The Burda Bootcamp is usually always packed. But this time, the 'Startup Day'n'Nite' had to be moved to the cafeteria. Many people wanted to see 'Lion's Den' investor Judith Williams and Burda CEO Paul-Bernhard Kallen on stage one evening after the other.
An exciting program was offered and around 500 guests followed the call of the Burda Bootcamp and attended Startup Day'n'Nite. It was all about visions, investments, insights, and prospects. Young founders met successful entrepreneurs. And the audience watched spellbound.
Investor and mentor Judith Williams
For many attendees, the absolute highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the appearance of star investor Judith Williams from "The Lion's Den" and her young business partners, the two founders of Little Lunch. The highly entertaining talk demonstrated how influential—and profitable—an experienced investor can be.
For Little Lunch, Judith Williams' investment isn't just "dumb money"; after all, the teleshopping queen is available to the Augsburg-based founding team at any time. Through this collaboration, the startup has developed into one of the fastest-growing companies in Germany.
Love goes through the stomach
"Was it love at first sight?" asked the presenter. Both the founding team and investor Judith Williams answered emphatically and convincingly.
"I invest in the founders, not in the product. Because the product can be changed, unlike the founders,"
says Williams. According to her, the right gut feeling is crucial – and with the organic soup founders, she was doubly right.
How startups can benefit from corporate investors
Another highlight of the evening was the on-stage talk by Burda CEO Paul-Bernhard Kallen and Dominik Wichmann. The topic of the discussion was "Corporate Investors," how the German startup scene is developing, and how large companies can support young entrepreneurs.
It’s not just about financial support, says Kallen:
“We offer a lot of freedom and encourage founders to pursue new ideas – this is how we have created an ecosystem for entrepreneurs at Burda.”
Startup Day'n'Nite: A hymn to Munich
Another illustrious group followed: DLD-Founder Steffi Czerny sang together with Christian Velbinger from The Royal Jungle and Daria Saharova, da.hoam a hymn to Munich. Although The Royal Jungle and the DLD also perform in other cities, Munich is their favorite.
In addition to discussing Munich's potential for startups, the three shared inspiring insights and background stories about their digital conferences.
The crowning finale: The pitches
The evening concluded with a stage for entrepreneurs. Ten founders pitched to a top-class jury. Competing for places in the Burda Bootcamp mentoring program, the teams presented their business ideas—from renting Baby items From personal voice assistance to a second-hand search engine, it was a colorful mix.
Victory for blockchain startup Bernstein
First place went to the Munich startup amber, which offers blockchain solutions to secure intellectual property and innovation processes for companies.
Over five hours of inspiration, networking, and deep insights were offered at Burda Bootcamp's Startup Day'n'Nite. Natalia Karbasova, Head of Burda Bootcamp, was delighted:
"We succeeded in bringing the local startup community together and creating a networking platform. I'm glad the participants were able to take away so much!"
Copyright of all photos: FettichFilm
