Speaking from the box
I was recently invited to speak to Scandinavian businesses at an event in Berlin about why it makes sense for Scandinavian startups to consider expanding to Berlin, Germany.
Yes, I know – and as you know I’m the biggest fan and supporter of the startup ecosystem of Cologne, but coming from the North it may make more sense to consider Berlin instead of Cologne, if anything just because of its geographic closeness.
Here are the slides I used:
On my way back to Europe from SxSW, me and Jan Kus decided to stop for a week in New York City to check out the startup world there.
I guess I learned three things here.
1. NYC is a cold cold place. Not just the climate in March but also the people. Usually when I tweet out or message people on the other coast in Silicon Valley, it’s super easy to arrange for spontaneous frivolous meetups. Not so in NYC. Not a single meetup happened that way here. The only thing that worked was introductions.
2. NYC doesn’t have a “startup scene”. It’s more like several separate hubs and islands. And it’s not so much about tech as media and commerce.
3. Creating your own startup is more fun than talking about other people’s startups. So we did.
Recently I was honored to be invited to South by Southwest (SxSW) in Austin, Texas as a startup ambassador to the state of NRW (where Cologne is located) and Germany.
The Dating Game participants @ SxSW 2014
My responsibilities including speaking and moderating at various events at SxSW, helping to bring in US investors and other interesting people to the German events, and helping to organize and MC the Startup Dating Game, a new and fun take on the old TV classic having VCs and startups date, at the official German venue, German Haus.
Cluj, Romania
Romania called again, and this time they wanted me in Cluj to facilitate their Startup Weekend. 
And what an epic weekend it was!