PITCH & PEOPLE Folge 3: Bits & Pretzels
From white sausage breakfast to Europe’s founder platform: The Bits & Pretzels founders Andreas Bruckschlögl, Felix Haas and Bernd Storm are turning Munich into a hotspot for startups and VCs – with “liquid networking”, utility value instead of show and a clear Europe focus. In our new video podcast Pitch & People, they tell how a “Hi, Obama” in a hotel gym became the biggest stage moment of the Bits – and why persistence in the ecosystem makes the difference. First published on: September 24, 2025
From hotel gym to Wiesn stage: The quirky Obama story
Berlin, 2016. A hotel room at the Adlon. Helicopters over the city, everything cordoned off. Obama is there for a farewell visit. By coincidence, the Bits & Pretzels makers also have a room at the Adlon, as Bernd Storm tells us at Pitch & People.
Rumors circulate: The president works out early. So pack sneakers. Bernd Storm heads to the gym at 5:30 a.m. The room is full of buff men – Secret Service. An hour on the bike. Then commotion. Obama is coming. Meanwhile, co-founder Felix Haas is lying by the pool. He rushes over to the gym in his bathrobe, slippers on his feet, apple in his hand. He does stretches to blend in. Next to him, the treadmill.
Then the decisive moment: Obama walks in and chooses the treadmill right next to Felix Haas. Only an awkward “Hi Obama” comes out of the mouth of the founder of Amiando and IDnow.
“I could have said ‘Good Morning Mr. President’ or at least ‘Hi, Barack’. But I couldn’t think of anything better.”
But the former US president stays cool as Haas tells him about the Bits and that he should drop by sometime.
“Great… Oktoberfest… I want to bring Michelle.”
recalls Felix Haas of Obama’s response.
The conversation lasts only about thirty seconds, maybe a minute. But that’s enough. Days later, the three founders of the Bits & Pretzels sit down and write letters to Washington. Highly official. But it takes time before they even get a response, and it requires a lot of work afterward. Diplomatic channels, advocates, follow-ups again and again. Three years long.
In 2019, it works out. Obama comes to Munich – to the Bits stage. The big appearance is the result of timing and persistence. A Wiesn outfit is ready at the hotel. He tries it on, sends a photo home – but puts on the suit instead. Justification from Michelle off-camera: “It doesn’t look good on you, your legs are too thin.”
From white sausage breakfast to Germany’s largest founder event
It all started small with the Bits & Pretzels twelve years ago. White sausage breakfast at the Hofbräuhaus, 80 people, two to three hours of exchange. Today it has become a stage with world-renowned speakers, workshops and sessions – with the clear goal of getting new ventures on track.
New is the density of decision-makers. 500 CIOs from German companies come – as potential customers and development partners. 1,500 venture capital investors travel in, plus around 300 funders into these funds. They meet at the Investors’ Summit. A mix that forces conversations on equal footing.
Bernd Storm and Felix Haas promise less show, more substance: masterclasses, small specialized stages, debates at the CIO and Investor Summit. Whoever invests 20, 30 or 45 minutes should leave with concrete “business value”. At the same time, the city is growing with it: around 100 side events from Friday through after the fair – doubled compared to the previous year.
Topic shift at the Bits & Pretzels: From climate to resilience
The scene has matured since Obama’s 2019 visit, say the two Bits founders. Sustainability is quieter in the media, but present behind the scenes: battery recycling, energy distribution, new materials, mobility. Bernd Storm says:
“Topics like defense – along with resilience and European sovereignty – are certainly dominating at the moment. We see our task in agenda-setting and want to not only define today’s headlines, but also discuss the questions of the coming years. In 2025, the motto is: “Connecting Europe”.”
For this, the Bits & Pretzels seeks dialogue with politics. Among the speakers are Economics Minister Reiche and Research Minister Dorothee Bär as well as Danish Digital Minister Caroline Stage Olsen. The EU AI Act is also on the stage – complete with controversy. The ambition: relevant figures, relevant topics, fitting formats.
Munich as a deep-tech workshop
In the Pitch & People video podcast, Felix Haas and Bernd Storm also talk about Munich success stories: For example Isar Aerospace around Daniel Metzler, Quantum Systems, Celonis, FlixBus, Personio – once with a 2×2 meter booth at the Bits & Pretzels, today Europe’s leading player. The two see a young AI generation coming. Deep-tech teams like Marvel Fusion or Proxima Fusion. Names that stand for a new Munich mix: less B2C, more technological depth.
The Bits & Pretzels is not a corporate product, the founders emphasize. Independent, “with a certain craziness”. And with a team that works “day and night” on the event. Their own ambitions remain higher than external expectations. Exactly that – say Felix Haas and Bernd Storm – is their little secret.
