Last Thursday it was time again for a 48 forward Session. This time, the topic was entrepreneurship. In addition to successful founders, numerous investors were invited. Munich Startup was also in attendance and looked back on the event.
What does it take to start a successful business and how do you convince investors? These were the key topics on February 16, which took place at the Munich Chamber of Commerce and Industry At the beginning, organizer Daniel Fürg welcomed the approximately 150 guests and then handed over the floor to the IHK Startup UnitIHK Startup Unit introduced itself and its services, such as advice on funding opportunities or crowdfunding as well as general start-up advice.
Then the first panel, moderated by Hannah Klose, began. The panel featured renowned founders who are no longer unknown in the scene:
– Dr. Andreas Fruth (Global Savings Group / CupoNation)
– Dr. Bernd Storm (aboalarm / Bits & Pretzels)
– Alexander Henn (Shore)
What do you need to be a founder? Doctoral students Fruth and Storm agree that you don't need a doctorate to start a business. What matters more is a good idea, knowing your target audience, and identifying and exploiting a niche market. Storm himself was on the consulting career ladder before founding his company and only then discovered a taste for entrepreneurship.
The audience could participate interactively in the discussion and provided sli.do Questions. For example, the audience wanted to know what aboalarm's specific business model looks like or whether e-commerce is still the future. According to the sli.do survey, the audience included many founders and guests who are planning to start a startup in the near future. Approximately 70% of the audience were founders or interested in starting a business.
After a short break and a spontaneous pitch from Voctag, the second talk of the evening followed. The Investors/Accelerators panel was moderated by organizer Daniel Fürg and featured high-profile guests:
– Christoph Ortlepp (Earlybird Venture Capital)
– Thimo V. Schmitt-Lord (Bayer Foundations)
– Dr. Peter Ulrich (O&R Corporate Finance AG)
– Manuel Sprödhuber (Astutia)
– Marie-Hélène Ametsreiter (Speedinvest)
– Dr. Katja Krämer (Play – the Sky open innovation hub)
In addition to general questions about the process and the amount of investment, specific experiences and tips were also shared. Startups should pay close attention to their business terminology and be able to articulate their business idea. Investors need to know what the pitch is all about and what added value the startup can bring from the very first minute of the pitch.
The fact that entrepreneurship has become a high priority was demonstrated not only by the high-caliber panelists, but also by the lively participation of many interested parties. The topic of "investor search" in particular seems to be finding a receptive audience in the Munich startup scene.
Here go to the next 48forward dates.
For those who would like to follow the entire event afterwards, here is the live video:
https://www.facebook.com/48fwrd/videos/2064000293826603/
Photos: Meltem Salb I Photography & Beauty
