It was that time again: summer, sun … networking. But this time we were not only celebrating Berlin’s vibrant startup ecosystem, but also the 20th anniversary of the Business Angels Club Berlin Brandenburg e.V. (BACB). Under the patronage of Berlin’s Governing Mayor, Kai Wegner, over 200 guests followed our invitation on Friday, July 12, 2024, to celebrate the anniversary at the festively decorated event venue of Berliner Sparkasse at the idyllic Wannsee.
Already before the summer networking event, the Berlin Angel Fund hosted the “BAF Portfolio Day” for the second time in the villa of Berliner Sparkasse. In the afternoon, 40 business angels, network partners, and more than 20 founders from 14 portfolio startups came together to share visions and forge collaborations in an inspiring atmosphere. Afterwards, it was just a few steps from the villa to the main evening event – the highlight of the year.
The evening began with a formal welcome by Christian Segal, who greeted the guests on behalf of Berliner Sparkasse and emphasized the close connection with the BACB. Then Hans-Joachim Schwenke, founding member, former chairman of the board, and honorary member of the BACB, took the almost fully packed venue with its roughly 200 guests on a journey through 20 years of club history. With moving words, he recapped the past two decades and especially recognized Axel Grob, the “founding father” of the club. Without his vision and initiative, the BACB would not exist in its current form. Hans-Joachim Schwenke expressed pride in the impressive development of the BACB: “From initially just under 30 angels, the BACB has now grown to over 140 members. In 2019, our members invested a total of 600,000 euros in startups; in 2023 it was almost 4 million euros – more than six times as much.”
Afterwards, Sasha Schubert, who was newly elected chairman of the club’s board in March, took a different approach and gave a look into the future of the BACB. His vision for the next two years: to inspire even more people to become business angels. At the same time, the angels should organize themselves better to emphasize their important role in the ecosystem and to more strongly support startups in their early stages: “Business angels are not only the first financing partners for companies that are later supported by VCs, but also partners for the future medium-sized enterprises – that is, for startups that are economically successful but too small for a VC investment. Business angels are thus also midwives for the medium-sized enterprises of tomorrow.”
After this mix of melancholy, numbers, and a sense of new beginnings, another highlight of the evening followed – the award ceremony for the BACB Portfolio Startup of the Year 2024. But before the winning startup could receive the prize, Eve Bücher and Matthias Helfrich guided the guests through the impressive journey of the founder and his startup – Aivy – with humorous anecdotes and moving words. Although Aivy could not close a deal on the TV show “Die Höhle der Löwen,” it convinced many BACB investors, including Eve Bücher and Matthias Helfrich. In his acceptance speech, Fabian Dyballa affectionately referred to them as “our Dagmar Wöhrl and our Carsten Maschmeyer.” With his sympathetic, down-to-earth manner, he proudly accepted the award and encouraged both the attending founders to continue on the risky path and the business angels to keep investing today in the ideas of tomorrow.
This year’s award winner, the portfolio startup Aivy, is revolutionizing recruitment diagnostics with an innovative software solution. Its mobile-optimized test procedures achieve a 95% higher user acceptance and save 80% of the time thanks to gamification. HR managers can thus make five times better pre-selections and avoid 30% of hiring mistakes before the first interview. We warmly congratulate the entire Aivy team and are proud to be part of this success story. We look forward to celebrating more successes together in the future.
Besides the club’s anniversary and the award for the Startup of the Year, there was yet another milestone to celebrate: for the fifth time, the Berliner Sparkasse, as a long-standing partner, provided us with its beautiful event venue at the Wannsee. Special thanks go to our advisory board member Olaf Schulz as well as Christian Segal and the entire team of the Berliner Sparkasse for the excellent collaboration – not only for events like this, but also for their daily commitment to startups, business angels, and the Berlin-Brandenburg founding ecosystem.
Oliver Kirbach, member of the BACB board, also deserves special recognition. With his confident moderation, he skillfully guided us through the evening, made up for the 30-minute delay in the schedule, and created a lively atmosphere. The musical accompaniment by Kempin Music and the catering by Catering4U Berlin rounded off the evening perfectly. It is especially noteworthy how excellently they cared for the celebrating, dancing, and socializing guests who stayed past midnight.
We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks once again to the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, for once more taking on the patronage of our BACB Summer Networking Event 2024. It gives us great pleasure that the state government recognizes the enormous value of startups for Berlin as a business location and passionately supports the needs of the early-stage ecosystem.
We thank all members, portfolio startups, partner companies and institutions, as well as guests who made our Summer Networking Event and the BACB’s 20th birthday a colorful, diverse, and lively celebration. The exchange was inspiring, refreshing, and constructive, and the numerous positive feedback we have already received fills us with great joy and pride.
A big thank you to everyone who spent this wonderful evening with us. Your presence and commitment make our network strong and vibrant. We look forward to seeing you again at the latest next year – and of course beforehand at the BACB Gala at Weberbank! Here’s to many more shared experiences and the next 20 successful years!
To get even more impressions, watch our aftermovie now: https://youtu.be/mEgdK7WuwnA
Photos & Videos: Agentur grundrausch // Sascha Walz & Nikolaus Bednarz
