Unpacking the Obvious at PAKCon23
Let's go, Europe: Highlights from a Berlin Knowledge Conference
Back in pre-pandemic Berlin, I attended events weekly — soaking up ecosystem knowledge from founders at meetups and leaders at conferences and transferring those tips on Medium. That led me to work inside a startup, an accelerator, a company builder, and eventually now as VP Communications at Earlybird Venture Capital.
But a kind invitation to Project A Venture’s 2023 Knowledge Conference, or #PAKCon23, offered an opportunity to relive that energy of being surrounded IRL by big ideas on stage, this time inside a cool theater atmosphere located in a former brewery.
The conference tackled ‘the obvious’: things we know are coming or are already here, and yet we don’t necessarily greet them head-on. Like me, you’ll emerge from this recap with thoughts on: why GovTech matters, how ESG does not equate to impact, how growth marketing is like martial arts, why diverse founders are key for GDP — all in service of a new outlook for Europe. So let’s dive in.
Swim the Sea of Acronyms 🌊
First up, business acronyms can be opaque; here’s a breakdown via conference topics.
PMF: My favorite example of Product-Market Fit was Dalma, whose General Manager talked about taking pet insurance global. Lukas Hauser broke it down into these steps. 1) Find problem-solution fit, 2) Find problem-market fit, and 3) Scale it. He reminded us: “Just because it works in a home market, doesn’t mean it works in another.”
To address that challenge, you need a mix of desk work, qualitative research, and testing. He recommends a blend of channels, (notice how this point reappears in a later growth marketing session) to lead to organic growth down the line. Lukas ‘did things that don’t scale’ at first to build up brand affinity and lean into brand ambassadors. Later, they used AI to automate claims and refine the product experience. Seems to be working. Turns out, people see pets as family members and therefore are quite willing to pay for pet insurance.
“Just because it works in a home market, doesn’t mean it works in another.” — Lukas Hauser, Dalma
ESG: As Project A’s Paola Compés Tatay will tell you, Environmental Social Governance is not ‘impact’ or simply ‘values,’ but rather a dedicated strategy and catalyst for growth. So why is that? Because it’s about how you operate and your processes. It involves ensuring your governance, cap table, board, and payments are in order. It means having a good business sense for the 21st century. i.e. an environment with often overexploited — and increasingly expensive — resources, a globalized struggle for the best talent, increased regulation, and expectations around business conduct. ESG includes KPIs, principles, and a decision-making structure; it should be part of the operational guidebook of any modern founder.
👉 Note to startups: if you have hope of selling your product or service to corporates, they’re going to be legally bound to certain ESG reporting, so be ready to provide them the data they need in doing business with you.
ESOP: “The only thing I care about is making progress as an ecosystem.” With that phrasing, Christian Miele indicated what he’s been tackling: Employee Stock Option Plans. That and compensation improvements to up the appeal of building startups here. He imparts these priorities: 1) Attractiveness of the German startup ecosystem, 2) Availability of funding or capital and 3) Overall competitiveness, like the Digital Services Act, to remove hurdles to innovation. Let’s see where the German Startup Association heads under the new leadership of Verena Pausder.
“The only thing I care about is making progress as an ecosystem.” — Christian Miele, German Startup Association
KISS: With this age-old mantra: ‘Keep it simple, stupid.’ Project A’s General Partner Uwe Horstmann reminded us, “The most complex problems can be made simple for your audience or customer.” This is a great lead into his kick-off session that follows.
The Ugly Truth 🪞
Uwe initiated the day with this: “We have no better system to organize than capitalism.” But wait, not capitalism in the sheer monetary sense, but rather as an idealistic, opportunistic environment for the entrepreneurial system to flourish. Speaking for himself, he sees his personal responsibility to build and invest in ‘resilient technology’: i.e. drones to bring information to Ukraine, or simulations in defense of freedom — where there is an implied trust in government.
“We have no better system to organize than capitalism.” — Uwe Horstmann
Somehow this reminds me of outspoken tech journalist Kara Swisher quoting international reporter Christiane Amanpour of CNN who says: “You have a duty to be truthful, not neutral.”
He recommended thinking about the state as a potential customer (which by the way, Earlybird portfolio company Aleph Alpha is already doing). Uwe closed his opening speech by inviting discussion: “Let’s use the chance we have to discuss the freedom we have to protect.” And it was indeed a day of discussions. As a former journalist-turned-comms specialist recently said to me, VC is a ‘very cerebral’ industry. Initials fit.
Let’s go, Europe 🚀
Coming of age in DC, my mom worked for The World Bank. So naturally, when the Chief Economist and Global Head of Research at Deutsche Bank, London-based economist David Folkerts-Landau spoke, I was compelled to listen. He was remarkably gloomy though about a fragmented Europe, in which it is inherently hard to scale, with quips like: ‘Europe is likely to fail to exploit its potential.’ This made my teeth grind nearly as much as when he vehemently only praised an all-male tech pantheon in the US: Altman, Gates, Jobs, Schmidt, Bezos, and Thiel. However, let’s take his critique as a call to arms for Europe to not waste any more time.
One bright spot was his recognition that immigration is essential for innovative success, and requires spending to support. He recommended innovation should be the main policy focus. Spending money on innovative infrastructure will “get you halfway to where the Americans are.”
David predicted sentient AI, referenced a ‘carbon soup,’ and suggested a focus on military, AI research, cybersecurity, and the supply chain. All the while, we should ‘do so loudly and break things’. As an American living in Germany for the past 9 years, I left that session conflicted, to say the least. Thank goodness for female thought-leaders about to rock the stage next.
All in for ClimateTech 🌎
After 43M EUR in funding, Lubomila Jordanova, CEO & Founder of Plan A, has wisdom to impart. She sees a huge need to declutter a society geared towards overproduction. On the funding topic, her tempered comments reminded us to avoid the thought trap of ‘the glorious story that VC funding is going to fix this.’ But she still said, don’t give up. She’s pitched hundreds of times and her hustling mentality was based on her passion for the climate topic. (I can personally attest to this, having invited her to speak about the climate back in 2019.)
Similar to Jan Thomas’s podcasting advice coming up soon, Lubomila suggests educating yourself about how a particular VC thinks before fundraising. She rightly points out: “VCs are smart but they have a short attention span.” Generally speaking, she notes the US is more risk-seeking versus Europe is more risk-averse, and this is reflected in VC funding.
“VCs are smart but they have a short attention span.” — Lubomila Jordanova, Plan A
She suggests: “Think of your software built into an ecosystem that is based on hardware.” Lubomila notes we need to make improvements like fixing leaking water infrastructure, refurbishing old vehicles, and building new environmentally sound tech. Policymakers develop a framework but need to talk to the people who will implement it. An advocate of ‘citizen science’, she encourages us to contribute to data collection for the decarbonization of the economy.
Sabai Sabai: It’s Your Move 🥋
A session with Project A’s CMO and Managing Director Thuy-Ngan Trinh drew parallels between Muay Thai and Growth Marketing. This was cool: In between video clips of her favorite Muay Thai fighters in action, she shared concepts, advice, and startup examples.
Phrases like ‘Stay agile to react’ took on more than a mere physicality. It meant being flexible in your growth tactics. ‘Hold them tight’ meant do not lose your hard-earned customers. ‘Diversify your strikes’ isn’t just varying your kicks, jabs, and blocks but also keeping the competition guessing; it was a great reminder to use different channels so you are not reliant on one. She says it is easier to grow that way, decreasing your CAC, or Customer Acquisition Costs while distributing your budget. (Think back to what Lukas said, too.)
Her format here reminded me of something Oliver Aust talks about: our minds love metaphors. They build on established mental connections and bring the truth forward faster.
Podcast as a Fable: Startup Insider 🎙
As a podcast junkie myself, lessons from Startup Insider’s CEO Jan Thomas are golden. But we can all learn from his journey. Why? Because he had to sacrifice his darlings to get to hockey stick growth. Remember the beautifully printed pages of ‘Berlin Valley’ and ‘The Hundert’ magazines? Of course, you don’t — they’re sadly gone! I may still have some treasured copies. Here in Germany though, if you operate near the tech startup scene, you most likely have heard of the Startup Insider Podcast.
Jan shared 10 gems from building that podcast. Having spoken to countless founders and investors, his insights go way beyond podcasting into communications and purpose. Use them:
- The start is not the problem; it’s sticking with it. This is true for anything worth doing. He suggests finding and connecting to a small customer base and helping them become loyal to you via compelling content. (This reminds me of AirB&B’s Brian Chesky’s saying: ‘Do things that don’t scale,’ much like the PMF chat by Lukas Hauser, too.)
- Invest in audio equipment: Don’t rely on Airpods etc but rather get a decent microphone set up which might cost you 50–100 Euros but will make a big deal difference to the quality of your output. This serves as a general reminder: invest in yourself. What basics do you need to set yourself up for success?
- Invest in good storytelling. I support this! He means: learn how to tell a good story because you can’t reach the next level (of your audience, career, or life) without that.
- Understand relevance: Hey startups, newsflash: not everything you are working on will interest the public. So make what you have to say relevant. Find a connection between what you are building and what’s going on around you.
- Be vulnerable: It’s rare to talk about what went wrong. Take off the mask, open up, and be ready to talk about challenges: VC issues, founder breakups, etc. This authenticity and honesty will build trust with your listeners or readers.
- Offer help: Remember to not only say what you need or how to reach you but also what you can offer in return. In the US, the #GiveFirst mentality is entrenched but we can bolster it here in Europe. Techstars knows this all too well.
- Not all VCs are the same. Well, we are definitely going beyond the obvious here. But, do your research: When you look for funding, look for differences among the VC and find the right fit for you.
- Everyone is nervous right now: What was seemingly an irrational funding flurry has turned hard-core pragmatic and VCs seek profitability and scalability. So prepare thyself.
- Invest in what matters: Perhaps having heard hundreds of episodes of startups and investors talking about what they are building, Jan has reached a similar conclusion to what we heard from Uwe and David: Make bureaucracy better, go GovTech!
- Beware of the Berlin bubble: Think broader; we have plenty of e-scooters and e-commerce so don’t only ‘offer the same sauce’. Notice more national and international trends, topics, and perspectives.
Diversity leads to GDP 🤝
Speaking of emerging from a bubble, the 2Hearts community, with now 3000 members, is fast becoming ‘Europe’s leading platform for culturally diverse talent.’ But it did not start that way. The panelists Gülsah, Min-Sung, and Farisa spoke of their initial motivations for starting out. This included the chance to help shape careers and offer trusted guidance during professional transitions.
Farisa Magazieva referenced the US, where every second unicorn has a diverse funding team. She notes that if you grow up with an underserved community background, you learn to adapt, change, and be resilient and resourceful.
Min-Sung Sean Kim spoke of a legacy of hustle and hard work that having a parent of immigrant origins gives to the next generation. His parents showed him how to drive opportunities and contribute to society. He explained: ‘Diversity drives innovation; Innovation drives productivity; Productivity drives GDP.’
“Diversity drives innovation; Innovation drives productivity; Productivity drives GDP.” — Min-Sung Sean Kim, 2Hearts
Min-Sung mentioned finding a good match in Earlybird’s Vision Lab, a program with mentorship, networking, and funding. (By the way, at Earlybird we’re now in the 4th cohort of that program with 12 startup teams of migrant origins building useful solutions to today’s challenges. Vision Lab Demo Day nears on November 21, 2023, so please stay tuned here.)
Farisa concluded with the power of mentorship to change the course of a life’s direction; she encouraged experiencing the community to find a mentor and discover new colleagues. Gülsah Wilke shared: “Don’t wait for miracles to happen, or discovery for a certain role. Be courageous to go the extra mile so the tech scene won’t stay looking like it does today.” Speaking of changes, the 2Hearts community will soon launch in Paris, France!
To wrap up 🌯
Some outtakes from a helpful afternoon panel on early-stage investing advised the audience to a) optimize for what your company needs and b) realize that ‘your cap table is expensive real estate.’
Thanks to Carmen Alfonso Rico of Cocoa for her spirited answers on investing in customer love and distribution. Rodrigo Martinez of HelloworldVC focuses on digital natives and developers, advising: ‘You need to please someone to make money.’ So how will you reach those people? You want to limit your CAC and include that story in your narrative.
A late-in-the-day Salesforce session with Felix Brückner reminded us of Amazon’s ‘empty chair’ scenario, where you place a seat for a theoretical stakeholder and reflect on what that customer would want.
Ask yourself 3 Q’s: 1) Would this decision resonate with the customer, 2) How do I operationalize it? and 3) How can I evolve with our customers through technology and real-time data? Finally, a kind reminder: 88% of customers who are not happy with the customer journey turn to competitors. So hold ’em tight.
It was meaningful to connect with people in the ecosystem. This is a key aspect for us to get out from behind the keyboard and talk together, especially in these tough global times. Appreciated seeing familiar faces.
I could only get to a limited portion of the program content filling the theaters that day. These are my impressions. If you were there and documented more, or are inspired to talk about this all, just let me know.
Thanks for reading; please reach out to me on LinkedIn or X to connect.
