June 17th will see the first Uber B2B conference come to Berlin. Uber B2B seeks to bring together B2B software, web, IT and hardware entrepreneurs and executives from top mid-sized / multinational corporations to collaborate, network and identify new opportunities to work together. For startups, there’s lots of opportunity to get in front of big companies and potential partners via networking, the startup pitch showdown (application deadline June 1st) and the ‘industry reverse pitch’ (more information this in a bit).
The organizers strongly believe that given the rapidly changing business landscape in Germany and Europe as a whole as well as a challenging economic environment, the only sustainable way forward is for all players in the B2B ecosystem to work in collaboration. This sentiment is best summed up by Dr. Henning Kagerman, former CEO of SAP and president of Acatech who speaks about the challenges in Germany which clearly apply to Europe as well:
“Germany faces major challenges that can only be solved by working together. The innovation and sustainabilty of Germany thrives on the dialogue between established industry, the Germany Mittelstand companies, and young entrepreneurial startups. Events such as those by Uber B2B help promote the potential of young entrepreneurial talent and accelterate the interaction between these disciplines and players”
The event will of course have a solid programme including in-depth workshops around topics such as negotiation, launching your startup, big data, etc. and panels focusing on everything from how to close deals to utilizing mergers and acquisitions to drive growth. Another main highight of this years events is a nice twist on the pitch compeition concept called the ‘Industy Reverse Pitch’. This pitch will put five mid-size and multinational companies in the hot seat this time as they will need to pitch attending startups on the partner opportunities they offer. So if you’re a B2B startup and are looking for partnership opportunities this is definitely not to be missed.
Finally and perhaps most importantly for startups is that there will be a Uber B2B startup showdown competition where selected startups will get the opportunity to pitch infront of 50+ investors, 300+ professionsal from industry, media, etc. Selected startups will be notified on June 7th and will participate in 2 pre-pitch rehearsals. Apply here by June 1st if you’d like to participate.
If you’d like to attend, they still have special rates available through May 31st for startups at only 100€, students & job seekers at 50€, and professionals (VCs, angels, mid-sized / big companies) at 500€.
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Event Details
Date: June 17, 2013
Location: The Kalkscheune, Johannisstraße 2 Berlin, Germany