That was Bits & Pretzels 2023

21.10.2023 Daniela Musial-Lemberg News

Bits & Pretzels celebrated its 10th anniversary this year - as did we - so of course we couldn't miss it. We met partners and KIT alumni, made new contacts, networked like world champions and enjoyed a touch of Oktoberfest atmosphere.

Bits & Pretzels 2023, these are the hard facts: 5,000 tickets sold for start-ups, people interested in founding a company, investors, representatives of universities and organisations that promote the topic of start-ups and many more. The three founders Bernd Storm vans Gravesande, Andy Bruckschloegl and Felix Haas opened the 10th edition and were delighted to welcome renowned speakers such as Michel Obama, Oliver Kahn, AirBnB founder Nathan Blecharczyk, Fast & Curious podcasters Lea-Sophie Cramer and Verena Pausder and many more.

For us, it all started on Saturday evening with the VIP pre-opening party, where we met numerous investors and founders. A first taste of the Munich start-up scene and its ecosystem. On Sunday morning, the titan Oliver Kahn opened the big Bits stage, we stopped by the joint stand of our partners EXIST and German Entrepreneurship and went straight on to the Startup Stage. The whole day was dedicated to the topic of “Germany becoming a startup nation – mission possible”, where we also met former colleague and CUBE co-creator Max Isensee. As the founder of his start-up Kitekraft, he spoke on the topic of “Funding the Future – HTGF Seed Investing”. The later the day, the more crowded the crowd around the beer carousel, which was the number one networking hotspot alongside the outdoor area. On Sunday evening, we were invited by German Entrepreneurship to their side event “Singapore Networking Night”.

Our personal highlights then followed on Monday. Firstly, the meet & greet with the founders Lea-Sophie Kramer and Verena Pausder at the joint stand of EXIST and German Entrepreneurship. Both are the brains behind the successful business podcast Fast & Curious and then took to the main stage to share their five most important learnings for starting a business with the audience. The crowning finale on Monday evening was the appearance of Michel Obama, who gave many inspiring impulses and insights into her life. The large hall was filled to capacity, security was increased, photography and filming were strictly forbidden and after a standing ovation, the audience listened spellbound for an hour to the talk, which was interrupted by many laughs.

On Tuesday morning from 10 a.m., the entire Bits & Pretzels community traditionally met at the Wiesn in the Schottelhamel tent to find their tables and table captains. In two large networking rounds, 10 people each met at a themed table and exchanged ideas for 45 minutes before moving on again.

We spent three days in the networking flow and were delighted with the numerous discussions and contacts. We made new interesting contacts for future projects and forged plans for specific events.

Another highlight this year was our access to the 10x Founders Lounge. This allowed us to withdraw for targeted discussions and emphasise the value of our networking activities once again. This opportunity was definitely an improvement on the previous year.

PODCAST SPECIAL

We, Daniela and Fang, conducted various interviews for our podcast special for Bits & Pretzels 23 over the three days. If you’re still undecided whether to go to the 2024 startup conference, you’ll know after listening to our podcast special. We talk to founders, partners of EXIST and GE as well as co-organisers of the event, among others.

We hope you enjoy listening in!