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Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video]

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Re: Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video]

#141

Post by dmpk2k »

NicoleSimon wrote: post #134
spaghetti wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone speaks English. This might be true in the most touristy areas or in international corporations but it's definitely not the case in cafes, grocery stores etc. So if you move there be prepared to learn a bit of German, For the most part everything else you mentioned is true. I'm not sure about the work permissions. Berlin is an awesome city overall.

A majority of startup folks I run into from Berlin do not speak any german at all. Many of them have been living there for a while, some for several years. You will need German and or a translater when you talk to officials and you should get somebody with german knowledge before entering contracts, but by itself you will have an easy tiome getting around Berlin when you are in the startup relevant areas.

> A majority of startup folks I run into from Berlin do not speak any german at all. Many of them have been living there for a while, some for several years.

That is quite sad.

Re: Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video]

#142

Post by NicoleSimon »

One of the things we still need to work on in Berlinis connecting people better. ;)

So some notes and links.

* Introductory notes

* Entry points / sites

* Finding out about events

* Getting a job

* Got links? Please provide

_________________ INTRODUCTORY NOTES _________________

Per se there are two different circles of startup folk in Germany. The german / Germany oriented ones, what I usually call "the victims of the language island" (everything in Germany is dubbed - movies, tv, books).

The second, more interesting level is the international mindset, the people who are mentally oriented toward silicon valley. Both group usually do not mingle and the following applies for that second group and explain part of the reason why Berlin is special.

This group has accepted english as their lingua franca and people come from all over the world, enjoying not only the benefits listed in the other comments, but the feeling of "being able to make it here". The absence of any enterprise like structure due to the past with the wall enables in many ways what Berlin is today.

There is of course an echo chamber effect for this group and once you connect, you run into the usual startups very quickly. ;)

_________________ ENTRY POINTS _________________

Your Nr 1. starting point for meeting people ;) English speaking Berlin startup group on Facebook with ~2400 members.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/159595270791268/

Follow that if you are interested in meeting people and or asking questions. Hint: Do not try to post stuff which is does not have the "Berlin and startup" relevant connection and do not try to sneak in a "but in theory this is about startups ...", I will delete the post and ban you permanently.

Looking for a job / employee / co founder does belong into the sister group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/395011077224173/)

__

General sites to read:

http://venturevillage.eu/

http://siliconallee.com/

http://www.techberlin.com/

__

We also have a strong women in tech movement in Berlin:

http://berlingeekettes.com/ is both interview site and meetup; I run http://girlgeekdinner.de/ which will happen more frequently once I am relocated. ;)

__

Find a Co-Working spaces:

https://www.deskwanted.com/berlin.html

http://www.berlin-partner.de/?id=1243&L=1 is the official place from Berlin

to help people coming to Berlin, they are very helpful too with business needs

with a special attention to startups.

_________________ EVENTS _________________

Event listings as in "is there something happening ..."

http://berlinwebweek.de/

Get the weekly Newsletter with new events:

http://startupdigest.com/berlin/

Berlin tech user groups links:

http://co-up.de/2011/10/14/usergroup-list.html

Monthly radio show about Berlin Startups

http://fridayat6.de/

Not very active but still: Berlin StartUp Employees

https://www.facebook.com/groups/238420286238628/

Meetup.com has tons of groups and meetups beyond startup land

http://www.meetup.com and then go Berlin

_________________ GETTING A JOB _________________

If you are looking for a job in Berlin, are a Berlin based startup looking for employees or for a co founder, this facebook group can be helful for you

https://www.facebook.com/groups/395011077224173/

__

Job boards with a special focus on Berlin startups:

http://berlinstartupjobs.com/

http://venturevillage.eu/jobs/

http://siliconallee.com/madeinberlin (this is a list of some startups made in berlin + links to job pages if available.)

http://meetfounder.com/ (if you are looking for a co-founder)

__

Finding companies to work for

http://hascore.com/ limits itself to "Hascore is a job board focused on Product Development for the Berlin Startup Scene that provides relevant context for making better decisions" BUT because the way they list their jobs you can surf through it and find the links to lots of companies.

__

Listings mostly in German

http://jobslike.me/

http://www.gruenderszene.de/jobboerse/

https://www.xing.com/net/pridec7dbx/startup-berlin/jobangebo...

_________________ Any additions? _________________

Happy to take that into the list

Also I am always looking for people to add to my

"English tweeting people from Berlin with startup affinity"

https://twitter.com/#!/nicolesimon/berlin-internationals

hth

Nicole

Re: Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video]

#143

Post by NicoleSimon »

dmpk2k wrote: post #141
NicoleSimon wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A majority of startup folks I run into from Berlin do not speak any german at all. Many of them have been living there for a while, some for several years. You will need German and or a translater when you talk to officials and you should get somebody with german knowledge before entering contracts, but by itself you will have an easy tiome getting around Berlin when you are in the startup relevant areas.

> A majority of startup folks I run into from Berlin do not speak any german at all. Many of them have been living there for a while, some for several years. That is quite sad.

In one way it is, and they will run into problems if they need to deal with german burocrazy. ;)

But on the other side I find it encouraging that you can come to Berlin and different to many other cities of this world can live here without being forced to speak the language fluently first.

And if you speak and think in english all day, it becomes more problematic to get on board with the language around you.

Plus many 'normal' people do start speaking a bit of english and at least understand it.

Re: Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video]

#144

Post by notJim »

jfaucett wrote: post #6

I'm a young developer living in Germany. Here's my perspective. Berlin is cheap, affordable, has an international culture (I'm an emmigrant) and pretty much something to offer to everyone, so the city itself just has a good attraction for young people. I don't know why the startup scene has started booming here but just type in "web start-up" at indeed ( http://www.indeed.de/Jobs?q=web+start-up&l=berlin ) and you'll…

What "m/f" or "m/w" mean in these job postings?

Re: Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video]

#145

Post by hopefully »

NicoleSimon wrote: post #143
dmpk2k wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A majority of startup folks I run into from Berlin do not speak any german at all. Many of them have been living there for a while, some for several years. That is quite sad.

In one way it is, and they will run into problems if they need to deal with german burocrazy. ;) But on the other side I find it encouraging that you can come to Berlin and different to many other cities of this world can live here without being forced to speak the language fluently first. And if you speak and think in english all day, it becomes more problematic to get on board with the language around you. Plus man…

Yes, it's cool that it's possible. I'm German, but I love English and I think everybody owes it to themselves to learn it. Also I love hearing people on the street talk English or Spanish etc. It makes me very happy to be here (moved here a few years ago, not even aware of the hype ^^). Berlin is the best, and part of that is that it's international and rather unlike other German cities :)

That said, if someone hasn't picked up a bit of German even after years, they're either extremely busy, or doing something wrong IMHO. On holidays, say in Spain, I always kind of disliked Germans sticking only to Germans, and speaking German all day. Surely you know what I mean? There's not having much time to learn the language, and there's being selfish that way.

I kind of feel the same way about this "it's a great, cheap place" stuff. This way it's not going to stay cheap, or cool, for long. It's already kind of suffered, if locals are to be believed. So let's leave it at least as nice as we found it? :)

The best thing about Berlin is the soul and the heart, not the commodities. I mean yeah, startups boom, but Tacheles is struggling - what's up with that? When in Rome, do as the Romans.. well then, if you move to Berlin, start learning German by listening to some Ton Steine Scherben :P

All of this wasn't meant as an attack. As a slight snark maybe. But not more, because generally, I'm super happy for people coming here and making it even better, I'd be a hypocrite otherwise. I'm just missing the voice of Berlin in all this. I mean that. Berlin is more funky, more beautiful and more clever than booms and VC give it credit for. To move to Berlin and not smell those particular roses strikes me as a tragedy.

Re: Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video]

#146

Post by hopefully »

notJim wrote: post #144
jfaucett wrote: post #6

I'm a young developer living in Germany. Here's my perspective. Berlin is cheap, affordable, has an international culture (I'm an emmigrant) and pretty much something to offer to everyone, so the city itself just has a good attraction for young people. I don't know why the startup scene has started booming here but just type in "web start-up" at indeed ( http://www.indeed.de/Jobs?q=web+start-up&l=berlin ) and you'll…

What "m/f" or "m/w" mean in these job postings?

"male/female", or "männlich/weiblich" respectively.

Re: Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video]

#147

Post by barry-cotter »

notJim wrote: post #144
jfaucett wrote: post #6

I'm a young developer living in Germany. Here's my perspective. Berlin is cheap, affordable, has an international culture (I'm an emmigrant) and pretty much something to offer to everyone, so the city itself just has a good attraction for young people. I don't know why the startup scene has started booming here but just type in "web start-up" at indeed ( http://www.indeed.de/Jobs?q=web+start-up&l=berlin ) and you'll…

What "m/f" or "m/w" mean in these job postings?

male/female

maennlich/weiblich

i.e. We'll employ you regardless of your genitalia.

Re: Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video]

#148

Post by notJim »

barry-cotter wrote: post #147
notJim wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What "m/f" or "m/w" mean in these job postings?

male/female maennlich/weiblich i.e. We'll employ you regardless of your genitalia.

That's what I thought. Can employers in Germany actually choose to hire men or women for a position? And under what circumstances is that allowed or common?

Re: Is Berlin the new home for tech start-up business? [video]

#150

Post by _ex_ »

nirvana wrote: post #121
_ex_ wrote: post #99

How is life for non white people? I'm from latin-america.

Berlin has the largest turkish population outside of instanbul. They have turkish restaurants everywhere and also grocery stores. The population is ethnically very diverse, though of course, more middle eastern people than latin american ones. Germans tend to be proper. So, drinking beer on the subway might be frowned upon, but nobody will comment. If you're obnoxious or noisy or otherwise being a jerk, germans will…

thanks! I think I'm a bit less louder that my con-nationals
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