Beatnik Berlin fostering high-tech start-ups

Long a magnet for artsy, creative types, Berlin has become a hotbed for technology start-ups. Sabine Devins reports on the German capital's new IT entrepreneurs.

When Alex Ljung and Eric Wahlfross decided to set up their own online music business, they concluded their native Sweden wasn't big enough for their global aspirations.

After a brief stint in the high-tech Mecca of San Francisco, the two friends looked at Berlin, Vienna, London and Paris as the base for their enterprise. But after they went home without a clear answer, they haphazardly committed to Berlin two weeks later.

1086 words remaining. Click to read the [thelocal="http://www.thelocal.de/21691/">full article[/thelocal].

Interesting article! I work with an event for startups and Berlin is an exciting city for creative entrepreneurs. But I don't understand why the man from Studdex needs to lie about his job? Isn't it a sign of audacity and self-suffiency to start your own business? Lol I guess he won't need to lie much longer now that this article is online :)

Yes, I think it's a good article too, straight to the fundamentals of how the business models operate.

However, as the article says, only time will tell if the ideas are sustainable. Qute a few of the offerings are in no way "innovative". Customer power-switching sites are old-hat now.

Some of the offerings seem to be based on nothing more than trying to profit from cheaper labour costs. If those "I've got x employees" lines mean "I have x staff, most of whom are interns or on 400 Eur a month full-time", then suddenly it doesn't mean much, it's more of an ego-trip.

*retch* more "creative" start-up Spiesser assholes.

Would you FDP-voting dipshits please go back to wherever the fuck you came from and leave our fair Red city alone? Please?

I put an add in to find a website programmer, Two replies. Fostering? It doesn't feel like that.

"Fair Red city" indeed

Yah, it's not as if Berlin actually needs any business activity whatsoever, because the clueless dipshits in Bavaria are footing the bill anyway and we can thus run the town indefinitely on Harz IV, right?

11:01am Virginia, USA I loved the comments for this article! Such hostility toward open mindedness. I lived and worked in the Silicon Valley (Palo Alto-Stanford University, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, San Jose, Califorina)for The Boeing Company in the area of Defense Intelligence. The Valley developed from young inquiring minds. They never knew if an idea would make money. The artistic and technical innovative minds are very similar, challenging the unknown and taking risks. I want to see Berlin encompass both of these minds.

where or on which site did you put the ad on ...monster?

D R Jones

Considering you worked for Boeing, 'in the area of Defense Intelligence', which is little less than the industrial mechanisation of making money from the deaths of millions of innocents over the years you have little room to swing a cat in your moral self. The artistic and industrial mass murder minds are not very similar. How can you, 'Take risks', if you work for defense considering that it appears it means attack. I don't wan't Berlin to be confused by selfish greed and creativity (also in spelling).

You got your first plus ever from me there HAL lol.