Yesterday we went to go see the Siro A show at Admiralspalast in Berlin.
Not really knowing what we were about to see we were not disappointed.

If you have been to Japan before you will immediately feel beamed back to Japan. A lot of memories will arise.

Not having been to Japan before you may wonder what these really charming and crazy guys are doing there. It may be a bit strange in the beginning but hey you`ll get an idea on how it could be being on vacation in Japan.

Either way it will probably only take you a few minutes till the show has got you (or you will be leaving because you are shocked by the loud music and crazy light effects like we saw with two 50+ women).

The show being very entertaining, technically challenging and very well prepared (imagine having to stand and dance on very defined spots in order for the show to work) amazed me and made me think. One would not imagine sitting in this show and getting the goosebumps (unless its from the show itself) however I got the goosebumps because the show really made me realize how connected we already are to the technical world and how close we really are to melt with cyberspace. The borders between reality and virtuality merge – not only in the Siro A show but everyday in our everyday life.

So what at first seemed very japanese and very unreal suddenly started feeling very real but charming and very personal. You can see the guys at Admiralspalast until this sunday the 12th of august.

Cannes being a warm and sunny place in the cold European winter could well be the place for a new – not only music related – digital fair people from all over the world will pilger to. We need a SXSW in Europe – of course european style! This may take a few more years however we could feel the transition going  on at Midem making a dinosaur a lion again!

Amongst many parties and live gigs we got the chance to meet quite a few Berliners amongst them José Matías del Pino from the Berlin based startup Ondango that took part in the Midem Lab Competition and Philipp Eibach from wahwah.fm. We took the chance  to fire some BERLIN LOVES YOU questions at them. See what José had to say!

José on a little hidden beach close to Cannes

In one sentence – and we mean one sentence – what is it you do?
Ondango is a beautiful shopping system that helps brands of all kind to sell their products directly on their Facebook Pages.

Why are you doing it in Berlin?
I was living in Munich before founding the company, and my first co-founder was living in Berlin. He has a family, so it was easier for me to move to Berlin than for him to go to Munich. Besides that, the cost of living is lower in Berlin, which is also an advantage when you’re starting a business.

Whats the best thing about doing it in Berlin?
Berlin has nowadays the most exciting startup ecosystem in Europe. Hundreds of companies are based here and one can profit from direct relationships with potential customers and partners. There’s plenty of creative, affordable talent from all around the world here, too.

Whats the worst thing about doing it in Berlin?
The winter!

Your favourite place for lunch is…
There’s a small Italian restaurant right next to Sponsopay’s offices in the Ackerstraße in Mitte (between Invalidenstr. and Torstr.), can’t recall the name though – great pasta and friendly service.

If you had to leave Berlin within two hours knowing that you could nevercome back what would you do in that time?
It depends on the time of the year, the weather and the time of the day. Assuming the best case (nice weather in a Summer afternoon), I’d like to hang out with friends, eating a pizza and having a beer at Club der Visionäre.

Would you consider yourself an artist?
Not really, although artists and entrepreneurs do share some characteristics: Passion for what you do, following a vision, the need to be creative and resourceful, a lack of risk-aversion.

Why are you here at Midem?
Ondango was finalist of the Midemlab competition, where 30 companies from all around the world pitched their Tech&Music-related business to a jury of experts.

Presentation during the Midem Lab competition

Did you enjoy it?
A lot. Met interesting people and made valuable connections to potential customers and partners.

Who is your favourite company in the Midem Lab competition and why?
I guess I’m not allowed to say Ondango, right? I like WildChords from Finland – very polished product, fun to use, addressing a big market that’s ripe for disruption.

Parlez vous francais?
Nope.

What was the frenchest thing you did while you were here?
Sadly not much, it was all about work and meetings. I guess eating baguettes and croissants don’t count as a French thing!

You met the Rovio (aka Angry Birds) CEO for breakfast how was that and how was he?
I met Mikael Hed for a short meeting regarding the possibility of selling Angry Birds Merch on their Facebook Page. He was very cool, and showed a lot of interest about what we’re doing. We also talked about typical internet-geek topics (scaling SAAS models, challenges in international e-commerce, etc). For a person with his scope of responsibilities, very down to earth.

THANK YOU

Thanks Henrik for being the first to answer our set of questions for Berlin based entrepreneurs! From today on we will be interviewing Berlin based tech entrepreneurs on Berlin, their businesses and what makes it special to be here.

In one sentence – and we mean one sentence – what is it you do?
Building one part of the future of reading

Why are you doing it in Berlin?
Why not, Berlin is a great place to live

Whats the best thing about doing it in Berlin?
There is always things happening here. Nothing ever get’s boring.

Whats the worst thing about doing it in Berlin?
Breakfast and Deutsche Telekom

Your favourite place for lunch is…
Flamingo Freshfood

If you had to leave Berlin within two hours knowing that you could never come back what would you do in that time?
Dance one last dance at Berghain

Would you consider yourself an artist?
That’s actually a good question. I guess code is art somehow.

The last thing you have to say is:
Follow me on twitter?

Check out more about Readmill here or follow Henrik on Twitter.

Ever wondered where you can meet all these tech startup we are working on the next big  thing guys? Well there is only one answer to this question and it is: Rosenthaler Platz.

The problem: There are about 50% really good venues and about 50% really bad ones. So these days the good ones where you will meet employees from Soundcloud, Readmill or Amen are Transit, Co Co Banh Mi or if you are a into a bit more fancy Asian stuff Dudu on Torstr.

For the investor meetings but also to have some relaxing times and have good drinks the ones who are blessed with a membership will meet at Soho House Berlin.

Tuna Steak Tartare at Soho House Berlin.

And then there is about a 10 minute walk away from Rosenthaler Platz a place where usually on fridays a lot of people mingle its a meet and greet amongst the scene. The place is called Papa Pane and has huge Pizzas, great Pasta and really good deals. Brad Pitt likes going there when in twon with his architects. Thoe fridays are also used to sometimes have the first weekend beer or a house vine to slwoly start the weekend

More to come in Part 2 which will be published here soon!

Dimitri:

Kaviar Gauche

Laurel

Lena Hoschek

Patrick Mohr

The giant that is Soundcloud, has millions of users, and it only launched three years ago.

http://soundcloud.com/

wahwah.fm are looking to revolutionise the way we interact with music. Born from the idea of hearing what others are listening to around you, wahwah.fm lets you listen to radio stations based on how close they are to you. Great for locals!

http://wahwah.fm/

Tape.tv is MTV for Generation Y. They are already the third most popular video stream service in Germany.

http://www.tape.tv/

Being kept very under wraps, Inner Toy is trying to democratise the music business, enabling you to stream music for free and promote your favourite artists.

http://www.innertoy.com/

The Pandora for Germany, Aupeo already have a huge catalogue for creating their personal radio service.

https://www.aupeo.co.uk/

Midem is looking really exiting this year and we even have some Berlin startups that have applied for the Midemlab competition.

With Ondango you can set up a online shop to sell your products directly within Facebook to your fans through your Facebook Page – Without ever leaving Facebook.

Pipe

Pipe is a new way for friends to transfer digital files simply and directly andin realtime.

Navegas is the one and only, web based music player for all your music sources. Combine NOW the music on your PC with everything you have and find on YouTube and SoundCloud. More music sources and services are coming soon. Let us know what we should add next and what you think & feel about the current version. Enjoy everything!

A Guy called Gerald

The legend that is A Guy Called Gerald has really been keen on soundcloud, where you can find dj mixes, remixes and originals spanning his entire career.

Trickski

Having only been on the scene for 5 years, Trickski are surprisingly prolific. With over 52 tracks to listen to on Soundcloud, there is no end to the amount of fun to be found on their page.

Quarion

This is just one alter ego of Ianeq, but seems to be his most popular. Except some beautiful deep house.

Hunee

It seems house is a big thing here in berlin, as Hunee also creates slick house music, equally at home as in the club.

Ewan Pearson

Ewan Pearson is loved by critics and fans alike. Check out this snippet from pitchfork:

Someone with an up-to-the-minute knowledge of dance trends as well as an understanding of what makes trad songwriting tick… We’re lucky to have him.