Interesting pitches, new contacts and ideas @ joint Connecting the Curious side event Bremen

How can joint forces really create the best version possible? Our first Connecting the Curious Bremen with over 15 pitches registered, more than 85 visitors checked in and new contacts flowing everywhere, was a huge success. Get a feel for the event by reading the recap.

ESA BIC Northern Germany, part of AVIA space Bremen, was excited when we, together with ESA BIC Noordwijk, contacted them to organise a collaborative event as a side event of the Space Tech Expo. We wanted to offer opportunities especially for start-ups and young professionals to network and pitch their ideas and initiatives. We found the perfect location, were overwhelmed with interest and registrations, and were fully booked a day ahead of the event. As mentioned there were over 15 pitches registered, more than 85 visitors checked in and we received feedback after feedback about the new connections that were made. Proof for us, that there is a great need for events like this where we offer platform opportunities for startups and connect them to potential partners, clients and/or collaborating parties.

The public was a young, dynamic and energetic audience and there was a good mix of people all the way in between master students and older professionals interested in the latest developments and start-ups in space. Every one of the pitchers was received with big applause in the inspiring and modern setting of Lugger.

We were excited about the number of teams that requested a timeslot for pitching. The pitches ranged from earth observation to applications that benefit everyday life. There were pitches from the Young Professionals Entrepreneurs Club at ESA, Flucto about using space data for offshore wind, Blue Dot Solutions about a Poland Business Accelerator, XRnanotech about high tech space optics and Survey Intelligence about Ground Motion Analyses. But also some known names such as CGI, LENS R&D about their developments and SatSearch about a global marketplace for the space industry. Making it fun and to keep it interesting and within the schedule, we used an orange whistle to keep the time. This worked extremely well. It’s a good way to keep everyone’s attention and that is always worth it!

The pitches were not only inspiring, they were also a good experience for everyone. It was noticeable that for some it was a real challenge to tell what they do within the offered 30 seconds, when for others it looked natural and was enough to tell the message they needed to tell. It showed again that as a start-up you really need to be able to bring your message across in a very short period of time. Shorter is clearer, and to bring across what it is you really need from the audience, so that they can respond to your request. 

Carolina Gomez from ESA BIC Northern Germany / AVIA space: 

“If I had to define the event in one word, I would say “spontaneous!” in the most positive way. An event to bring creative minds together in an uncomplicated and flexible environment. Connecting the curious brings the spotlight to the ideas of the attendees and focuses on their support and promotion. It was a great pleasure for me to organise this event together with NL Space Campus and ESA BIC Noordwijk. For me as support manager of the ESA BIC Northern Germany it is always great to get more ideas to improve the support we can offer to start-ups. Personally, it was amazing to get to know so many new amazing people”. 

All in all, the side event was a good example of joint forces between the NL Space Campus and the ESA BIC centres Noordwijk and Northern Germany and we are excited to host another one next year on November 16 (Save the Date!), maybe even extending to other days. Exciting to look forward to. But not only our event was a success by joint forces, also the NL Space booth worked well by collaborating and bringing together companies in the space sector. The same for the successful side events of NSO and Province Zuid-Holland and SpaceNed. 

As the platform for the Dutch space community and the role to bring together more organisations to grow opportunities and innovations, we again experienced the importance of collaborations at the Space Tech Expo in Bremen. There is so much more we can do when we work together. Like the saying goes: “if you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together.”