Seedcamp Berlin Participation Report

Recently, an article on experience related to the publication on TechCrunch and other articles on the international experiences of Russian startups have already been published on the hub . I also want to share with the habrasociety the experience that we got at the Seedcamp this week in Berlin, especially since there are no such events for startups in Russia so far and positive emotions are going through the roof .



It all started with the fact that about 3 weeks ago I accidentally stumbled upon information about the event, now I don’t even remember exactly where, and I decided that we should try our hand. I had an idea of ​​Seedcamp as the # 1 accelerator in Europe, but I never specifically watched their events. Immediately after making the decision that I need to try my strength, I started filling out the questionnaire, especially since there were only a couple of days left before the application deadline. The questionnaire consisted of a fairly standard set of questions for the kind of events about the founders, the company, our strengths and characteristics. For some of the questions, I already had preparations, including in English - we participated in two startup events in St. Petersburg - StartupWeekend at the end of 2011 and not so long ago in StartupSauna. To questions for which there were no ready-made answers, answered immediately from the head, especially not driving. It all took about 2 hours to complete everything, it helped that the questionnaire could be saved and then continued to fill out.

Frankly, I didn’t really expect that they would invite us, and I didn’t particularly remember the event, but the day after the scheduled deadline I received a letter from the organizers saying that we were among the teams that passed the preliminary selection. The letter was accompanied by an agreement on the conditions of participation and confidentiality, which had to be signed and sent before May 8th scan and thereby confirm the possibility of our participation. In addition, the letter emphasized that prior to official permission, we should not disclose information about our possible participation in the event. The agreement immediately says about the conditions under which the accelerator invests in projects selected at the event (50,000 euros for 8-10% of the business). Almost immediately after sending the scan of the signed document, we received an answer about that the final decision on our participation will be made within two days. On the afternoon of the 9th, worrying that tickets to Berlin would be prohibitively expensive, I wrote to the organizers the question of whether a decision was made on our participation. In the evening, an answer was received that yes - we are among the participants. On the same day, a conference call was organized for the participants, in which we, by the way, and most of the other participants, were not able to participate.

The program of the event, which was sent to all participants, included May 14 - preparatory day (mandatory participation), May 15 - main day (pitches and communication with mentors, of course, also mandatory), May 16 - communication with those whom Seedcamp would choose for investment. The maximum number of participants from one project is 2 people, but from some teams there were 3 people each. I drove alone - it was not a good decision, because the two are still much easier - there is someone to consult with, so there were several participants from most of the teams.

Early in the morning of the 14th flew to Berlin. The first day began at one o’clock in the afternoon, so in order not to lug around with things and somehow kill time, I went to the hotel. The hotel had nothing to do, because check-in from 14, so I decided to come to events early, thinking that everyone would do it too. Despite the fact that I was in Berlin for the first time, and for some reason Google Maps showed the address incorrectly, it was not difficult to find the venue. True, finding myself in front of the building at the indicated address, I did not immediately decide to enter. Judge for yourself - the very center of Berlin, no identification marks, closed door.
Stepping closer, I was apparently noticed and the doorman opened the door for me. It turned out that Seedcamp was really here, but it started only at one o’clock and they took me to the room where I spent an hour and a half waiting for other participants.



The room in which the first day of the event was supposed to be held was very modest in size - it immediately confused me, so as soon as the participants began to pull themselves up, they had to remove the wall - a cool sliding design.



The following participants came only shortly before the start, and then everyone else quickly pulled themselves up, although the new people were actively approaching even after the start of the pitch run. Actually the whole first day was devoted to preparing for the pitches and the next day in general. After uploading the presentations to the shared directory on DropBox, the presentations began. 3 minutes were allotted for the pitch, then on the first day the participants were not strictly limited in time, let's finish the presentation, after which the organizers said the time, how long the presentation took and gave advice on how to improve and how to meet 3 minutes. The first time it took me about 5 minutes for the presentation, and the slides themselves were clearly overloaded with information. All the advice was very much on the case and aimed at preparing as much as possible for the main pitch.

Immediately after my first speech, the founder of EnergyDeck , one of the startups participating in the event, approached me and said that he worked for Google for several years, made many presentations in his life and knows how to “make candy from my presentation”. Naturally, I accepted his help and, as it turned out, not in vain. After the first day we went to dinner. At dinner, I talked in detail about the project, we went through the slides and came up with a new presentation structure, throwing out 50% of the slides, leaving only the most interesting and revealing essence of what has already been done and how. I spent the whole evening doing slides and rehearsing a performance. As a result, I more or less learned to fit in 3 minutes and not get off, although not always :)

The second day began at 8-30. I came back a little earlier, but this time there were already a lot of people in the building and everything was ready for the event. The whole building was at the disposal of Seedcamp and its participants all day, a large number of waiters and other maintenance staff worked. Before the official start, startupers talked with mentors and with each other. In general, the main task was to tell as many people as possible about their project and get feedback. However, before the pitches, most mentors made it clear that they want to hear pitches first, and only then continue communication.

Mentors deserve special attention, because I have never met such a number of people of such a high level in one place. To be honest, the number of representatives of venture capital funds with whom I managed to communicate that day was 10 times more than the one with which I talked for all my life. So did the many other startups involved. Before the event, we were sent a list of mentors who will participate in the event. The list of approximately 100 people consisted mostly of partners, principals, etc. representatives of venture companies, there were also representatives of companies such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Qualcomm, responsible for business development and new directions.
At 10 o'clock pitches began. Strictly for 3 minutes, 30 seconds before the end of a neat warning. Everyone noticeably pulled up their performances. After my speech, some came up and said that the difference between the first and second day was just huge.



After the pitches, a short pause for coffee, those who presented relaxing shared their impressions. Next is the panel with Fabian Heilemann, co-founder of the German coupon service DailyDeal, which Google bought at the end of last year, and its first investor. Fabian talked about how in 2 years he managed to build a company worth 200 million euros, how they worked 16 hours a day, seven days a week, and how he loved golf after selling the company :)



And the most interesting thing began in the afternoon. All mentors were divided into groups of 5-6 people and started communicating with startups. Each startup talked with 4 groups, while each group talked with one startup for 45 minutes, so the conversation turned out to be very thorough, there were a lot of difficult questions, a lot of good ideas. Mentors often said how they would build a business, ideas were generated on the go and immediately discussed. For 4 hours of such intensity you give all your best. It is worth noting that it is you who should lead the discussion and provoke mentors, trying to get as much feedback as possible.



After the mentoring sessions, mentors privately approached the projects most interested in them and spoke in what way it would be possible to continue communication.



After the end of the official part, dinner and a party with the participation of Pickers, whose members are not only musicians, but also startups.



What is the result? A lot of contacts, a lot of positive emotions, slight fatigue and a great desire to move forward. Several mentors left their contacts with a desire to continue communication. There is definitely an interest in Russia, although some quite frankly said, "I'm sorry, we are not working with Russia." At the same time, some companies have Russian projects in the portfolio and even offices in Moscow. In general, everyone who believes that his project has a great future is definitely advised to participate. The next event will take place on June 12th in Zagreb. If you have any questions, I will be glad to answer in the comments.