Hannover/München. Die CeBIT 2015 weitet ihre Angebote für Gründer, Entwickler und Investoren aus der internationalen IT-Branche stark aus und wird so zur europaweit größten Veranstaltung für junge IT-Unternehmen. Unter dem Titel „CeBIT SCALE 11: The Source of Digital Innovation“ präsentiert sich vom 16. bis 20. März das gesamte Ökosystem rund um Start-ups in Halle 11. Der Ausstellungsbereich führt Jungunternehmer gezielt mit Konzernen, Akzeleratoren sowie Investoren zusammen. Dabei geht es vor allem darum, das kreative Potenzial von Start-ups hervorzuheben, Netzwerke zwischen… [more]

According to Morris, Pitt and Honeycutt, the huge growth that B2B marketing is experiencing is largely due to three “revolutions”

1. The Technological Revolution:

The internet and digital technology has changed our lives much more than we realize and the current generation of buyers have much more power in their decision making process. This is also true for the B2B industry, which involves digital interactions that are constantly increasing.

2. The Entrepreneurial Revolution

Over the last few years of macro-economic… [more]

Facebook is currently valued at $100 Billion, while Forbes estimates that Twitter is valued at around $10 Billion. To some, this might be slightly reminiscent of 1999, the dreaded dotcom bubble. So what is it about internet companies that drive such high valuations?

To answer this question we need to delve deeper into the topic of why internet companies, including those that make no money (yet!), have “high” valuations. It can be due to a variety of reasons, such as:

Ralph & Andreas being interviewed by Gründerszene

http://www.gruenderszene.de/interviews/catagonia-suchen-rohdiamanten

Catagonia Venture Lounge takes place as an annual networking event shortly before year end on the rooftops of Berlin. The objective is to unite investors, business angels, founders and people with an interest in venture capital in a cool and relaxed setting.

The 2012 edition gathered professionals from these different universes and we are proud to have brought them together under the motto ‘Building Bridges’.

We interviewed most of our attendees during the course of the… [more]

What is the biggest mistake that founders make? - Interviews at Catagonia Venture Lounge 2012

What does ‘Mobile’ mean to you? - Interviews at Catagonia Venture Lounge 2012

What are the hot topics for the future? - Interviews at Catagonia Venture Lounge 2012

“Ist Berlin das neue Silicon Valley?” - Interviews auf der Catagonia Venture LoungeDie Catagonia Venture Lounge findet als jährliches Networkingevent kurz vor Jahresende über den Dächern von Berlin statt und hat zum Ziel, Investoren, Business Angels, Gründer und Venture Capital-Interessierte in lockerer Atmosphäre zum ungezwungenen Gedankenaustausch zusammenzubringen. Der Spaß steht dabei im Vordergrund und führt oft zu den besten Ideen und Konstellationen aus einer angeregten Diskussion. Wir fragten die Teilnehmer:

a) Was zeichnet Berlin für Gründer, Investoren und Menschen mit… [more]

“Is Berlin the European Silicon Valley?” - Interview at Catagonia Venture Lounge

Catagonia Venture Lounge takes place as an annual networking event shortly before year end on the rooftops of Berlin. The objective is to unite investors, business angels, founders and people with an interest in venture capital in a cool and relaxed setting. We asked Eran Davidson, Managing Partner and CEO of Hasso Plattner Ventures a) What makes Berlin exciting for founders, investors and people with ideas? and… [more]

Anne is a French intern at Catagonia. Here’s a snapshot of her Berliner experience. 

The one thing I learned about Berlin, after having lived there for the past year, is that it’s a city full of contrasts and contradictions: Berlin is a mecca for bohemian lifestyle seekers and penniless artists craving for inspiration, but it is also the capital of one of the world’s strongest economies. Berlin has one of the highest unemployment rates in Germany… [more]

techinberlin:

EARLY BIRD CAPITAL: WHY RETURNS IN EUROPE ARE NOW OUTPACING THE U.S. 

I must say that these ongoing debates about US vs. Europe that many VCs and startups like to dwell on are getting on my nerves. Most of the time people get hung up on superficialities and end up repeating  the same old mantras over and over again: “it is much easier to raise funds in the US”, “Europe did not have any big exit in years”, “there… [more]

Besides of being hugely successful entrepreneurs, what do Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg and Kevin Rose have in common? They all created their rising-star company at the age of 20-something. An early start in the early stage business.

Recently popularized by Hollywood, the stereotype of the youthful pimply geek coding in his Harvard or Stanford dorm soon became a myth for Silicon Valley. And this “Silicon Valley syndrome” is not confined to the West coast, nor the US.… [more]

Here is a short guide on how to prepare your investor pitch. Our team is being approached by a lot of start-ups and unfortunately the majority of them fail very early in the process because they did not do their homework. If you would like to get the attention you deserve, please make sure to follow these tips.

1) Capture our attention within the first 90 seconds

Start your pitch by telling us everything you are going to tell us… [more]

Once upon a time the startup investment landscape was clear and simple. When you were creating your business, the first investment circle was your family and friends – the so-called “love money” - usually in the range of thousands to tens of thousands €. You would then turn to a Business Angel, wealthy individuals betting with deep pockets, willing to insert € 20,000 to let’s say 500,000 € into your venture. Both investment types represents “Seed Investment", where people take a… [more]