Silicon Valley vs Silicon Allee: Behind the Scenes

Sure, the conversation around Berlin versus Silicon Valley has been around for a while - but now it’s time to take everything you thought you knew about the Valley and turn it upside down. On November 6th, we’re going to sit down with entrepreneurs directly flown in from Silicon Valley, partners at Squire Patton Boggs (one of the 30 largest law firms in the world!), Berlin-based startups, and, of course, you (!), to discuss these two ecosystems. Specifically, we’ll be discussing what the Berlin and Silicon Valley ecosystems have in common - and what their major differences are. To make sure the conversation is top-notch, we’re going to have experts joining us from both Berlin and Silicon Valley, as well as real startups that have been around the block. Agenda 18:00 - Drinks and snacks 18:20 - Opening words by Benjamin Rohé, GTEC Managing Director 18:40 - Presentation by Dr. Sigmar Pohl, Partner at Squire Patton Boggs in San Francisco - Do’s and don’t’s for German startups in Silicon Valley - How to be successful as a young entrepreneur in Silicon Valley: tips on self-presentation, searching for investors, and an insider’s view on American investors 19:10 - Presentation by Patrick Gruhn, co-founder of a startup active in Berlin and Silicon Valley - Differences between the "Valley" and the "Alley" - From funding to scalability: What to expect when you're expecting (growth) 19:30 - Networking with finger food and drinks Bios Dr. Siegmar Pohl Dr. Siegmar Pohl, co-chair of the German Practice, specializes in crossborder transactions, with a particular knowledge of US and German law. Siegmar is uniquely qualified to address the differences between business cultures, legal systems and languages that can make crossborder transactions challenging. He has extensive experience facilitating corporate deals with multinational elements – including M&A, joint ventures, formation, and venture capital – with a strong focus on crossborder intellectual property and technology issues. Benjamin Rohé Since the age of 15, Benjamin has been working in the tech, renewable energy, and digital industry founding several companies and becoming an active early-stage investor in 2007. He has also advised DAX companies in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship. Benjamin is a lecturer and speaker at several European universities and conferences, including MIT, the Economic Forum, CDTM in Munich, Maastricht University and Zeppelin University – where he also helped to create an investment fund for university startups. Benjamin started GTEC in 2014. Patrick Gruhn Patrick is a trilingual serial entrepreneur with international experience in both high-tech startups and multinational enterprises. Patrick has a MSc in computer science and a Master in International Business Management, combining his ability to connect real business problems with the underlying IT. He is currently the co-founder of a Silicon Valley Start-up called Replex which allows companies to regain control of the entire IT infrastructure and its cost base by making IT infrastructure data digestable and actionable for c-levels and devops alike as well as providing optimisation strategies to maintain a constant focus on cost efficiency.