If you’re looking for an excuse to expand to Europe, look no further. The Berlin Partner For Economics and Technology has a program called Start Alliance Berlin, which is kind of like an exchange program for tech startups.
“New York and Berlin have a lot in common: both are international, cosmopolitan cities, whose dynamics, and economic growth is being accelerated by young people, full of energy and creative ideas,” Michael Müller, Mayor of Berlin said in a statement. “We are excited to have New York and Tel Aviv now as the leading digital cities to rollout our startup exchange program, that offers business founders ideal opportunities to explore new markets.”
Interested New York-based startups will gather at WeWork’s Soho West location to compete in a pitch competition. The winners will receive a free roundtrip flight to Berlin, as well as a hotel room and an opportunity to meet the movers-and-shakers of Germany’s tech-startup community. Not a bad working vacation, right?
Berlin has a vibrant startup scene, and around 500 new digital startups launch there every year. London and Berlin are kind of like the San Francisco and New York of Europe’s tech startup scene, in that the two have been fighting to be the dominant cities in that field. Last year, for the first time, Berlin-based startups accumulated more venture capital than their London-based counterparts.
The Start Alliance Berlin program has had one cohort from Tel Aviv visit Berlin so far, and at some point, Berlin-based startups will be sent to visit their American compatriots in New York. The plan is to further expand the program to include startups from Paris and Shanghai as well.
At any rate, if you’re interested in seeing how they do tech in Berlin, you can apply here in English.
Viel Glück!
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