2013 is the year of the 50th anniversary of the Elysée treaty. To commemorate and celebrate this historical event Google’s Cultural Institute has digitized the contract including signatures of Kondrad Adenauer and Charles De Gaulle extending it’s lifetime into an era that has not much in common anymore with the year 1963.
The Digital Club Franco-Allemand (DCFA), that we recently created as a French non-profit organization, and of which I am a co-founder, wants to take this heritage and take the French-German friendship into the digital age.
Our aim is to help French and German players in Consumer Web, Mobile, E-Commerce, B2B, SaaS or other digital markets to start sharing and leveraging each others’ skills and competencies. Rather than looking at the almost non-existing political border and considering your neighbors’ country for your business expansion, our long term vision is to enable entrepreneurs, developers, VCs, universities, R&D-Labs and other players to co-create, co-finance and act as One, almost like Airbus does in aerospace (but without the political dimension). We need the cross-European success-stories in order to remain relevant next to the big US and emerging Asian players. We believe in this vision as the best answer to an increasingly global market, as well as the best strategy to create jobs, wealth and a bright future for all digital entrepreneurs in Germany, France and other European countries.
Berlin’s NEXT conference on April 23rd & 24th is the perfect event to start making it happen.
Why NEXT? Looking for a co-founder, SEM or SEO expert, insight information about the French or German market, development resources, want to speak to a “different” VC? There is no better and easier place to start your networking in a new territory and develop the relationships that will help everybody grow “as One”.
I personally visited NEXT last year and summarized my experience comparing the Berlin startup scene with the Parisian in a series for Rude Baguette. Since last year a lot has happened; Paris and Berlin have both strengthened dramatically the digital eco-sysytem. This rapid evolution has motivated me, now with the DCFA, to develop a partnership with the NEXT organizers to include a series German-French events during the conference in Berlin. They immediately supported the idea and we gained Rude Baguette as media partner.
For entrepreneurs and VC this is a unique opportunity to learn, discover and network with peers from across the Rhine river. We’ve pulled together a strong program that DCFA presents together with Rude Baguette and that you shouldn’t miss.
April 23rd, 19h00 – 23h00 – French-German Networking Exchange
Location: to be announced shortly
Expect special guests that will unveil their european strategy during the event
Open to everybody
Registration: free: Sign up here to receive your personal invitation !
April 24th, 8h30 – 9h30 – France-Germany Breakfast
Location: Main conference lobby of BCC, NEXT venue
Breakfast is the best occasion for an informal chat, isn’t it?
Open to all NEXT attendees
April 24th, 14h00 – 15.30 – Panel: “How can we build French-German relationships in the digital age”
Location: BCC, NEXT venue
Yeah, this is about building the digital airbus!
Open to all NEXT attendees
Followed by free drinks offered by Rude Baguette
Moderator: Yann Mauchamp (CEO of Mutual Benefits)
Speakers:
Céline Lazorthes (CEO of Leetchi)
Dominik Matyka (CEO of Plista)
Maeva Tordo (ESCP Europe’ Blue Factory incubator)
Nicolas Celier (Partner at Alven Capital)
Dr. Wolfgang Krause (Partner at Seventure)
Erkan Kilicaslan (Partner at Iriscapital)
If that wasn’t enough, we’ve also negotiated with the event organizers a special discount of 50%: only valid through April 3rd, use the code AprilFoolsSpecial (this is a real code!) and Start-up tickets drop below 150€ and regular tickets to 450€. Register here now to get your special rate ticket!
We are thrilled that we can offer this special Easter discount and hope that we’ll see a big French delegation hitting the fairground in Berlin.