Category Archives: startup

Events, hustling, startup

Startup Ambassador @ SXSW 2016

Hanging with the legend Guy Kawasaki at the German Haus @ SXSW 2016

Hanging with the legend Guy Kawasaki at the German Haus @ SXSW 2016

I was honored and delighted to be invited back as an official startup ambassador to the state of NRW and join the German delegation to SXSW in Austin, Texas.

Last year, I couldn’t make it as I was teaching in Iran – but this year it fortunately fit my schedule. And what a blast we had showcasing the best our region has to offer of early stage startups!

And what does such an ambassador do, you may ask? For one, I help the delegation pick and persuade the best and most representable regional startups to go over there with us – and the kind of startups that also would have a strategic benefit other than vanity in gaining exposure in the US. Once on the ground, I help to make sure our startups connect with the people of their interest and help drag notable international startup people to the German events (kicking and screaming). I also serve as a door opener and “private events” radar, making sure our startups gets into the interesting spontaneous private events during SXSW.

Continue reading →

Standard
Education, entrepreneurship, Lean Startup, startup

Lean Launchpad DUS is a wrap!

fb_ollp_2015_vanilla

The very first Lean Launchpad DUS Powered by PwC is a wrap! 9 teams entered the 5 week program – and 6 teams made it through. Have a look at the final public presentation day in the video below:

The Lean Launchpad is the world’s premier pre-accelerator program for startups. It’s an intensive 5 week, in-person, mentorship-driven 100% experience-based course to create more capable regional entrepreneurs and prepare them for their first investment round, an application to an accelerator, launching their first minimum viable product or setting them off on a self-funded, bootstrapped path.

See you again soon – Lean Launchpad is coming back to Cologne again for 2016 – so stay tuned for the dates!

Standard
Customer Development, Education, entrepreneurship, Lean Startup, startup

The very first Lean Launchpad Dusseldorf successfully launches

LLPDUS_Q4_2015_TEAMS_M1

This Wednesday evening saw the very first meetup with 9 regional non-funded early-stage startups attending the very first Lean Launchpad Düsseldorf powered by PwC.

Here are some impressions from our first meetup:

About the Lean Launchpad Program

The Lean Launchpad (LLP) is a highly experiential educational program created by the father of the Lean Startup, Steve Blank at Standford and Berkeley. It helps startup founders gain a crucial base of entrepreneurial skills and knowledge to be better prepared and to build more successful startups.

It’s the world’s premier pre-accelerator program rooted in the scientific methodology, driven by mentors and unique educational content aims to make early-stage startup ready for applying to an accelerator, a first seed investment round, setting them off on a healthy self-financed (bootstrapped) path or launching their first Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

Continue reading →

Standard