Top 5 Berlin - Edition 2
by Ian Moss and Benjamin Flader
Ok, so Berlin is a big place. And it can be confusing to figure out those startups and brands that are on the rise. I’m going to collaborate with various established people to do a regular blog series on “Top 5 Berlin”. This is the second. I will collaborate with Benjamin on it.
Who is Ian: I moved to Berlin because I knew a little French(!), and I enjoyed the buzz around the tech-scene. I stayed for the lakes & Summer. I’m a technology consultant that loves innovation, and as a failed startup founder, I can help you with software implementation, product management, mentoring, and community building. Ian on LinkedIn.
Who is Benjamin: Benjamin: “I'm a business consultant with a tech and business background. Active in the Berlin startup scene since 2017. I have a Master's degree in business studies and have worked as an Innovation Consultant for several years scouting thousands of startups. Besides, I consult startups at Profund Innovation (part of Freie Universität Berlin). In this series, I focus on more "techie" startups and one sustainability startup. All of them demonstrate the new "seriousness" of Berlin startups.” Say 'Moin' over on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bflader
Our Top 5 For Berlin At This Moment.
From Ben: Softr
"As simple as building Lego" - a bold statement on their website. Softr is a tool to create web apps from spreadsheets (Airtable and Google Sheets). They are based at the beautiful co-working space "Factory Berlin" close to Görlitzer Park. A place that is generally known for some of the best startups in Berlin. With a Series A of $15.7m in January 2022 Softr is also a startup to keep an eye on. The strategy is to turn Softr into the “world’s largest ecosystem of developers and partners for building no-code apps” with marketplaces for templates and components (pre-built building blocks).
From Ian: ONO Motion
Provide last mile delivery electric assisted cargo bicycles. Love their innovative mindset such as the experiments with Frankfurt’s tram system, and incorporation of logistics dashboards. It’s great that the vehicles offer a covered bike, and we can see the employers that care about drivers picking them over other styles. High profile customers have followed them scaling, such as UPS and DFD.
From Ben: Levity
Levity is one of the easiest ways to implement machine learning cases - Upload (images, texts), Train (ML algorithm, mainly classification), Connect (to app). Still quite unknown and in a pre-seed stage. A hidden gem and, in my view, one of the most promising AI startups in Germany. Can be found in the same building as Zeitgold and MEDWING Tech Solutions (formerly InSitu).
From Ian: OneCoworking
Allows individual coworking spaces to retain their personality whilst being on a larger platform. Now scaling across Europe, and of course since founded by the cofounder of betahaus they’re big in Berlin. For a regular one space membership, they give digital nomads, office workers, freelancers and early-stage startups access to try a variety of coworking spaces, whilst not becoming part of a corporate beast.
https://onecoworking.com
From Ben: Plan A
"Made-to-measure sustainability for all businesses of any size". Carbon management and ESG reporting in one platform. Three modules: calculators (e.g. of carbon emissions), reporting (emissions, ESG), decarbonisation (action and strategy plans, compensation portfolio). $15m funding and more expected soon. Added because of its importance to the world and promising future. And a prime example of Berlin companies in this space that got funding recently (e.g. Ceezer ($4.2m), Vayuu ($11.5m)
https://plana.earth (great domain btw)
We've a couple more of these Top 5's scheduled, but if you'd like to get involved with your knowledge and thoughts, then we really like diverse opinions. Just shout on twitter.
See you next time,
Ian, and Ben.
If you liked this why not read Ian and Wilhelm’s thoughts in Edition 1