- Start-ups from around Europe to pitch their promising ideas at NEXT Berlin conference
- Deutsche Telekom’s incubator hub:raum will support NEXT13 as host of the start-up track
- Pitch winner will receive international attention and a valuable prize package
Who’s got the verve and the nerve for the big stage? At NEXT Berlin start-ups from all around Europe will get a chance to pitch their innovative ideas live on stage at the Berliner Congress Center - bcc. Applications for the international pitch start today at nextberlin.eu/startups and will run until March 8, 2013. The community can push applicants to the next round by voting for their favourites. Voting will start on February 25 and end on March 29. A jury of experts will then select the 12 finalists from the community’s top 30. Experts from hub:raum, serial entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and media representatives will be among the jury. The finalists will get the chance to present their visions and business models live on the NEXT Start-up Stage. This year NEXT Berlin will put an even greater focus on Europe’s entrepreneurial scene. After last year’s success, Deutsche Telekom and its incubator hub:raum will again host the start-up track, this time on both conference days. The first day will be dedicated to topics especially relevant for start-ups. The second day will be reserved for the pitches, with Hermione Way (Newspepper, TNW) leading the programme as host. The winner will receive a start-up pitch package put together by hub:raum and SinnerSchrader. This will contain valuable services like a mentoring programme, together with a cash prize, that will help the winner on its way to further success.
Who can participate? Start-ups will have to meet these requirements to pitch at NEXT13:
- Their business idea is a solution to a real user problem and has large market potential.
- They are planning their business activities in Europe.
- They are a team of at least two founders.
- Their company was founded within the last year.
- They are currently looking for a seed funding to a max. of € 500.000
- The company's sector is: internet ecosystem, digital media or telecommunications.
Start-ups in the area 'Connected Living/ Home' will also be able to apply for the NEXT Special Award.
Information on NEXT Berlin, videos of last year's competitors and winners and the NEXT blog about current trends in the digital world can be found at nextberlin.eu .
About NEXT Berlin NEXT Berlin has established itself in recent years as an important agenda setter for tomorrow’s topics of the digital economy in Europe. International thought leaders inspire business developers, marketing experts and entrepreneurs in keynotes and workshops. For the eighth time, the digital agency SinnerSchrader will host the NEXT Berlin conference, this time on April 23 & 24 at the bcc in the heart of Berlin. More than 2,000 participants from around the world will be expected. This year, experts will address topics including invisible technology, new interfaces, the importance of context and the makers. The central theme of the conference will be “Here be dragons” – a call to bravely encounter new, unknown territories. Keynote speakers will be among others the Vice President of the European Commission Neelie Kroes, Harper Reed (Obamas CTO for his reelection-campaign), Start-up guru Yossi Vardi, Robert Scoble (Scobleizer) and Thomas Kiessling (Deutsche Telekom). About SinnerSchrader SinnerSchrader is one of Europe’s leading digital agencies. It develops interactive strategies, platforms and applications that create far-reaching relationships between the consumer and brand. More than 400 people work for the SinnerSchrader Group in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Prague and Hanover for customers including Allianz, comdirect bank, Holy Fashion Group, REWE, simyo, ŠKODA, Tchibo, and TUI. SinnerSchrader was founded in 1996 and went public in 1999. About Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom is one of the world's leading integrated telecommunication companies, with approximately 131 million mobile customers, 33 million fixed-network lines, and more than 17 million broadband lines. According to its vision ‘My first choice for connected life and work’, Telekom is consistently opening up growth areas and is increasingly developing into a multiple product company. Beside its traditional telephone business, the innovation and growth areas initiated back in 2010 are being further developed: mobile Internet, the connected home, Internet offerings, T-Systems, cloud services, and intelligent networks for energy, healthcare and automotive.