing/communications/community management, I hate to see my work devalued by ads for interns to do the work of juniors in this field. The example of the cleaner earning 3 x that of the marketing intern speaks volumes – should companies be allowed to pay insulting wages for roles, just because there’s a queue of people waiting to fill them? Should they only pay decent wages for jobs that no one else wants to do? Thanks for taking it upon yourself to champion this worthwhile cause – good luck with it!
Thanks for the comment, James.
It’s a dead circle here in Berlin; if they don’t sing the law about €8,50/h for all graduate-interns, young people (especially expats) will struggle just more and more.
InternsGoPro, a European organisation, came up with the idea to publish quality listings of the companies who offer internships, anyone who’s done one, can fill out a short questionnaire and rate the company. This would help at least future interns. https://internsgopro.com/rate-your-internships/
It is sad, absurd and totally wrong to be paid €300/m when you already have a BA or MA. You’ve invested money and time in your studies, while working part-time in a shop, and then you graduate and get paid 3 times less for all your hard work.
This a broken economy.
Amen, brother.
I my experience of almost two years in the environment I would say that, when you arrive, you will notice two kinds of dimensions: the “let me tell you about my startup/idea(r)” one and the one in which there is people who started a company. You don’t want to fall in the first one.
Thanks for the comment!
Do you mean some people just talk while others do? Or are you talking about the difference between startups and actual companies?
Oh, just seen your Facebook comment. You mean the latter.
That is an important distinction – between startups searching for a business case, and successful companies who have found theirs. Berlin needs more of the latter, but that doesn’t discount the work of the pioneers!