TEP Times 2016 | Page 3

TEP CONFERENCE • INTERNATIONAL WEEK

Welcome

Welcome to
the 2016 TEP
Conference!

Start Alliance
International Expansion has Never Been Faster or Cheaper
By New York International

D

ay by day our digitalized
world grows closer together. In turn, it becomes more
and more important for traditional
businesses to constantly adapt to
the new needs and requirements
that are necessary to compete in a
global market.
This is an especially crucial task
for SMEs, Germany’s “Mittelstand.”
Manufacturing trade is still the
most important part of the bilateral
trade relations between Germany
and the United States. Startup
companies in both countries understand the importance of digital
transformation. They will have to
support traditional businesses in
their transition period and beyond
as they lead the way in innovation
and entrepreneurship, especially
here in New York. It is vital for traditional businesses to take the opportunities that lie within the digital
challenge.
The TEP Conference in New York
will give you the opportunity to gain
a unique insight which will foster
and improve the transatlantic partnership in the long run. I wish you
all productive and informative days
in NYC.
Brita Wagener
Consul General of the Federal
Republic of Germany

S

tephan Beyer, Chief Financial
Officer at BigRep—the Berlin
startup for large-scale, commercial 3D printers—impressed everyone at
Brooklyn’s New Lab back in August. He
had shipped a huge box from Berlin to
New Lab with BigRep’s newest and biggest 3D printer and was ready to install it
for the first time. BigRep started working
with New Lab just this year, and the partnership has benefitted both. “We are the
center for design and new manufacturing in New York City. Having the BigRep
team with us provides our members with
impressive new printing capabilities,” said
Scott Cohen, cofounder of New Lab. For
Stephan Beyer it was an easy choice. New
Lab is part of the Start Alliance initiated
by the cities of Berlin and Brooklyn and
enables BigRep to expand to the US faster
and cheaper than before. “Entering the
US market is challenging for everybody.
Having the Start Alliance enabled us to
concentrate on our business and worry
less about the basics.”
Like New York, Berlin is the booming
urban startup scene in Europe. Young
founders, creative disruptors, and innovative thinkers have become a driving
economic force to inspire a new culture
of networking. Multinational and local
businesses in Berlin, from mid-sized
companies to big industry players, are
working closely with startups across the
field, seeking their advanced digital expertise. In return, established companies
share their many years of market experience. This combination has become an
innovative formula for success.

The Start Alliance, under the leadership of Berlin’s trade promotion agency,
Berlin Partner, is taking this to a new level
by implementing a global exchange program in the world’s leading startup capitals. The initiative has so far been successfully launched in Tel Aviv, New York,
Shanghai, and Paris. “Within a year we
brought four major tech hubs to the table.
We built the base by supporting founders
with their international expansion and
agreed to foster a collaboration among
global tech cities,” said Stefan Franzke,
managing director at Berlin Partner, who
initiated the alliance. The concept is simple: young founders get the opportunity to test out a new startup ecosystem.
Globally, Berlin Partner is collaborating
with the most in-demand co-working
hubs in partnering markets, and together
they offer participating young founders
free co-working space for a limited time
period.

Stefan Franzke, CEO of Berlin Par tner for
Business and Technology is the initiator of the
Start Alliance.© Fotostudio Charlottenburg

A

s one of the organizations
that helped launch this annual conference in 2011, the
American Council on Germany is
delighted to partner with New York
International, Berlin Partner, and
the German Consulate General,
among others, again this year. We
are especially pleased to have the
opportunity to round out this year’s
conference with additional sessions
on Thursday focused on the nexus
of policy, entrepreneurship, and the
global economy.
Much as the founders of the
American Council on Germany
were forward-looking in 1952 when
they recognized that it was critical
to strengthen ties between Germany
and the United States in order to en