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Mentoring startups at the STARTPLATZ KI Accelerator
Have you heard that our Rheinland region got our very own accelerator for AI-based startups in Cologne? Check it out.
Continuing the tradition of mentoring startups at STARTPLATZ over the years, recently I had the pleasure to mentor the next batch of participants in the new KI Accelerator in Cologne.
I was quite impressed by the diversity of the types of founders and markets addressed. This could be a very exciting batch.
If there was a recurring theme in my feedback, it would be “More money, more problems – Taking investors’ money to hire more people to do the work is usually not the efficiency boost you think wish it is (at this early, pre-PMF, stage). You, the founders, have to do the work.”
Full disclosure: I’m not affiliated with STARTPLATZ other than that we’ve been working together on strengthening the Rhineland startup ecosystem on various different projects, like the Rheinland Pitch, since it opened its doors back in 2013. A lot of people who only know me from one ore more of these projects assume I’m either a STARTPLATZ employee or co-founder – which I am not. Lulz. (I’m the founder-boss-man of my own little thing called +ANDERSEN & ASSOCIATES, also founded in 2013.)
Pitching Masterclass back at Gateway in Cologne!
Recently I had the honour of being invited back to Gateway at the University of Cologne to teach the selected startups for their “Startup Your Idea Contest” how to (better) pitch with my Pitching Masterclass workshop.
Want to see the results for yourself? Grab a ticket for the event at University of Cologne!
Rheinland Pitch Winter Finals 2025
It was that time of year again, time for the Rheinland Pitch Winter Finals!
It’s a wrap! And the winners were…
Defence Tech: Auxsys
Female Founders: Youro
Enterprise SaaS: Neo Predicts
The Rheinland Pitch was founded in 2013 by Lorens Gräf, Matthias Gräf, and me – and since grew to become Germany’s largest startup pitching event. It is open to all startups (for free) and a public audience on a regular basis ever since.
Check out https://rheinlandpitch.de for more photos and the next events.
Migrant Momentum
Recently I was honored to be invited to “Migrant Momentum“, an event focusing on immigrants and entrepreneurship during the Startup Week DUS to speak a bit on a panel about fundraising for early-stage startups and moderate one of the break-out sessions on fundraising hurdles and success metrics for fundraising for founders.
I had really no idea of what to expect, but it turned out to be one of those rare “lightning in a bottle” event where the atmosphere and the attitude of everybody participating was contagiously positive in the extreme.
Many thanks to the event organisers Avela Gronemeyer and Archita Fritz for creating such a pleasant and productive atmosphere!
And I wasn’t at all prepared for the feedback I received… Made me blush.
“[…] thank you so much for the passion, energy, expertise, and heart you brought to yesterday’s “Migrant Momentum”. We received unbelievable feedback from the “Investor Circles” – your authenticity, openness to honest talks, passion for your work, and your humanity was clearly felt.”
– A. Gronemeyer, Event Organiser
