That was OUR FIRST PARTNER DINNER 2024!
CONNECTING FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Last week it finally happened, a dream for all of us at MotionLab.Berlin became reality, we hosted our very first annual Partner Dinner with the vision of building a purpose-driven ecosystem where people from different sectors connect with each other with the shared goal to support hardtech startups to work together towards a more sustainable future.
Last week it finally happened, a dream for all of us at MotionLab.Berlin became reality, we hosted our very first annual Partner Dinner with the vision of building a professional network and a purpose-driven ecosystem where people support and connect with each other to work together towards a more sustainable future.
“The way of the world is meeting people through other people.”
Networking is one very important aspect of MotionLab.Berlin. Networking stands tall as a pivotal element within our organization, weaving connections through memberships, platforms, workshops, programs, and the vibrant tapestry of our events.
In 2023, we hosted many, many events. Some were fun parties, some deep-dive workshops, and some interesting input sessions about hardware and business-related topics. But one thing every event has in common: The vision of building a professional network and a purpose-driven ecosystem where people support each other and connect to work together towards a more sustainable future.
OUR FIRST ANNUAL PARTNER DINNER 2024
Building a purpose-driven network to support hardtech startups and work together towards a more sustainable future.
Building a purpose-driven network for a more sustainable future.
We have now taken this vision to a new level: Last week Thursday, on the 18th of January 2024, we organized an unforgettable evening full of culinary delights and networking at our very first and exclusive partner dinner!
This has been a dream come true for our team. It was a true collaboration within the MotionLab.Berlin team as hubs and startup success pulled together to make a dream event a reality.
This network plays a fundamental role in driving our three startup programs, as well as providing our community with the knowledge, capital and prototyping machinery to support them in the best possible way so they are able to work on their products for a carbon net-zero and sustainable future. There are many projects in the pipeline that are all related to how to deepen our community.
WHAT WAS THE EVENT ABOUT?
The partner dinner was designed to strengthen connections and introduce our network to some of our member startups. Over 60 key network partners across industry sectors joined us to learn more and share how we can build a purpose-driven ecosystem that supports technical solutions contributing to a carbon net zero future.
Keynote speakers Fridtjof Gustavs, CEO of MotionLab.Berlin, and Mariann Egressy, Program Manager of Hardtech Innovation, shared their insights into how we can shape a climate-positive ecosystem and our blueprint for Hardtech growth, respectively.
Specifically, Fridtjof explored the challenges of achieving CO2 net zero by 2050 and presented a forward-thinking approach. He emphasized the urgency of addressing climate issues and how technology can lead us towards a sustainable future. He also discussed the need for revolutionary inventions in energy production, agriculture, and sustainable building, stressing the pivotal role of today’s startups in creating a better world.
Whereas Mariann shed light on MotionLab.Berlin’s impact, the struggles faced by Hardtech startups, and the fostering of innovation within our ecosystem. She presented MotionLab.Berlin’s mission, showcasing our impact on Hardtech innovation, and elaborated on the unique challenges faced by Hardtech startups and explained how our ecosystem, including accelerator programs, supports and nurtures these startups.
OUR MAIN TOPIC: HOW CAN WE MAKE HARDTECH STARTUPS SUCCESSFUL?
The ecosystem dinner was the fanciest we have ever seen MotionLab.Berlin. We not only wanted to provide the platform for collaboration opportunities, but we want to build and continue to grow this network to offer the best possible support and opportunities for climate-driven Hardtech startups to successfully develop solutions for a sustainable future. This means fostering collaboration and knowledge from industry experts, suppliers, manufacturers, and policymakers.
And for this, we invited and brought together our ecosystem: The evening featured insightful pitches from member startup & Berlin Deeptech Award winner Bearcover, ecosystem startup & alumni NeoCarbon, and Hardtech Innovation Accelerator startup Hoop Solar. We also invited players from political institutions such as the BMWK, investors such as IBB Ventures, startups like Lite&Fog, manufacturers like Ferum Laser, and many agencies in between.
ON STAGE: INTRODUCTION TO THREE MEMBER STARTUPS
In addition, three of our member startups had the opportunity to be on stage at our Partner Dinner to pitch their innovative hardtech solutions towards a sustainable future
In addition, three of our member startups had the opportunity to be on stage at our Partner Dinner to pitch their innovative hardtech solutions towards a sustainable future.
Member startup Bearcover who currently rents a MakerGarage and Office: Bearcover is helping nursing homes, hospitals, and clinics address staffing shortages by creating human-robot teams for nighttime care. They recently won the Berlin Deeptech Award for AI and have raised more than €1m euros at pre-seed from healthcare investors.
Ecosystem startup NeoCarbon who was part of our very first batch of Hardtech Innovation Accelerator and since then have grown so much and moved out because they needed more space. They recently secured a whooping 3.2m€ seed round and still are actively part of our ecosystem and community.
Hardtech Innovation Accelerator Startup Hoop Solar is an early stage startup who joined our program just under 3 months ago. Since joining our program they are flying high, working on validating their solution and prototyping their first prototypes.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
The highlights of the night:
- Hermann, the robot by Bearcover, serving cheese.
- A Wine Tasting with Giancarlo Chapoutier.
- And the upcycled zero waste food by Roots Radical.
Tayla Sheldrake, Managing Director at MotionLab.Ventures summarizes her highlights: “It was the perfect start to our very first annual Partner dinner. So many of our guests got to meet new key ecosystem players and strengthen bonds. I find this very encouraging because it often feels like one meets and sees the same people at the German startup events. So knowing we brought people and entities together who did not previously know each other is a success already. However, seeing how so many of them took the opportunity to further connect and initiate discussions on how we as an ecosystem can best support climate positive hardtech startups grow and develop solutions for a sustainable future, was the ultimate reward. I am already looking forward to continuing this conversation at our next exclusive partner event on the 16th of April!”
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE BRING?
Would you also like to shape a more sustainable future together with our purpose-driven ecosystem and celebrate successes, connections and our collaboration at the next Partner Dinner?
Would you also like to shape a more sustainable future together with our purpose-driven ecosystem and celebrate successes, connections and our collaboration at the next Partner Dinner?
This cozy and exclusive event will happen annually from now on. However, the drive and momentum must be continued – in our case with an upcoming Ecosystem Breakfast that will be hosted on 16.04.2024. More info follows soon. Stay tuned.
Do you want to host your own event or join our next events?
If you want to host your own event read about all conditions and message us here. Or do you want to join one of our next events, check out our event calendar here.
