Helsinki has Slush, so why shouldn’t Munich have Bits & Pretzels. The difference is that Slush takes place in Finland in November – hence the very appropriate name – and Bits & Pretzels in Munich during Oktoberfest. But in all seriousness, these are two very important events for the startup community in Europe, which brings together founders, investors and startups to drive innovation in this region.
The upcoming fall event will be the third time for this event to occur in the last 12 months and is projected to have over 3,600 attendees. The event, which brings together a mix of startups, investors, founders, media and well-known industry leaders, takes place over three days with a mix of fun and hard work. The format is interesting as attendees are grouped at tables and each table has a “captain” to ensure interaction, debate and teamwork during the event. Attendees have an opportunity to register for tables based on their interest in the table captain on a first-come, first-served basis.  I think this is a great idea, because as events grow it’s very easy to get lost in the room if you’re wandering around trying to find the right connections.
In addition to the presentations there is a startup pitch section and an opportunity for startups to exhibit their offers. Some of this year’s confirmed speakers include:
- YouTube’s co-founder
- Delivery Hero’s co-founder/CEO
- Zendesk’s co-founder/CEO
- Adyen’s co-founder/CEO
- Rocket Internet’s global CTO
More speakers continue to be confirmed as the final agenda is completed.
The event takes place with a mix of German and English language; this is one area that likely inhibits attendees from outside of this region. But what could be more fun than presenters from the business world on stage in traditional Bavarian tracht – lederhosen and dirndls. Kind of levels the playing field and makes everyone more accessible.
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Claudia Bacco, Managing Director – EMEA for RCR Wireless News, has spent her entire career in telecom, IT and security. Having experience as an operator, software and hardware vendor and as a well-known industry analyst, she has many opinions on the market. She’ll be sharing those opinions along with ongoing trend analysis for RCR Wireless News.
