August: A Sweltering Month of Startups & Success Stories

In most of Europe, August is a month for summer vacation. And with weeks of temperatures above 30 degrees celsius, it’s probably a pretty sensible option.

But, this is 2020. And we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic that is shifting not only the way we work and live but re-shaping businesses around the globe.

It’s no surprise that this August our community has been more active than ever – pivoting to new markets, discovering solutions to global challenges, and redefining the way we work…

Stealth Mode Readies for Lift-off

At the end of July, we wrapped up the first edition of Stealth Mode with one of our signature Factory Berlin Meet & Pitch events. The 10 founders presented their businesses to our online audience and expert panel, including Leitha Matz (Co-founder & COO of Zuper), Catherine Bischoff (CRO of Factory Berlin), and Dr. Alexander Hirschfeld (Head of Research Division at German Startups Association). 

This same panel then joined us onstage to discuss the importance of networks in empowering female, non-binary and female-identifying founders to seize investment and partnership opportunities and ultimately close the gender gap in entrepreneurship.

We also closed applications for the second round of the program in the final weeks of August, in preparation for the program launch on the 7th of September.

Community Success Stories Keep Rolling In

It’s been an amazing month for the community, with almost daily news of successes from every corner of our network. Startup was AISight nominated and License.rocks won at the Deep Tech Awards, the XR startup Xibit won the Global Startup Luxury Innovation Award, and Zero Waste Era won the Thinking Tomorrow Award. In-house UX Design company, Mermaid Studios announced their collaboration with Lufthansa City Center to help the company improve their digital presence, and Vyking were included in Samsung NEXT’s synthetic media landscape overview.

Factory Berlin alumni Masterplan closed a funding round with the RAG Stiftung, and three startups from the community – vegan nail polish company Gitti, mobile phone behavior app not less but better, and pea-milk alternative Vly – make it into Höhle der Löwen. Congratulations to Gitti founder, Jennifer Baum-Minkus on receiving offers from all 5 ‘lions’, a first for the show!

Plus, the new look Factory Berlin website that launched in July received two Awwwards for the design by agency Goldener Westen.

The Creators Lab Awaits Our Next Artists in Residence 

While our Jury Board and Mentors from the Artist in Residence program deliberate with our partners Sonar+D on the selection for the second round of our program, we spoke to program alumna, Yifan Pu, to learn more about the waves she’s making in digital fashion, including her show at the world’s first purely digital and sustainable showcase – Helsinki Fashion Week’s Digital Village. Read Camille Everaert’s feature to find out more.

How Is September Looking?

The Next Bite Show kicks off on 17th September – don’t forget to check out the lineup and register for the innovative interactive online event format. 

Out of the 200 applicants for our second round of Stealth Mode, it’s been hard to select the final 10 participants who will receive 1:1 mentorship, advice, and guidance from our network of experts. We are thrilled to announce the next cohort of 10 aspiring founders who will embark on a 3-month journey to take their ideas to the MVP stage.

Don’t forget to check out our first episode of WAVES powered by Beats by Dr. Dre, Podcasting 101 with the brilliant Jill and Julia from Bear Radio Berlin. Subscribe to Factory Berlin TV to get update on the next episode in the series on producing crossover pop-hip-hop tracks fast.