“Stay hungry” – Arnold Schwarzenegger opens Bits & Pretzels

After two years without a physical Bits & Pretzels, Munich’s founder festival is back. According to the organizers, all 5,000 tickets were sold out five weeks before the conference. Another 4,000 people on the waiting list were hoping in vain for a ticket.

Arnold Schwarzenegger opened the startup festival on Sunday morning. In his speech, he traces his path from provincial Styria to Mr. Universe, to worldwide film star, and to governor of California. His recipe for success: you must develop a vision, set big goals, and work toward them continuously: “Stay hungry!” With just one hour a day of effort, you can learn anything. He dismisses the objection that people don’t have time – anyone who sleeps more than six hours should “sleep faster.” Nevertheless, Schwarzenegger refuses to be called a self-made man. He couldn’t have achieved any of this without help from others and therefore works to help others himself. He also views his volunteer work as California governor as a service to the community.

The Bits & Pretzels takes place today and tomorrow at the ICM of Messe München. 370 speakers appear on nine different stages. 92 startups are participating in the pitch competition. The best Munich startup will be awarded the Munich Startup Award on Tuesday in the Schottenhamel festival tent.

Munich Startup is also represented with a booth at the Bits & Pretzels. At our stand, the Crazy Ice Maker offers a total of 14 unconventional ice cream creations – from apple strudel to white sausage, from Augustiner Oktoberfest beer to obatzda.

Planet A Foods is also at the Bits & Pretzels with its oat-based cocoa alternative. Together with the ice cream shop Eismeer in the Glockenbach neighborhood, the Munich startup has developed a cocoa-free and vegan chocolate ice cream. We got to try the ice cream in advance and share our impressions in our video.

Startups present themselves to visitors throughout the startup conference. Self-presentation ranges from the classic trade show booth…

… to large-scale demos. This allows visitors to try out Lymb.io‘s movement game live. During the goal-shooting game, sensors measure where the ball hits and award points depending on whether the goalkeeper was beaten.