Picture 1: Jørgen Mads Clausen talks about his own
experience as a founder in his keynote (Photo credit: Rossi)
In the shark tank: a test run for the VenturePitch
The VentureWærft will hold a new event next year and the conVenture was the test stage for a small-sized version of it. The VenturePitch is modelled after the well-known T.V. show “Shark Tank” (“Løvens Hule” in the Danish version and “Höhle der Löwen” in Germany). One start-up from Denmark and one from Germany had the chance to present their idea to three experts from the region (Georg Banner for MBG SH, Dr. Peter Rehders for Baltic Business Angels SH and Stig Poulsen for Vækstfonden). Other than in the T.V. show, the VenturePitch experts weren’t there to make an investment in the start-ups but to provide feedback and their own experience.
WaterInstinct from Germany and coduction from Denmark presented themselves to the three sharks and almost 300 audience members. The start-ups had seven minutes to convince the audience of their idea, afterwards they faced the experts’ questions. The VenturePitch will be extended further next year and become a stand-alone event.
Picture 2: WaterInstinct at the VenturePitch (photo credit: Rossi)
Spinning yarn and stories from real life: start-up stories:
Madeleine von Hohental and Benjamin Wenke (Bracenet) had come from Hamburg to introduce “Bracenet: Save the Seas. Wear a net.“ and allow the audience a glimpse into upcycling. A lot of people dream of saving the oceans. For a social business this certainly is an ambitious goal. Madeleine and Benjamin had the support of great partners for their – very successful – first steps. They had brought their Bracenets to the Start-Up Pier to happy and curious customers keen to support the cause and raise awareness for the need to save the seas. Stories from start-up life are the heart and soul and an integral part of every of conVenture: The founders don’t spin yarn here, they shed light on what life really looks like in a start-up – including all the obstacles, the downs but most of all the positive moments. People who read the programme closely may already have suspected as much from the title of Kenneth Madsen’s (DXTR Labs) start-up story. In “Startups are ugly” he put an end to the image of the ever-happy and cool life in a start-up where everyone plays foosball all the time. Start-ups require hard work and this may lead to fights among the team, to tears even and, if worse comes to worst, former co-founders and collaborators go separate ways. Kenneth’s start-up path has had its bumpy stretches but the road ahead of him awaits him with great partners such as Walt Disney and offices in San Francisco.
Picture 3: 300 is a crowd (Photo credit: Rossi)
Chatting on the Start-Up Pier
Picture 4: 15 start-ups from Germany and Denmark presented
themselves on the Start-Up Pier (Photo credit: Rossi)
A new approach to pitch training: Acoustic charisma profiling and training
Picture 5: Networks were spun until late
in the evening (Photo credit: Jordt)
The conVenture is a networking event dealing with everything start-up in the German-Danish border region. It is a place where start-ups (and start-ups to be), people offering support for founders, experienced business people, investors and people interested in entrepreneurship and starting a company can meet. Next to two start-up stories from young founders our main focus is on networking and the Start-up Pier, a small fair presenting regional campus start-ups. The event will be held in English. For more information on the VentureWærft and the conVenture visit www.venturewaerft.com. The conVenture is a joint event by the German and Danish VentureWærft docks. Dr. Werner Jackstädt Centre for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Chamber of Industry and Commerce Flensburg, Technologiezentrum Flensburg, Syddansk Universitet (Entrepreneurship Labs & Mads Clausen Institute) and Sønderborg Iværksætter Service. Next to these partners the VentureWærft consists of experienced business people and start-ups from the region. The VentureWærft is supported in its work by the Grenzland INNOVATIV Schleswig-Holstein project. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Joint Science Conference.
Have a look at our video:
The VentureWærft is part of the project "Grenzland INNOVATIV Schleswig-Holstein (GrinSH)". This project of Flensburg University of Applied Sciences is part of the funding initiative Innovative Hochschule which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Joint Science Conference.
