Berlin is Germany’s premier location for creative industries. With office space being plenty and cheap, the city remains a magnet for creative minds from all over the world who gather to embrace new perspectives and developments. in 2011 The Economist simply wrote: “Music and technology: Berlin is the future!”

In the past years Berlin has become the hub for creative entrepreneurship on the European continent. Especially in the digital and interactive sectors. But what are the parameters, that make the metropole in the heart of Europe attractive to established business and startups at the same time? The session ‘How To Take Berlin?‘ offers an in-depth look on the underlying structures in Berlin; from public funding, venture capitals and networks & associations to consultancy. A divers range of players discuss the status quo, expierences, chances and perspectives on how to take Berlin!

Panelists:

Constantin Köhncke (Native Instruments)

Constantin heads up the US marketing and global PR for Native Instruments - a leading manufacturer of soft- and hardware for computer-based production and performance of music, with offices in Berlin, LA, London and Tokyo.

Saeed Amidi (Founder & CEO / Axel Springer Plug & Play Tech Center)

Saeed is the Founder and CEO of Plug and Play Tech Center. Plug and Play is the premier technology startup accelerator with over 300 companies which collectively have raised an excess of $1.5 Billion. Additionally, Saeed is a General Partner in Plug and Play Ventures (Amidzad).

Mark Moebius (Nagual Sounds)

Mark worked 15 years as a freelance composer after having studied composition at the Academies of Music in Frankfurt/Main and Munich. In 2009 he met the DJ and producer Artur Reimer in Berlin. Together they founded the company “Nagual Sounds GmbH”.

David Taylor (Panasonic)

David Taylor is Director of Connected Services of Panasonic. . When Panasonic was looking for a connected audio streaming platform, the home of AUPEO! in Berlin was a key consideration in his planning.

Mischa Wetzel (IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft)

As senior investment manager and head of IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft’s creative industries team, Mischa Wetzel oversees and manages the venture capital financing of Berlin based startup firms in this field. His current investment portfolio spans across the sectors of digital media, e-commerce, music, fashion, and gaming.

Moderator:
Andrea Leonelli (Digital Music Trends)

Andrea Leonelli is the founder and host of Digital Music Trends (digitalmusictrends.com), a podcast network that covers the latest news in the digital music industry as well as the hottest startups and campaigns. DMT started in 2009 and has released over 200 shows to date developing a broad following amongst industry professionals worldwide.