🍨 an important question: a cup or a waffle?
Issue #104 (03 Jun) – Sales & Ops job focus; pivot - paid paused; Coffee with Maurice; overrated coffee in Berlin; Sylt follow-up; average time spent on food; how to beat worry.
Programming note: Pivoting after doubling down on the paid tier a month ago? Yes, it probably took me too long, but I finally decided to pause the paid tier indefinitely. This means now everyone can read the archives. In other news, our first Mixer, which is happening tomorrow, has a massive waitlist & a strict no-show policy—I am humbled and excited to develop the idea further together with a small team. Speaking of events, we’ll be doing a football walking tour together with Davyd, one of our subscribers. Link below.
I hope to meet some of you at the AWS event, the issue's sponsor. I’ll be there on the 12th. Why attend? Check below.
🌟 Handpicked community
📨 Submit your input here. Inspiration for all the categories on the link.
🎪 Meet — tech & other events:
Handpicked Event: ⚽️ Beyond the Game: Exploring Berlin Through Football Culture | Tue, 11.6 at 18.00 | free walking tour, no-show ban policy, waitlist
Generative AI Meetup in Berlin | Thu, 6.6 at 17.00 | SAP Data Space
🚨 Product Experiments at Grammarly | Tue, 11.6 at 18.30 | Grammarly Berlin
Usability Testessen | Thu, 20.6 at 19.00 | Workstreams.ai
😎 Show — Cool stuff / Shoutouts / Projects & similar:
What a great initiative: “Hallo! We are Litter Pickers Berlin, a group of friends from all over the world who meet every fortnight to clean up different areas of Berlin. Not only do we clean, but we also socialise together afterwards. We would love for you to join us, and everybody is welcome.”
Writing Workshop & Zine Reading Event: Witch Edition: “We will write about the link between witchcraft and modern feminism and publish a digital zine with participants' texts.”
For everyone looking for support in building a company in Berlin, here is a nice Notion page summarising available support projects/institutions.
🔍 Ask — for a Service / Co-founder / Project help & similar:
(Inspiration: looking for co-founders, project partners or freelancers; search for tech & non-tech related service. Support for your hobby projects, ideas, and groups.)
I recently met Jason, and he told me he found his co-founder here. Similarly, Sanhita found someone to help her with a website. Worth trying.
Looking for the submission link? It’s below the title ⤴️
👀 Handpicked jobs
5️⃣ from the rotation this week: Sales, Cust Success & Ops
The remaining jobs (also outside rotation) are in the Handpicked online database.
📢 Have you already registered for the AWS event? Hurry up; it’s worth it. 😎
AWS is investing close to €8B into the AWS European Sovereign Cloud in Germany. On June 12 and 13, you can learn more about the project at Atelier Rooftop. There’ll be everything — great talks and insights, hands-on exploration of machine learning, and networking around drinks and refreshments. The best thing is that you can pick any of the two days. Busy day? Check the agenda — you can join us for a couple of hours only.
🗞 Top inspiration snippets
☕️ Coffee with Maurice Frank
Maurice is taller than I imagined. He co-founded The (Ex)Berliner and now co-runs one of the Handpicked’s sister publications, 20Percent Berlin. He is also a film producer and, throughout, an interesting character! Here is what he prepared for you:
Charité - I know most German TV sucks, but this show is kind of okay. It's set in Berlin's Charité hospital - in the year 2049. Germany is a multi-ethnic society, married throuples are a normal thing, and healthcare is super-digital (okay, maybe not so realistic). All against the backdrop of extreme climate change. Charité is available with English subtitles on Arte.
Ungapable Bridges - A lovely short film by writer Ashley Gould that reflects on the nature of borders and bridges, inspired by Berlin’s Oberbaumbrücke.
Angels Over Lusatia - Back in the '90s a remarkable Englishman, Michael Gromm, battled to save the village of Horno in Brandenburg from open face coal mining. Now ex-Economist journalist David Sherriff has written an entertaining novel based on the story of Gromm and Horno.
🇩🇪 Berlin & other good stuff
💃🏼 Yesterday, we had our Summer Kickoff party, and it was so good I didn’t even take any photos. Thanks to everyone coming: you are such cool people, and I am grateful you decided to share your Saturday with us. Videos are coming in the next issue.
🚖 After the crackdown on illegal Ubers and Bolts, Taxis in Berlin will be able to offer fixed prices from the 1st of July onwards. You can already order them through most of your apps. You might test it by taking a ride to one of the June highlights, according to Tip Berlin. (🇩🇪)
👀 I followed up on the Sylt video. It turns out most of the singers were already identified and lost their jobs. Two main characters (Elisa K & Moritz N.) were also doxxed and will probably regret this moment for a very long time unless the Nazis come back to power?
🤝 Senate Department for Economics published the State of Startup investment report for 2023. If you look at the charts, 2023 was not much worse than the average, but bankruptcies were up. The most popular sectors were energy, fintech, and food, and the best news is that seed financing has shown no decline. Worth checking! (via LinkedIn profile)
🧐 All Meta users received an email with a notice that Meta will be using your data to expand “AI at Meta experiences.” Bizarrely, your objection to data use will only potentially be honoured. Here are some visual instructions for Instagram if you want to opt-out.
Career: This thread from r/berlin offers a lot of anecdotal evidence of the state of the tech sector in the city. Extremely tough for juniors, but things are also improving. As always, “Well, it depends…” If you are applying, continue; it’s a numbers game!
Career: Based on a poll in issue #102 there are still 50% of you (and me!) still caring about cover letters, so you can save this article on how to write a good one for when you need it. I like the idea of an (LinkedIn) approach before, followed by a strong intro and getting to the point fast.
Semi-Career: Do you sit down or walk with your ice cream (or a sandwich)? Depends on where you are from.
Semi serious poll … (cup = Becher, waffle = Waffel; assume seats are available):
Timeless: How to beat worry? In short: Decide, do nothing and decide again.
Reddit choice of the week is a bit older thread on the most overrated Cáfe/coffee in Berlin was a funny read, especially comments around The Barn.
💬 Briefly:
😔 Bad news: nothing to report.
Stats: BVG already sold 110k 29-Euro tickets; 20% of customers previously had no annual ticket.
BVB got Rheinmetall as a sponsor for the next three years, which made some people angry. Sadly, the defence industry will be a place to be for the next couple of years.
Speaking of the defence industry, Helsing, a Munich-based startup, is reportedly raising a massive round of at least $400M. (Forbes) They are also hiring in Berlin.
VW is aiming to produce a €20k electric car by 2027. (Faz) I suspect it has something to do with the Chinese competitors.
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof has restructured again and will close 16 stores by the end of August. Three in Berlin (Lichtenberg, Spandau, Tempelhof) and one in Potsdam. (RBB) It’ll also be renamed to Galeria.
Ex-CEO of Finn, Max-Josef Meier, was charged with seven counts of sexual harassment at a Christmas party in 2021. (Gründerszene, 🇩🇪)
BaFin lifted the customer growth restrictions imposed on N26. The 50k monthly limit was set because of money laundering concerns. Expect a lot of high-interest deposits because this space is crowded!
Ratepay’s (BNPL, Berlin) CEO Nina Pütz stepped down. Sabrina Flunkert, CFO, takes over. (Finance Forward)
Klarna’s Q1 is profitable: +29% revenue (SEK6.4B), “adjusted operating income of SEK 229m, marking a significant turnaround from a loss of SEK 498 million” YoY. They also play the AI card: “The AI Assistant, launched in January, has engaged with over 4 million customers and will deliver annualized savings of USD 40m.”
💸 Recently funded in Berlin & Germany
Cloover | Berlin/Stockholm | Operating system for renewable energy solutions | $114M Seed (incl. debt) | Careers.
Faircado | Berlin | Browser plugin for second-hand shopping | €3M | No careers.
Rows | Berlin | Data integration and AI for businesses | €8M | Careers.
AUTOVIO | Berlin | Digital infrastructure for driving schools | €3.8M | Careers.
CargoBeamer | Leipzig | Logistics solutions for rail transport | €140M Series B | Careers.
shipzero | Hamburg | Green logistics with emission control features | €8M Series A | Careers.
😅 Meanwhile
fax machines are still a thing
✌️ Handpicked essentials and a treat:
- Berlin Salary Trends Reports: How do you compare?
- ❓Surprise treat for the curious
- The best questions to ask at a job interview
- Write it down now! Or why you should journal at work?
- What do hiring managers look for in CVs?
- Signing a new employment contract in Germany? Read this before.
- Sponsor Handpicked?
- Don’t make these mistakes with your side hustle!
✨ Berlin Events Weekly: the best resource for events in Berlin ✨
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