From Stasi to StartupsHow Berlin Evolved into a Creative Hub
Travis Todd, Silicon Allee @travisjtodd
1871
• During the Industrial Revolution Berlin became the capital of the German Reich under Kaiser Wilhelm.
• The economic boom created new businesses.
• Berlin became the empire’s political, economic, and scientific capital.
1898
• The Berlin Secession was an art association founded as an alternative to the conservative state-run Association of Berlin Artists.
• Berlin’s first underground art movement
19201920s
• Greater Berlin Law of 1920 makes Berlin largest industrial city in Europe
• Human Rights & Personal Freedoms extended under Weimar Constitution
Arts & Culture were booming:
• Important artists met at Romanisches Café on Kurfürstendamm
• Josephine Baker introduced the new Charleston dance sensation in 1926
“The Golden 20s”
19201920s
Also technical innovations:
• In 1921 first Autobahn through the Grunewald forest
• In 1923 Tempelhof airport opened
• iIn 1926 the Funkturm (Radio Tower) was opened
“The Golden 20s”
1945-1990West Berlin:
• A cultural oasis in the middle of the GDR
• West Germans living in Berlin did not have to serve mandatory military service
• This led pacifists, non-conformists, contentious objectors, artists, and other liberal creative types to move to West Berlin
1945-1990West Berlin:
• Led to cultural movements like Punk Rock, Techno, Street Art
• US also sent Western radio & TV into GDR as “cultural propaganda”
East Berlin:
• Not to be outdone by the West, Communists funnel money into East Berlin theater, art scenes
• Creative types from East Germany flock to Berlin
RESTARTFall of Berlin Wall & Reunification (1989-1990)
Professional East Germans leave and creative Berliners are left with an blank canvas and empty playground
“Berlin is a startup itself.”
You may hear people say this:
This is disingenuous.
Berlin has always been a center for creatives,
subversives, innovators and free-thinkers.
“Berlin is a startup an entrepreneur.”
Berlin keeps failing, getting knocked down, creatively
pivoting and reinventing itself. Berlin is not a startup,
it’s an entrepreneur.
The First Wave of Berlin Startups 2007-2010
a.k.a Attack of the Clones
• Take US business models and roll them out in Germany.
• Not about creativity or product, just about making money from Germans
• Actually started in 1999 with Rocket Internet selling an eBay clone back to eBay (I only moved to Berlin in 2007, so only have first-hand knowledge from then)
• Seen with much disdain from new creative entrepreneurs moving to the city.
• But, good companies got acquired, creating new Angel investors
The Second Wave of Berlin Startups 2010-2013
a.k.a Drink Kool-Aid, Build Crazy Shit
• Influenced by the new Silicon Valley bubble a critical mass of
crazy entrepreneurs fight back against clones
• Many mobile-first companies learn that was a stupid idea (mine
included)
• Earlybird if first big VC firm to uproot and move to Berlin
• US & World starts taking notice; German companies are
acquired by International companies
The Third Wave of Berlin Startups 2013-2015
a.k.a Let’s Get Real
• Berlin starts to find the middle ground between crazy ideas and
real businesses, building an identity
• Berlin finds they’re getting good at food, fashion and advertising
• Repeat founders rebound and startup again
• More exits and a couple big IPOs
• More to come. Still evolving.
What’s Berlin’s Secret Sauce?
(Besides curry-ketchup)
• Is it really just the cheap rent? Yes, that’s a big part of it.
• High quality of life: Greenest capital city in Europe. Cool Parties.
• Top tech universities. A creative history.
• International. Direct flights to everywhere important
• Importantly, it’s NOT Silicon Valley. Valley people want to get
out of an incestuous ecosystem.
• CAUTION: A cushy lifestyle leads to less hustle. Berlin doesn’t
have enough competition or pressure to force success.
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