Bits & Pretzels
 | |
| Company type | Startup Events UG |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2014 in Munich, Germany |
| Founder | Andreas Bruckschlögl and Bernd Storm |
| Products | conference and workshops |
| Website | www.bitsandpretzels.com |
Bits & Pretzels is a three-day conference for founders and people from the start-up ecosystem. It takes place in the period of the "Oktoberfest" in Munich. National and international founders as well as international investors share their insights. The founders of Virgin, Airbnb, Shazam, Tinder, Zendesk and Evernote, to name just a few, have attended the event. The goals of the founders of Bits & Pretzels are to create a networking event for inspirations and a stronger focus on Munich as an international start-up location.
History
The first Bits & Pretzels conference was a small founders’ breakfast for the local start-up ecosystem which was introduced by Andreas Bruckschlögl and Bernd Storm. 1,400 guests participated at this event in the festival hall of the "Löwenbraukeller" in Munich. In January 2015, Felix Haas joined the team as the third co-host. Among the first speakers were the start-ups of Qype, mydealz, Stylight and Amiando. In addition, various start-up pitches took place. The Bavarian State Minister for Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology and Deputy Prime Minister Ilse Aigner, who is also the patron of the event, chaired a panel discussion on current political issues. The revenue of the event was donated to the charity organization "Münchner Tafel".
On 16 January 2015, the second Bits & Pretzels took place. An audience of 3,600 participants surpassed all expectations. National and international speakers were participating at the event. Philip Inghelbrecht and Avery Wang gave a speech on SHAZAM! and talked about their initial problems. Other speakers included Jonathan Badeen from Tinder and Ray Chan from 9GAG.[1]
The third Bits & Pretzels was held from 27 to 29 September 2015 with a number of 3,500 participants. The event evolved from a cozy breakfast to a three-day event. The first two days took place at the International Congress Center Munich while the last day offered networking opportunities at the popular "Oktoberfest". Among the speakers were Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer and Niklas Östberg, CEO of Delivery Hero.
From 25 to 27 September 2016 more than 5,000 attendees came together for the three-day event for the fourth Bits & Pretzels edition. The first two days took place at the International Congress Center of the Messe München and the last day at the "Oktoberfest". Famous speakers like Sir Richard Branson, American actor Kevin Spacey, Freeletics CEO Daniel Sobhani and the investors of the German TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen" Judith Williams, Carsten Maschmeyer, Frank Thelen and Jochen Schweizer gave speeches. Furthermore, successful international entrepreneurs gave insights into their businesses.[2][3]
Agenda
"From Founders to Founders" is the motto of this conference. Founders of national and international companies share their stories, talk about experiences and discuss trends. The first two days take place at the International Congress Center in Munich and keynotes, workshops, panel discussions, master classes and a start-up competition are on the agenda. Aiming to combine Bavarian traditions with innovation, the speakers on the main stage wear traditional Bavarian clothes. The third day of the conference focuses on networking and takes place at the "Oktoberfest".
Every year there are well-known announced speakers, special surprise guests and panel discussions. With the concept of a Table Captain, Bits & Pretzels participants can choose one of the CEOs, editors-in-chief or investors and have familiar networking opportunities while they can share their knowledge at the "Oktoberfest". There is also an entertainment program with comedians and bands. In 2015, for example, Bavarian comedian Harry G performed at the event while in 2016 the German band "Sportfreunde Stiller" gave a live concert. In addition to the main event smaller side-events will also take place at the same time, which should support the networking process.
Speakers (selection)
National and international speakers from start-ups participate at the event
| Year | Company | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Bigpoint | Heiko Hubertz |
| 2014 | Qype | Stephan Uhrenbacher |
| 2014 | Westwing | Delia Fischer |
| 2014 | Zooplus | Sven Rittau |
| 2014 | Lars Hinrichs | |
| 2014 | Jochen Schweizer | Jochen Schweizer |
| 2015 | 9GAG | Ray Chan |
| 2015 | Tinder | Jonathan Badeen |
| 2015 | Tune | Peter Hamilton |
| 2015 | Shazam | Avery Wang |
| 2015 | Zendesk | Mikkel Svane |
| 2015 | Prezi | Peter Arvai |
| 2015 | Evernote | Phil Libin |
| 2015 | LeWeb | Loïc Le Meur |
Table Captains (selection)
Table Captains are representatives from fields such as media, economy or education. They are supposed to encourage discussions at individual tables. According to the first-come, first-served principle, visitors can choose their Table Captain for networking and discussions.
| Speaker | Position | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Katharina Borchert | Chief Innovation Officer | Mozilla Corporation |
| Jan Christe | Chief editor | t3n Magazin |
| Alexander Görlach | Publisher | The European |
| Wolfgang Grupp | Owner | Trigema |
| Richard Gutjahr | Journalist | Bayerisches Fernsehen |
| Florian Langenscheidt | Venture Capitalist | |
| Nico Lumma | Founder | Next Media Accelerator |
| Frank Thelen | Chief Executive Officer | e42 |
| Dominik Wichmann | Chief editor | Digital Life Design |
| Judith Williams | Entrepreneur |
References
- ^ "Bits & Pretzels: The Founders Festival in Munich". Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ "From Kevin Spacey to Sir Richard Branson, inspiration at Bits & Pretzels 2016". Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ "Kevin Spacey holds the opening keynote at Bits & Pretzels 2016 Startup Event in Munich". Retrieved 8 December 2016.