German Accelerator Program | Silicon Valley

Till Wendler, our Head of Operations, spent much of the past month in the Silicon Valley as part of German Accelerator program. This was the first of three parts in a summer long program.

Days of mentoring, networking, pitching and feedback sessions granted us a priceless opportunity to learn from experts in technology, investment and finance. The mentor pool was comprised of successful current and former business owners and investors, many of whom had a German background and know what it takes to succeed in the American market as a German company. The pitch sessions provided us with valuable feedback on how best to tweak our approach to attract U.S. customers.

'Spending a month in the Silicon Valley highlighted why so many European companies choose to relocate. Possibilities for growth are abundant, things move faster, access to lucrative funding and potential users is easy and the overall mind-set is more open. With a significant number of venture capitalists in Silicon Valley looking for new, innovative ideas and approaches, the question you're most frequently asked is; How can I help you and how can you help me?'

Thanks to the general mentality in the Valley being so direct, informal and fast-paced, we were able to arrange multiple meetings with potential investors and clients – including one of the largest breweries in the world – who expressed interest in our peaq solution.

Till pitching to German Accelerator mentors in Silicon Valley

peaq was one of the hottest topics while there as we were able to convert mistrust in the blockchain sphere to excitement about a deep-tech blockchain solution with real potential. Taking initiative is applauded in the Valley and we were happy to showcase our solutions to various experts in our field and beyond.

While in the Silicon Valley, we met with Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier. We discussed the slow progression in terms of digitisation in Germany and recognised the need to urge Europe as a whole to increase support of companies focusing on disruptive technology such as blockchain.

'Blockchain as an industry or field was arguably born, or at least began its early development in Berlin. It has seen incredible growth over the last few years - but in my opinion, the level of risk capital invested in startups there must increase substantially for the city to have a chance of competing internationally over the long term. As more people look to the Silicon Valley, Berlin's incredible talent and idea pool is set to continue to be drained.'

The German Accelerator Program has already proven a great program for companies who wish to enter and leverage the American market. We are now adapting our approach to pitch and receive valuable feedback from large American companies.

With several investor meetings already set up, we now look forward to sending our Head of Product Development, Leonard Dorlöchter, to the Silicon Valley for the second part of the program which will focus on our products.

Leo's leaving this week and while he’s there he'll be taking over our Instagram channel to give our followers a feeling for why the Silicon Valley is the number one spot for tech, globally.