How SoGal is making a massive change for female founders in Berlin.
We are beyond excited to have been part of the biggest global pitch competition focused on women & underrepresented founders. In order to make it to this point we needed to host 4+ local events to build up the community. From our first event (8 participants) until now (80 participants) we have seen such a significant change in the strength, passion and activation of the community. We cannot describe how happy we are to have such motivated, smart and fantastic women around us.
Jag Singh, Managing Director of Techstars Berlin was inspired by the evening:
“The highlight of the Berlin edition of the Global Pitch Competition was the anticipation from the audience after the pitches were complete, but before the winners were announced — it was electrifying. We had so many outstanding pitches, and this means the Berlin ecosystem is showing signs of maturing — something we’ve all been working on for some time now. The winners from this event will hopefully pave the way for more early stage companies to bloom.”
What we learned as hosts: everyone in the room respects someone who is serious about timing.
What we learned as founders: those who delivered a strong pitch were more likely to move onto the next round than those who needed pitch practice. Regardless of how strong your idea is practice, practice, practice is key!
SoGal hosted 25+ regional rounds in international chapters across 5 continents. On Sunday, October 6 2019, the Berlin SoGal chapter hosted the regional pitch round in Berlin. 10 local startups pitched to a jury of 6 VCs/angel investors and industry experts as well as 80 attendees to compete for an invitation to the final global round for guaranteed facetime with top Silicon Valley investors, and a 3-day summit with curated 1:1 mentorship, press opportunities, network, and a chance to win investment capital.
While all our guests enjoyed the delicious alcohol free champagne, noodle soups or hot cider drinks from our sponsors Nampelka, Kolonne Null, Berlin Winter and Baihu Foods, Carrie Shuler (Chapter Lead of SoGal Berlin) briefed the Jury before the Show:
The 10 top level startups that pitched included:
👶 Anna-Lena from SitEinander
💻 Mariam from Softr
💡 Liz from Nifty Learning
🚗 Maria from Phantasma Labs
👕 Jovan from j.jackman
🌊 Deniz from Nordic Oceanfruit
🐝 Sofie from Hiveonline
🛵 Lena from Simple Mobility
🍜 Thomas from Baihu Foods
📈 Caroline from FinMarie
From a babysitter network to an organic clothing brand, an electric scooter, to vegan seaweed salad, the variety of the startups was super fun to watch.
“Being a judge at the Sogal Global Pitch competition Berlin was fantastic! Fantastic in terms of the high level of the startups that pitched to compete and the great judges in the room with me. I enjoyed seeing most of the startups, not for the first time, but in a better shape and at the growth stage, ready to compete in the global market, the global Sogal competition. As I’ve built WLOUNGE on the basic belief that “I wish I had this when I started” , I believe that a gathering force here only makes the mission and the message stronger. This is why I am strongly supporting Carrie on SoGal so that together we can build more successful female-founders stories in the global and local ecosystems”,
- Mali Baum, CEO and Founder WLOUNGE
The Jury included 6 superstar investors and industry experts: Dagmar Bottenbruch, Consultant and Investor at Independent; Jag Singh, Managing Director Tech Stars; Julia Morrongiello, Associate at Point Nine Capital; Katy Campbell, Senior Manager APX; Mali Baum, CEO and Founder WLounge and Hannes Reichelt, Berliner Startup Stipendium.
After a deep discussion and analysis the winners were clear….and the Berlin winners that won a goodie bag, tickets for the Codemotion Tech Conference, a trip to San Francisco for the final pitch round including a 3 day summit are…Maria Meier from Phantasma, Jovan from J.Jackman, and Liz from Nifty Learning! Congratulations to all winners!
Thanks to Scaling Spaces for having us and trusting us with your first event ever. If you’re looking for a new co-working space, Scaling Spaces is incredibly helpful (something that is missing with most co-working spaces in Berlin) and outfitted with every drink, snack, and libation you can imagine. I am signing up for a membership! See you there!
If you have any ideas for events coming up in the future please reach out to us and let us know! We would love to make your ideas come to life!
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