Author: Alicia Enenkel

New faces and new (old) formats – Games/Bavaria starts into a diversified year final

Lena Fischer has replaced Robin Kocaurek and as if that weren’t enough change, Robin number 2 will face new challenges from 2020. But for this, the tried and tested comes back: After a year’s break, the X-Mas pitching will take place again this year as a warm-up to the Games/Bavaria Christmas party!

NEW FACES AT GAMES/BAVARIA

Meanwhile no new face anymore, but nevertheless it should be mentioned again that Lena Fischer has been passing the time since September from and for Games/Bavaria. After three great years at FFF-Bayern she succeeded Robin Kocaurek and is currently still working alongside project manager Robin Hartmann. Still? Yes, exactly. At the end of the year, Robin Number 2 will also leave WERK1 and thus the Games/Bavaria project to devote himself to new private and professional tasks.

Of course Lena has long forgiven him for this decision and together they are currently working on an exciting year-end spurt for Games/Bavaria, with the concluding Christmas party on 13 December here at WERK1. And as she told us in the interview, she is already looking forward to next year’s Gamescom and many other formats that are fixed in the Games/Bavaria event calendar. But of course she also wants to set her own course and already has plans for new projects and initiatives to advance the games industry in Bavaria. Which ones? Unfortunately, she didn’t want to tell us that yet, but it’s certainly worth taking a regular look at the Games/Bavaria newsletter in the new year.

But one thing is of course crucial: in order to get everything going according to plan and also to have time for new projects, Lena needs reinforcement at her side! The position for our project manager Games is still open and we would like to ensure a smooth transition in the new year. So if you know someone who knows someone who has experience and contacts in the games industry, likes to organize events and also has the necessary feeling for the political level, you can still recommend the position to others. And even if you have a little less experience and would actually like to get started in the German games industry, you can apply to us as a working student – details can be found on our website.

Project Lead Games

Apply now

WORKING STUDENT

Apply now

THE GAMES/BAVARIA XMAS-PITCHING COMES BACK

After a year’s break, the Games/Bavaria X-Mas Pitching will take place again – this time in a new format: In the afternoon, before the Christmas party, you can present your project. Without any audience, but with a little more time for your pitch and for the feedback of selected jurors.

You’re working on a game you’re looking for professional feedback on? Would you just like to have more experience pitching your game? We give selected teams the opportunity to present their ideas to an expert jury: You can put your idea to the test, get professional feedback on the project and presentation, and gain important experience in a safe environment. Each pitch should function as a practice session and not necessarily as a real sales pitch.

Apply now for the pitch session

mail to: mail@games-bavaria.com

When: 13 December 2019, afternoon
Where: WERK1, Munich
Who: Indie developers and young teams with games project
What: Without a spectator, each team pitches in front of the jury and receives immediately afterwards

The closing date for applications is 29.11.2019.

We are looking forward to an exciting end of the year for and with Games/Bavaria and are already very excited about what Lena will come up with for 2020, hopefully with a new colleague.

November 27, 2019 Alicia EnenkelAllgemein, Games/Bavaria, WERK1 Stories

The “Innovation Program” of the InsurTech Hub Munich starts in cooperation with WERK1 #5

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

In networking start-ups with medium-sized and corporate partners, we see WERK1 as a decisive factor for the success of digitalisation in Bavaria. Here we use our experience and our network to design complex accelerators or topic-specific programs for the benefit of both sides.

The InsurTech Hub Munich emerged from one of these programmes and since then has also been located in WERK1. This is where we are driving forward the digitalisation of the insurance industry. The entrepreneurial platform brings together the various players in the industry and inspires and organises them to work together on groundbreaking, innovative insurance products and services to revolutionise the future of the insurance sector.

The Accelerator Programme has been an elementary component of these efforts from the outset and has already enabled more than 65 national and international start-ups to gain access to the German insurance industry.

Through the ITHM we were not only able to gather very valuable insights about the industry, but also to start projects with exciting customers and partners!
Fabian Beringer – ebot7

APPLY NOW FOR THE INNOVATION PROGRAM #5!

With #5, the Accelerator Program enters the next round under the new name “Innovation Program”. While only 8-10 startups per #Batch have been added in recent years, the InsurTech Hub now takes the program to a whole new level: up to 40 startups are to be given the opportunity to qualify for the 1st phase of the program. You don’t want to miss a chance to give motivated founders with great ideas access to the program, says program manager Ben Shaw.

“We are looking forward to many applications from founders who are in the “pre-seed” to “series A” range with their startup and want to work with us on solutions for the insurance industry – and beyond.

WHAT’S NEW ABOUT THE “INNOVATION PROGRAM”?

Not only the name of the program is new, also the content is based on the feedback from the past programs much has happened: The time frame alone is extended to more than 16 weeks and thus more than doubled compared to the batch before. On the one hand, this is due to the larger number of participants, but it has also been planned in this way at the request of partners and startups.

During the Program, entrepreneurs are now trained according to the MIT curriculum and undergo a 24-step system developed on the basis of it. “In the future, we want to focus even more on training successful entrepreneurs,” says Ben Shaw. There is also an extended mentor matching system. More than 150 mentors from the InsurTech network will support the startups. Networking continues to be the central unique selling point of the program: 21 international corporate partners, 15 of which are well-known insurers in the German and international markets, will accompany the program and contribute their contacts in the sense of the startups. A unique opportunity for international startups to enter the European market or for national startups to further develop their own products for international markets.

The last building block concerns the topic of financing: for the first time, 10 selected VC partners are accompanying the programme, giving feedback and supporting planned financing rounds. Here again all information at a glance:

Program- flyer

In WERK1 we are already looking forward to the start of the program and the entry of the first startups in our house. Until then, we keep our fingers crossed for all applicants to find their way into the program.

November 27, 2019 Alicia EnenkelAllgemein, W1 - InsurTech, WERK1 Stories

THAT WAS THE PROCHILE INNOVATION SUMMIT MUNICH AT WERK1

The dreamlike metropolis on the edge of the continent’s largest mountain range is a true hidden champ in terms of a strong startup scene. Not only the young and wild show their most successful side here. The old-established economic greats together make up the capital of the national stock index. This impressive intro could almost also stand for Munich. But what is meant is Santiago de Chile. The ProChile Innovation Summit was the only European event of its kind to be held in the Isar metropolis with good reason.

EXPORT PROMOTION WITH BAVARIAN SUPPORT

In order to position its own economy even more strongly on the export front, Chile has a long history of diplomatic and economic cooperation with its 56 international export promotion offices. Since the beginning of the year, Munich has once again been on the long list of interesting markets. In the opening speech of the ProChile director, Jorge O’Ryan, it became clear that it is his personal concern to reverse the short-term absence of a local branch. After the former ambassador of Chile had assumed his new office, it became clear to him that Munich, with its excellent B2B opportunities, is not only an absolute must on the list of commercial agencies, but is also ideally suited as a European venue for the authority’s most important networking event. It is not necessarily part of ProChile’s 45-year-old DNA to focus on the country’s start-ups. The list of past export hits is too long. But a solid entrepreneurial scene is the most important pillar of Chile’s Social Economic Development and therefore also for Jorge O’Ryan.

TWO-DAY SUMMIT AT WERK1

After events had already taken place in Beijing and Miami for the Asian and American continents, ProChile now wanted to network both the Bavarian and its own start-up scene with Munich’s politics and economy with the Innovation Summit. Accordingly, the guest list included speakers, high-ranking diplomats, politicians and investors. Workshops, panels, keynotes and social events were held at WERK1 for two days. Separately invited guests also had the opportunity to visit Microsoft Headquarter Germany and the BMW plant on a private tour. The second day ended with a two-hour Venture Capital & Pitch Session. Even though the 48-hour event meant a tight program for all participants, the necessary networking discussions in a convivial atmosphere at WERK1 were not neglected.

THE “HOMEBASE” OF THE STARTUPS

The fact that the first ProChile Innovation Summit took place on European soil at Munich’s most startup-friendly location was the logical consequence. WORK1 not only provided the right ecosystem of founding spirit and networking for the country’s economy and economic policy, but also the usual hospitality. Clemens Baumgärtner as a speaker for work and economy of the city of Munich (and Wiesn boss, so much time has to be) was just as happy to refer to the host attributes of Bavaria and Munich in particular during his opening speech. It is therefore quite clear to him that Chile not only has a strong trading partner to expect in the state capital, but also the right place to develop new business models. With its 17 universities, the city has, on the one hand, an extremely strong academic startup scene and, on the other hand, the corresponding companies of relevant size and market placement that are important for a vital B2B environment. Even the best business model needs customers who are willing to pay.

THE MUNICH MIXTURE MAKES IT!

In the end, Baumgärtner was also important to mention that the “Munich mixture” is not something that the city was put into its cradle. The balanced distribution of different economic and corporate structures is particularly close to Munich’s heart. Only if SMEs, corporate groups and micro-enterprises share the same field as the different industries and sectors, can a city walk stably through times of crisis. The year 2008 had simply shown how important a diverse economy such as the one we have in Munich is. In this respect, it was completely clear what position the Munich start-up culture also has. Only where new things grow can old things thrive.

INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

WERK1 CEO Dr. Florian Mann was no less satisfied during the ProChile Innovation Summit. For him, the question of Munich’s position as a startup spot did not arise in the first place anyway. After all, we have two elite universities, an extremely high talent density, headquarters in IT, automotive, aerospace, consulting and much more. Even if only a third of the VC’s are to be found here, that is in comparison to Berlin and Co. quite little, the city simply has an innovative ecosystem. All the better if WORK1 functions as a brand in such an environment and wants to network international entrepreneurship with us. Florian Mann is definitely planning his next trip to Santiago in November. There he will have to award a place in WORK1 as guest juror in a national pitch session. We can therefore remain curious to see what the typical national founding spirit will bring to WERK1 from so far away…

November 4, 2019 Alicia EnenkelEvent Stories, Events, WERK1 Stories

CLINISERVE IN WERK1 – SOLVING THE CARE EMERGENCY WITH DIGITALIZATION

“The best thing about our work is that the nurses are incredibly grateful. At last someone is dealing with their problems.” Before Jaakko Nurkka, one of the founders behind Cliniserve’s digital nursing organisation tools, starts off for his last appointment of the day, we meet him at the WERK1 Café for an interview. Jaakko’s days are usually long. Because Cliniserve has dedicated itself to a mammoth task: To tackle markets with complex and outdated structures, but at the same time enormous volumes – the healthcare systems worldwide.

APPROACHING THE “CARE PROBLEM” WITH DIGITALIZATION

Around 100,000 nursing staff are currently absent from German clinics. And the work of those who “keep the health shop running” is sometimes chaotic, Jaakko tells us. He knows this from his own experience. Before founding the startup at the beginning of 2018, he and his two co-founders, Quirin Körner and Julian Nast-Kolb, completed several internships in clinics and nursing homes and thus learned first-hand about the stress nursing staff are exposed to during regular shift work. “A major problem is purely binary communication: the patient rings or doesn’t ring. The nurse doesn’t know in advance whether he only needs something to drink or has difficulty breathing, but still has to walk,” says Jaakko. This is exactly where Cliniserve comes in. More precisely, the app. The patient can load it onto his or her own smartphone via a QR code on the bed – in compliance with data protection regulations, of course – and use intuitive buttons to communicate concretely what he or she needs in the respective situation. The nursing team then organises the tasks via their own Cliniserve smartphone, delegates them according to qualification levels and saves the most important resource in nursing: time!

CARE & DIGITITAlization: REAL NEW TERRITORY!

In practice, German hospitals still organise most processes via pen and paper. The Cliniserve team can therefore look to the green field when it comes to digitizing nursing care – largely undisturbed, but also without significant support. However, a younger generation of nursing staff is increasingly demanding digital processes at work. And if the current state of care emergency has at least one good thing, then it is the fact that these needs of nursing staff are now being heard. Good prospects for Cliniserve!

ADDED VALUE EVEN WITHOUT IT INTEGRATION

We are currently in the good position that our customers are approaching us with their problems, Jaakko continues. Cliniserve is therefore continuing to develop the system with functions that go far beyond simplifying patient communication. With one limitation: “The in-house clinic IT is usually too complex for us to set up an integrated system quickly. We therefore provide both software and hardware and offer integration only as long-term added value.” In the long term, however, Cliniserve – according to the vision of the three founders – will actually become the fully integrated operating system for nursing care. And thus fundamentally change the work in the care sector.

CONFIRMED: THE MOST ‘STARTUP-FRIENDLY’ PLACE IN MUNICH

And anyway – the initial scepticism of the founders of Cliniserve as to whether this might not all become a little too “startup-hip” was quickly forgotten: “At WERK1 there is a pleasant mixture of peace and quiet for working and many opportunities to seek advice and to network. These include Jaakko and his team as well as industry events such as Roche’s Health Accelerator, through which Cliniserve itself came to WERK1. Events such as the recruiting fair or simply an uncomplicated lunch with other founders. “From our point of view, WERK1 more than lives up to its claim of being the ‘most startup-friendly’ place in Munich,” praises the founder. And must then however really loosely to its date…

We still have time to thank you for the interesting conversation. And for one wish: May the business idea of Cliniserve have exactly the positive impact on society for which the crew is so keen. So that we can all grow old with a good feeling in a few years’ time. Because we know that in an emergency, we are in good hands in the medical care.

Startup: Cliniserve
Contact: info@cliniserve.de
Website: www.cliniserve.de

September 26, 2019 Alicia EnenkelStartup Stories, WERK1 Stories

FULFIN – SUCCESSFUL WITH E-COMMERCE KNOW-HOW AT WERK1

One click at Amazon and our desired product will be one day later on the doorstep. Convenient, fast and easy. The online trade and especially Amazon is booming, especially thanks to the marketplace concept. The marketplace also creates new opportunities for sellers. But many new traders encounter growth hurdles that cannot be overcome with equity capital. Fulfin is breaking new ground in the supply of credit to online traders. From their newly thought-out goods financing for online merchants
Hevella and Lakeside have invested a 7-digit amount of equity and debt capital in the start-up.

LACK OF CREDIT SUPPLY IN ONLINE Business

The e-commerce market is growing by more than 12% every year. Amazon dominates this market with 60% – tendency rising. Amazon’s marketplace offers new opportunities for young entrepreneurs to easily market their products. The path from the production of the product to storage, delivery and finally sale via Amazon is, however, very lengthy and involves considerable liquidity requirements. Conventional financial service providers and banks encounter problems here with their offers because they cannot adequately assess the risks and collateral available. This makes it difficult for online sellers to obtain a suitable loan.

INDIVIDUAL LOANS FOR E-COMMERCE MERCHANTS

Fredi Gruber and Nathan Evans from fulfin solve this problem with expert know-how from e-commerce and finance. Using digital interfaces, fulfin gets an exact picture of the seller, the product and the logistics route and can thus align the loan individually, precisely and efficiently. By dovetailing the financing with the logistics project, the existing inventory can be used as collateral and often even the costs of “fulfilments” can be reduced. This gives ambitious online merchants the opportunity to expand on the Amazon marketplace or at their own online shop with an individual loan.

Together, Fredi and Nathan have over 40 years of experience in financial management and e-commerce. In late 2017, Nathan returned from Silicon Valley and brought the right momentum to WERK1 Coworking. At the beginning of 2018, the two of them founded fulfin, after having long had the desire to build their own company.

WERK1 HAS AUTHENTICITY LIKE NO OTHER PLACE IN MUNICH

After one and a half years, the founding team feels so comfortable at WERK1 and the Munich East hub that they would like to stay for many more years. No place in Munich is as authentic as WERK1 tells us Nathan, and that is why they would have organized their “Seller Barcamp” with over 120 Amazon dealers and experts in WERK1. At a barcamp there are no speakers, but all participants put together a common program. The event was so well received that it was named one of the best events in the industry in Germany.

With the investors behind them, they will not only extend the idea of the Seller Barcamp to other German cities, but will also expand it as a team and successfully enter the future together.

Startup: fulfin
Kontakt: info@fulfin.io
Webseite: fulfin.io

September 16, 2019 Alicia EnenkelStartup Stories, WERK1 Stories

Kick-off of the #BayFiD campaign in WERK1 – initiator Minister of State for Digital Affairs Judith Gerlach

With the kick-off of the campaign “#BayFiD – Bavarian women in digital professions” the Minister of State for Digital Affairs Judith Gerlach wants to specifically support women on their way into digital professions. The initiative runs under the patronage of Bavaria’s Minister President Dr. Markus Söder. The programme was launched at WERK1 and Federal Minister Dorothee Bär also travelled from Berlin to support it.

A female quota of over 95% for an event: This is also a rarity among founders in WERK1 and generally the proportion of women in digital occupations is clearly too low at just under 20%. In any case, the Minister of State for Digital Affairs, Judith Gerlach, sees this as a great waste of potential in the course of the shortage of skilled workers in digital professions in Bavaria. The #BayFiD campaign she initiated is intended to change that. A 2-year program with expert support, exchange of experience and many networking opportunities is intended to make a start and produce many new “role models” for young women.

“I hope that women will have an enthusiasm for digital topics right from the start of their careers. Here we have to do the necessary preparatory work: To raise interest in digital topics at an early stage, to strengthen the proportion of women in research, to support women in training and further education for digital professions and to promote digital start-ups”.
Judith Gerlach Bavarian State Minister for Digital Affairs

THE KICK-OFF AT WERK1 – AN INSPIRING START

The host Judith Gerlach invited the participants to the start in WORK1. A special guest was also Federal Minister Dorothee Bär, who also comes from Bavaria and made the long way from Berlin for the event. In her short speech she emphasized the signal effect of the initiative and invited all participants to bring their experiences to Berlin. For them, digitalisation would be a great opportunity for women to combine their career with their role in the family, as working “remotely” in digital professions is the order of the day. In addition, more women would have to play an active role in digitisation and set an example for others.

A role that both power women already like to play. However, they themselves would like to see many more that show how women successfully design companies and products. In the subsequent talk, further female role models were brought onto the stage who reported on their experiences and successes in digital professions.

THE WERK1 ALSO SEES THE POTENTIAL AND NECESSITY OF THE INITIATIVE

From WERK1 it was of course a great pleasure for us to host the kick-off event of the initiative and to take up the many creative impulses. We also welcome the content of the initiative. WERK1 Managing Director Dr. Florian Mann commented: “The entire team and I personally see the necessity for this initiative in order to get more diversity in digital professions and ultimately also in digital start-up teams, which we want to promote in particular.

In this way, it is quite possible that WERK1 will participate in the discourse with its own projects and initiatives on the topic of “Female Founders” over the next few years. For the current #BayFiD campaign, we wish you every success – the start arouses anticipation for more.

Pictures: www.joergkochfoto.de / copyright StMD / Jörg Koch

August 23, 2019 Alicia EnenkelEvent Stories, Events, WERK1 Stories

SUMMERPARTY 2019 – WILD WILD WERK1 – FROM FACE PAINTING TO FLAMETHROWERS

Two big celebrations have now firmly established themselves in the WERK1 calendar: The Christmas party at the end of the year is always a chance to pause for a moment, to review the year and to celebrate what we have achieved together. On the other hand, the summer party is rather the gathering of the entire community: We get to know each other better, friends, family, alumni, mentors and many others from the WERK1 environment come together and we start the second half of the year. On Thursday, July 11th, the time had come again. Under the motto WILD WILD WERK1, we invited almost 200 visitors from WERK1 to start a big summer party.

START FOR FUTURE STARTUP-FOUNDERS WITH CHILD MAKE-UP – THEN IT BECAME “WILD”.

The youngest start at 16 o’clock. Thanks to the great help of our WERK1-Startup Artmasters, the children and later the adults were dressed up for the rest of the evening. Short time later, in the early evening all cowboys and -girls could prove themselves at Bull Riding – the winner got a ride for two in the Ferris wheel High Sky here at the factory quarter with more than one minute later in the evening. At exactly 6 p.m. Sheriff & Managing Director Florian Mann entered the bar: After a few words of welcome the catering was opened and all guests were prepared for the rest of the evening with burgers, hot dogs or baked potatoes. At 9 p.m. the DJ rang in the loud part of the evening in the WERK1 Café and kept the mood going until the end.

A STAGE FOR REVELLERS

Business development in a different way: Vanessa on the road as a fire devil

Startup’ler can not only work late into the night, also with the celebration some do not go one minute too early home. So it became a long night together with the WERK1 team and many guests from the community and together we start now into the second half of the year, in which surely still many further success stories wait for us all.

LATER IN THE EVENING IT GOT “HOT”.

In the meantime, there was a touch of Silicon Valley at the event: a flamethrower from “The Boring Company”, founded by Elon Musk, found his way to the guests thanks to our residents from Curiosity.ai and provided spectacular pictures – not a trace of “boring”.

July 25, 2019 Alicia EnenkelEvent Stories, Events, WERK1 Stories

Hubert Aiwanger, Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs with Startup Teens at WERK1

On 9 May 2019, WERK1 hosted the startup teens. More than 100 teenagers followed an exciting talk with startup entrepreneurs from TheSimpleClub and Inveox, our WERK1 managing director Dr. Florian Mann and this year’s guest of honour, farmer and Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger.

Startup-Coaching for Teens

Our managing director Dr. Florian Mann opened the event: “He is always looking forward to welcoming the startup teens to WERK1 and to supporting young people in making the dream of their own startup come true. When it came to the question of who wanted to start a company in the future, the fingers leapt up – the best prerequisite for a great evening!

Rubin Lind, winner of the Startup Teens Challenge and founder of “Skills4School”, led the evening. In a panel discussion, the entrepreneurs introduced themselves and talked about how to master the path from the idea to the foundation. The most important thing is to stand behind the ideas and always stay on the ball, even when it comes downhill, motivated the experts. If you have the wish to achieve something, nothing stands in the way of implementing the idea. The entrepreneurs also gave the young people the idea to inform themselves on the Internet and to build up a reach and community via the social media and to perceive events such as the Startup-Coaching programs and events of Startup Teens.

“Startup initiatives are our future”

Hubert Aiwanger appealed to the pupils to take more risks and to realise themselves. He spoke of today’s “affluent society” where it is important to keep the founder thinking on going. The Free State of Bavaria stands behind start-ups and young entrepreneurs. The Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs referred to the 7 new digital business incubators, which provide young entrepreneurs with support for their own start-up projects. He assured “We want to tackle” and thus encouraged the young people to realize their ideas.

Afterwards, the young people were allowed to ask questions to the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs and the start-up entrepreneurs themselves. In addition to the general entrepreneurial context, questions about the current school system also arose. The pupils would like to learn more about founding and the employer side at school and not only to be taught the employee side. Mr. Aiwanger confirmed the pupils’ point of view and was open to suggestions as to how these contents could be better communicated in the future.

The future young entrepreneurs had their goal of their own startup clearly in mind and turned to the startup experts on stage. How long does it take to set up a startup? And how do I build a network? These and many other questions were answered in detail until the end of the event.

Afterwards, the students had time over drinks and snacks to talk personally to their entrepreneurial role models as well as to network with each other. We are delighted that WERK1 was once again able to host this great event!

May 14, 2019 Alicia EnenkelAllgemein, Event Stories, Events, WERK1 Stories