Building bridges and mastering tomorrow's challenges together - this was the goal of the Occident Pitch Event held in Munich on April 27, 2023. For the first time, the early-stage deep-tech investor with locations in Germany and Switzerland organized the event in cooperation with Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen (TGFS) and Univations.
"This is the third time we've hosted our Occident Pitch Event," says Occident's Michael Pauer. "Our goal from the beginning was to bring people together. After all, to successfully build a startup and realize truly great innovations, it takes many bright minds working together profitably," says the Investment Director, explaining the cross-regional collaboration.
From pitch event to pitch event
The contact between the co-hosts from the new federal states and Occident has already existed for several years. "We have regularly been able to welcome representatives of the family office and TGFS at our Investforum Pitch Day," says Anne-Janine Freund, Senior Consultant at Univations. Last year, she says, the idea for the joint event in southern Germany was born.
A total of 16 startups were given the opportunity to present themselves to experienced investors in the industry. From the Univations network, InLine-Med, MediMESH, Matrihealth, Raydiax and Solar Materials were present in Munich. "In our nominations, we paid attention, on the one hand, to which teams thematically fit the focus of Occident," says Anne-Janine Freund. "And of course, the selection was also based on who is currently seeking capital."
The event was an excellent opportunity for the teams to establish contact with potential investors. In view of the current lack of funding in Saxony-Anhalt, this was an important aspect of the event, according to Freund.
Startups meet deep tech investor:inside
The delegation from Saxony-Anhalt also received support from Philipp Kopp from bmp Ventures. The investment manager moderated the Q&A session following the pitches. "A great event with great investors, top-class startups and interesting conversations," says Anne-Janine Freund.
Sinja Lagotzki of InLine-Med was also impressed with the event. "We experienced incredible high-quality pitches. The size of the event was super and the number of pitches as well as the time for networking was also just right," says the founder from Magdeburg. "You could tell that everyone present was invited in a selected way. From there, we had very profitable conversations."
The main organizer Occident was also more than satisfied. "For us, the focus at a pitch event is on the pitching startups on the one hand, and on networking on the other, especially to bring together the highly motivated startup founders with the experienced deep tech investors," says Michael Pauer. "After experiencing how positively this exchange worked, this aspect is definitely a highlight of this year's event. We are already looking forward to the next Occident Pitch Event."