Alexander Köppen-Dlugosch is a co-founder of PocketWeb, a company specializing in mobile platforms that integrates social media and location-based services to make them easily usable for startups as well as large enterprises. Based on their PocketLife Platform they launched one of the first location-based social media networks in 2008, accessible online and on mobile networks worldwide. Based on their platform they have worked with a number of startups and enterprises to develop innovative mobile services in a variety of fields.

1. You founded one of the first location-based social networks, PocketLife, well before similar platforms, like Foursquare or Facebook’s “check-in” feature, had taken off. What initially inspired you to develop a location-based platform?

We came together as a team of entrepreneurs who wanted to address the upcoming market of smartphones and their new features. We then founded PocketWeb to empower startups and also large enterprises to provide innovative services on smartphone platforms such as iPhone or later Android. The PocketLife Platform was created to provide social networking, location-based services and most other relevant mobile services basically out of the box. This way other companies can provide their own services globally scalable and in a seamless way across mobile platforms. At the same time they save cost and time to market. Since then, we’ve developed several solutions partnering with clients such as Vodafone or The Volvo Group, but also with startups and smaller companies. One of the more recent ones was www.get-neutral.com, the world’s first online platform for climate-neutral consumption, allowing users to offset their CO2 consumption by understanding the impact of products they have purchased..

2. So the PocketLife Platform is generally geared more towards businesses rather than towards individuals?

That is correct. Companies approach us to provide the technical basis so that they can run individual-oriented services, for example solutions similar to Foursquare or other prominent mobile services. Based on our experience we also help them to design their services and business models.

3. Since the development of PocketLife, you have, amongst other things, used this platform to promote various initiatives related to sustainable travel, and have established both Commute Greener! and Green Travel Choice, in cooperation with other companies and organisations. How does the PocketLife Platform help promote sustainable travel in either case?

What we do is to support our customers in providing their services – in many areas and industries. More by chance, a few of our clients happen to be involved in the field of environmental care and sustainability. The Volvo Group, for instance, motivates commuters with www.commutegreener.com to travel by bike or bus, rather than by car, by allowing them to track and improve their commuting behaviour with their smartphones. Another one is a new service called Get-Neutral, which allows you to scan all kinds of products with your smartphone to determine its carbon footprint.

4. So with Get-neutral, you can scan any product, which it will then recognise and, based on that, determine your carbon footprint?

Yes. You can use your smartphone to scan the barcode of any kind of product – from a bottle of beer, to a laptop – and receive information on its carbon footprint and on how you can offset it. There is also a social-networking aspect involved where you can receive points and badges for your activities, and then compare your scores to those of your friends.

5. You are an international firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region from New Zealand, and in North America and Europe from Germany. What made you choose Berlin, specifically betahaus, as your base?

PocketWeb was founded in New Zealand by one Brit and two German guys. I was one of the founders, and I eventually moved back to Berlin. Also many of our clients are based in Germany and Europe. Berlin has also recently become a hotspot for all kinds of mobile and internet services. So this is a place where we can find clients, partners, and talent to hire. At betahaus, we can meet startups with whom we can partner, as well as a lot of young, motivated people who can work with us.

6. Finally, what advice would you have for anyone looking to create their own startup?

Yes, we can write a book. Neben Kaffeekochen und Internet machen haben wir eine neue Schlüsselfähigkeit der Medienindustrie erlangt. Wir haben ein Buch geschrieben.

Auf 100 Seiten schildern wir den Entstehungsprozess des betahaus und erklären die Grundprinzipien: Community, Open Space, Locality and Access und der Rest unserer Religion.

Hier ein paar Auszüge:

Das Beta-Prinzip bedeutet für uns, auf kontinuierliche Weiterentwicklung anstatt auf fertige Formeln zu setzen. Dieses Buch folgt diesem Prinzip.

Im betahaus verschränken sich Wirtschaft, Kultur, Technologie, Politik und Soziales zu einer Topologie des Coworking, die quer zu den traditionellen sozialen Systemen – sagen wir im Sinne Niklas Luhmann´s – stehen Das bedeutet nichts anderes, als die Tatsache, dass das betahaus ein Laboratorium ist, in dem der Versuch unternommen wird, gesellschaftliche Praxis auf der Höhe der Zeit neu zu erfinden.

Es geht uns jedoch nicht nur darum, der Welt zu erzählen, wer wir sind und was wir tun. Deshalb sind das dritte und vierte Kapitel des Buches als ein Leitfaden konzipiert, den coworking-Teams zu Rate ziehen können, die gerade irgendwo auf der Welt ihr eigenes betahaus aufbauen.

Angefangen bei der Vision, die uns schließlich dazu getrieben hat, in Berlin eine Industriebrache anzumieten, bis zu den Prinzipien, die uns bis heute dabei leiten, erklären wir Schritt für Schritt: wie man vom Günderteam zur Immobilie kommt, die Anlaufkosten finanziert und seine community aufbaut, das Haus betreibt und ständig weiterentwickelt.

Mehr im Buch. Das ist erhältlich im betahaus unten an der Bar und bestimmt in einer überarbeiteten Version demnächst bei Deinem Buchhändler.

Ein Teil unseres weitverzweigten Redaktionsteams arbeitet schon an einer englischen Übersetzung. Wer helfen möchte, email an: sebolma@xs4all.nl

Are you organized, motivated, interested in DIY culture, and keen on meeting all kinds of interesting and creative people? Open Design City wants you!

Open Design City is a hands-on, creative coworking space within betahaus, and can best be described as a mix of fab-lab and makerspace. People come to Open Design City to prototype their ideas, get input on projects, build all kinds of things, and participate in some neat workshops.
We are looking for an intern who can help market Open Design City, and spread the word about our space online and offline. Your duties will include:

-Promotion of Open Design City on various social networks.
-Creating and executing guerilla marketing campaigns.
-Researching funding.
-Organising workshops, and finding people to host them.

If this sounds like the right job for you, and if you’re available for at least 3 months, feel free to contact us at contact@betahaus.de

Thorsten, amongst a lot of other things you are a founder- and communication coach. How did you become part of betahaus?

I specialized in the creative industries, so betahaus has the kind of clientele I can and want to work with. It therefore makes sense for me to be here. I work together with the international design center and the KfW bank, and often meet with clients here at the cafe. I have another office in here in Kreuzberg, and a lot of my clients who work there often ask to meet at betahaus. At some point I realized that this was simply the right place for me to work and to acquire clients.

You mostly work with founders in the creative industries. Why did you decide to focus your work on this area?

I studied business and cultural studies, so from the beginning it seemed logical for me to be involved in this area. I have worked in other fields before, but I simply realized that I prefer to work in the creative industries. That’s why I am here.

What kind of questions do you answer in your consultation hour? What are frequently asked questions?

I mostly answer questions from startups and freelancers about financing and financial support, not only during the founding phase, but also afterwards.

What do you hope to achieve with your consultation here at betahaus?

Above all, I do this because I hope that everybody who comes to me for a consultation can get something out of it. I also have the advantage of being an accredited consultant for the KfW bank, so I can offer aided consultation. I know that a lot of creatives, especially the ones that are in the process of starting their own business, don’t necessarily have the financial means to pay for such a consultation in most cases, so it’s a win-win situation.

Few things can be more frustrating than job-hunting – sending out endless generic CVs and repetitive cover letters to eventually find a job we may not even enjoy. Luckily, Justin McMurray, founder of Somewhere, has decided to do something about this.
Founded in late 2011, Somewhere aims to provide an alternative way for companies and talent to find each other, based on factors that are not commonly considered in the standard job search, while aiming to increase satisfaction and “work joy” on both sides.

Companies have been using the same process of recruitment for years. What made you feel the need to develop an alternative to this standard process?

The standard recruitment process – CVs, interviews, and so on – is several decades old, and no longer that effective or relevant, particularly when you see how many people today are dissatisfied with their current jobs. The main reason for this is the lack of cultural fit between companies and their employees. In today’s economy, an increasing number of jobs rely on creativity and other human characteristics, rather than specific skills alone. A CV can list a set of skills, yet it cannot really show whether or not the employee would have a good cultural fit with the company.

You mention a specific need to consider ‘cultural fit’ when seeking out talent. What exactly does this term mean?

That’s a good question. We don’t think it can necessarily be defined, but we see it as a collection of intangible factors related to how an employee interacts with his or her workplace – for example, the company philosophy, the team, the work style, or the attitude, to name a few. Cultural fit refers to these kinds of factors which can’t really be quantified, yet are still important to both companies and employees.

Do you believe the cultural fit of an employee is equally important as his or her skills directly related to the job?

I think it depends a lot on the company and the industry. For professions that rely on a very specific skill set, such as medicine, cultural fit is obviously not that important. However, we are seeing an increasing number of creative companies where the skills required are diverse, and constantly changing. In these companies, employees can no longer be evaluated purely on their skills, but rather on their attitude, and on the chemistry they have with the company. Cultural fit, in that case, would be very important.

Exclusive screenshot of Somewhere. The product is due to launch next month.

How does Somewhere help place cultural fit at the forefront of the recruitment process?

We’re just about to launch our first product which will mainly be targeted towards the creative industry; so towards creative startups, studios, or design agencies, and to create a rich showcase of what both these companies and prospective talent have to offer. We find that companies rarely provide information that is interesting or even relevant to talent, focusing instead on the interests of customers or investors. For example, employees often want to know about things like the working environment, the company philosophy, or even things like what kind of music they play during office hours or if there are any good cafés or bars nearby – things that will affect their satisfaction with the job in the long term.

Likewise, many companies wish to see something completely different from what they normally encounter when searching for talent. Instead of generic CVs that list a person’s skills and educational qualifications, what they really wish to see is their character – what makes them tick, or how resilient they would be when faced with a challenge – things that CVs cannot really show. Different companies look for different personality traits – smaller creative firms, for instance, may look for someone highly autonomous, while larger firms may look for someone who is sensitive to others and works well in a team.

As a new startup, what are some of the challenges you’ve faced in developing and promoting your idea, particularly as an alternative to such a well-established process? What kind of advice would you give to others who are just starting their own companies?

My main advice would be simply to start. Starting something does not rely on having a fantastic idea, but rather on the desire to solve a problem. Even if you do not immediately know how to solve it, you can simply learn more as you develop as a startup. There are, of course, many challenges that come with that, such as planning and coordinating each task, or time management. The biggest challenge, however, is working effectively with limited resources. We managed to bootstrap our discovery of the problem, the solution and our customer base, and we’ve developed our first product which will soon launch in five cities – London, Berlin, San Francisco, New York and Sydney. However, after that, we will need some outside support, either in the form of angel funding or seed investments, so that we can truly reach out to these five cities.

Coworking spaces can benefit just about any kind of work, allowing for increased productivity, inspiration, and a sense of community. Unsurprisingly, we are beginning to see more spaces that apply the principles of coworking to a number of different fields that reach beyond traditional office work.

Since September 2011, a former apartment in Neukölln’s trendy Reuterkiez has housed a co-sewing space – Nadelwald (literally, “needle-forest” – the German term for a coniferous forest). This new space offers sewing equipment, patterns, workshops, and other facilities for designers and hobbyists alike to be inspired, create projects, and share their ideas and creations with others. We asked founder Swantje Wendt a few questions about her charming new space.

How did you come up with the concept of co-sewing – the idea of applying the principles of co-working to sewing?

I originally wanted to start a fashion label, specializing in scarves and accessories, and had been searching for a place where I could work on that. Since I couldn’t find a space where I could leave my patterns and materials, I simply created my own space, and began offering it to others.

What kinds of people normally use this space – professional designers, or simply hobbyists?

At the moment, the space is used mostly by people who sew as a hobby and who like to do their own alterations. Only one of our customers is a professional designer who comes here whenever she needs equipment she does not already own.

There seems to be a growing interest in sewing these days, particularly among younger people. Why do you think that is?

I think that, in the case of younger people, sewing and other forms of handiwork can be seen as an alternative to daily work, as many people these days spend most of their time at their computers. They enjoy being able to create something with their hands, something they can be proud of in the end.

You hold a lot of workshops. Do your workshops mainly focus on sewing, or do you branch out into other forms of visual art and handicrafts as well?

Our workshops focus on any skills related to fashion. We offer workshops on different sewing techniques, and even knitting, which is taught by a guest instructor, as knitting is not my area of expertise. I plan to offer a workshop on pattern-making, as that is my specialty.

You have a store here as well. Do people who use this space sell their finished work here?

Yes. It’s part of our concept – you can be inspired by our fashion and pattern books, work on your project and finish it, and finally sell it, all in the same space.

You yourself have worked as a designer, and have done some work for Berlin Fashion Week. Could you tell us a little more about that?

I started out as a tailor, but I felt I wanted to go further in the world of fashion. So I started out working for a Berlin-based high fashion label before working for another, larger-scale label based in Bremen. I found that working for a larger label really limited my ability to be creative – I simply communicated ideas between designers and buyers, and never created anything of my own. When I finally moved back here, I decided to start my own business instead of working for another firm. At first, I wanted to start a label as a designer, but since I was unable to find space to work, I simply created my own, and that’s how Nadelwald was born.

Peter Kirn is a musician, sound-designer, composer, educator, and writer, specializing in DIY electronic music and interactive visual arts. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Create Digital Media, GmbH, an online magazine and community for those involved in music technology and audiovisual arts.
A member of betahaus since November 2011, Peter has already hosted events and workshops at Open Design City for users of the MeeBlip – an open-source synthesizer he co-designed – and plans to hold more events this year.

You are the co-creator and developer of the MeeBlip Synthesizer, and have already hosted a workshop here at Open Design City. Do you plan to hold any more MeeBlip workshops or any similar events at betahaus or ODC in the future?

Following my talk at the Create Art and Technology conference in November 2011, I hosted a very informal MeeBlip workshop at Open Design City. So far, these are the only MeeBlip-related events I’ve hosted here. Of course, I have a lot of plans for this year, and that includes more workshops and events at betahaus and ODC.
These events are generally attended by a mix of musicians and electronics geeks, but my long-term goal is to introduce a wider range of people to electronic music and synthesizers. The MeeBlip project is still in the early stages, and we have yet to win anyone over who isn’t already interested in this field. We hope to do a better job of making the MeeBlip more available in the future, and accessible to people everywhere.

You run the company Create Digital Media GmbH, which, among other things, publishes the two sites CreateDigitalMusic and CreateDigitalMotion. Could you tell us a little more about that?

I started out with CreateDigitalMusic, which focused on using technology as a window into music. It’s not just a gear site, nor is it a typical music site. CreateDigitalMotion was founded at a point when, very early on, it became apparent to me that a lot of musicians were moving from working with sound to working with visuals, especially with interactive visuals. I think that, as a musician and a live performer, you work a lot with time – an element most visual artists and designers often do not consider in their work. However, we have a new generation of artists and designers, as well as musicians who cross over to these fields, who do think in those terms – taking visual media and adding to it the element of time.

We’ll also be rebooting our social efforts with a site we’ll call Create Digital Noise; part of what I’m working on here in Berlin is engineering that site and creating something new for people exploring technology for music and motion. If anyone is interested in how social connections work for creative people, I’d love to talk.

There has been a backlash in recent years against the use of inexpensive software to produce music, with many blaming such software for the overall deterioration in the quality and value of music nowadays. Given that you specialise in external hardware, what do you think of this viewpoint?

Both James, the co-designer of the MeeBlip, and I are hardware users: we love the feeling of turning knobs, flipping switches, and so on. But we always try to be as open-minded as possible. Since I first started writing CreateDigitalMusic, I have always tried to cover everything. I try not to be too concerned about how people make music or what they use, whether they make music with an old GameBoy, big racks of analog gear, or an iPad. I think this backlash we’re seeing is mainly against the lack of variety in output, and the idea that people no longer have a choice in what they can do. Everyone has different tastes, different musical backgrounds, and access to different forms of gear. The great thing about music is that electronics, when in the hands of a musician, are no longer seen as disposable. If you give a musician an iPad, and a newer version comes out, they’ll simply get the newer one and have two musical instruments!

What inspired you to move from the US to Berlin, and what attracted you to betahaus in particular?

I recently moved to Berlin from New York to give both myself and Create Digital Media a new place to grow and develop. At the moment, I think there isn’t any better place for that than Berlin, and especially betahaus. I’ve always been interested in the intersection of technology and creativity – these sites themselves are examples of this intersection – and I see a lot of that at betahaus. It’s always great to see people from different fields – web people, musicians, people working with technology – come together to work on things. There is a strong sense of technological ingenuity, not only at betahaus and in Berlin, but throughout Germany in general, and I’ve been able to meet a lot of smart and interesting people since coming here.

Kresten Buch (r), with HumanIPO co-founder David Owino

In recent years, Kresten Buch has become a name strongly associated with the emerging mobile-based startup scene in Kenya. The Berlin-based “serial investor” is behind several projects and initiatives designed to support the wealth of young entrepreneurs and innovators in Kenya and the rest of the East African region, mainly through the seed-investment company 88mph, and through the professional social network, HumanIPO, which he co-founded.

Kresten’s latest venture, Startup Garage, is set to open in Nairobi in mid 2012, and will be the largest coworking space in East Africa to date. He also plans to introduce a desk-exchange between coworking spaces in Nairobi and Berlin, in which betahaus will take part.

You initially worked within Denmark and Northern Europe. How did you become interested in Kenya, and what made you eventually change your focus to East Africa?

It all started when I sold a company in 2006 to investors in Eastern Europe. As part of that sale, I had to build a company in Eastern Europe, so that was what first got me out of Denmark. Following that, I decided to take a 14-day business course at Stanford University, and it was there that I then met David Owino, then the COO of Kenya Data Networks Limited. At that time, I was looking to start investing in tech companies, and he told me a lot about what was going on in East Africa: about mobile money and the growth of the mobile industry. Soon afterwards, I decided to spend a week in Kenya to see this for myself, and that’s how eventually started working there.

There’s plenty of talk about mobile business leading the way in regional development, not only in East Africa, but in a lot of developing regions of the world. How widespread throughout the economy and throughout Kenyan society are the benefits of this development – are they limited to only certain economic sectors or certain classes of people?

Mobile technology has really increased its presence in Kenya these days. For instance, the biggest mobile operator in the country, SafariCom, has over 22 million subscribers, and the population of Kenya is 40 million. One thing mobile technology has brought to a lot of rural Kenyans is the ability to have a bank account. SafariCom offers subscribers access to banking services, so they not only get access to a phone – something they may not have had before, but also the opportunity to send or receive money from the cities, or from abroad, with their mobile bank accounts. Phones prices are also much lower these days – you can easily get a perfectly-functional, Chinese-made smartphone running an Android system for about 80 USD.

Despite there being such a promising, talented population, Africa is still unfortunately associated with poverty, corruption, political instability, and the resulting capital flight, which, of course, deters potential investors. Do you believe that, through the growth of the mobile start-up scene – this so-called “mobile revolution” – this stereotype can eventually be overcome in the international community?

That’s definitely one of the more interesting challenges we are trying to face. There needs to be a change in the way people look at Africa – too many people only associate it with poverty, charity work, and so on. Africa also needs to be seen as a land of opportunity that is attractive to investors. We hope that we can eventually create some kind of regional success story through our work which would spread worldwide thanks to social media, ultimately changing everyone’s perceptions of Africa for the better.
One thing I’ve noticed is that, when you’re in Kenya, you feel surrounded by growth – strong population growth, economic growth, and so on. You’re able to take on projects which may not have the same impact on the markets in Europe. For instance, we founded a football website, Futaa.com, which found great success in the Kenyan markets – something that would not have happened as readily in Europe. A lot of people who do show interest in investing in East Africa mainly see the region as a source of cheap labour, and ignore the true potential of the local population and markets.

Will this also change the way in which business is conducted between Europe and Africa, as people become more aware and more respectful of the local population and business culture?

Of course. Obviously, I encourage Europeans to go down to Africa and start something. It’s great for the local population to be able to collaborate with foreigners, exchange skills, experience and expertise, and to eventually start their own companies based on that. I think that all successful economic growth is based on interaction between nationalities. In order for the economies in East Africa to grow, the local population has to be a part of it; and as equal players. I would love to see small companies being formed by a mix of nationalities – that’s one of the reasons why I’ve decided to start a desk-exchange with betahaus and other coworking spaces in Europe.

HumanIPO has just announced a desk-exchange between coworking spaces Berlin and Nairobi, and that betahaus will be participating. What are some of the main differences between the coworking scenes in East Africa and Western Europe, and what could either side learn from this kind of exchange?

When you look at Kenyan startups, you notice that the entrepreneurs there are a lot more hungry and a lot more driven than those in Europe. One of our employees in Kenya, for instance, had his taxi hijacked, and was held hostage all night. The next morning, he went straight to work, as if nothing had happened! Needless to say, many European entrepreneurs can at least be inspired by that level of determination. I also find that, in Africa, people are much friendlier and more passionate. This creates a good contrast when paired with Germans, who are more structured, formal, and reserved.
The space in Nairobi is almost ready for the desk-exchange; so it’s just a matter of enough people from Berlin applying for it. Our newest space, Startup Garage, is about to open, and should be ready in a week. The space has about 120 desks – not quite as big as betahaus, but so far the biggest coworking space in East Africa. Mind you, coworking is still a relatively new trend over there, as many Kenyan companies still hold on to a very traditional, hierarchical office mentality. However, there are more and more young, educated people today who are embracing the concept of coworking – of working openly with others. We’re hoping that, by allowing Kenyans to work in German spaces, and vice versa, we can not only promote coworking in Kenya and in East Africa, but also change the perspective many people in Europe have of Africa, and of doing business there.

Eminent European universities, founded in cities such as Bologna, Cambridge, and Oxford, began as a new kind of space where people could congregate and begin to create, share, and develop knowledge—as centres of learning.
Nearly a millennium later, many other spaces—from coworking spaces like betahaus, to a multitude of online platforms such as Wikipedia or YouTube—have taken on this very role that universities once had. This development led to drastic changes in how we create and share knowledge, raising the question of whether or not the traditional university is even necessary in today’s world.

In fact, we already see distinguished professors beginning to leave academic powerhouses such as Stanford, and deciding to teach online instead. Given this reality, it is clear that universities now face a deep challenge of reinventing themselves to suit the needs and methods of learning in the digital age. We have invited four distinguished guests to present their perspectives and ideas on the matter:

• Dale J. Stephens, founder of the UnCollege movement, questions whether university is necessary to learning and personal development, and is challenging the high costs of college.

• Dr. Stephan Breidenbach, founding Dean of Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance, recognises the pressing need for universities to stay relevant, and is actively working on reforming the way in which knowledge is created and shared at the university. Dr. Breidenbach is currently advising German Chancelor Angela Merkel on the question; “How do we want to learn?” – one of three main topics to be discussed in a dialogue on Germany’s future.

The third betahaus Salon will bring together various ideas and insights surrounding the issue of University 2.0 – the reinvention of higher education in the 21st century.

We are looking forward to discussing the reinvention of higher education in the 21st century with these speakers, betahaus members, and guests on Tuesday, February 14, at 19:00 in the 4th Floor Arena. For the love of learning.

The many individuals we meet on a daily basis often have far more of an impact on our lives than many of us can readily recognise. This was the realisation that lead Ian Kath to start Your Story – a collection of podcasts recorded by people all over the world; each one recounting a certain story that shaped their lives in some way. Since 2007, Ian has been hosting Your Story, and has invited over 65 people to each tell his audience a story central to their lives in some way. He has recently followed up this project with an online guide – Create Your Life Story – to telling one’s life story in an engaging and appealing way, and broadcasting it using various different digital media. Ian recently became a member of betahaus, and hopes to eventually be based in Berlin. (more…)

Lorenz Graubner is the founder of Federball.de – a recently-founded company specialising in high-quality shuttlecocks for badminton players in Europe. A longtime badminton player, Lorenz founded Federball.de after noticing a lack of quality shuttlecocks available to professional players in Europe. The website, Federball.de, also serves as an online information platform for badminton players and enthusiasts, with a collection of videos from various tournaments, and written information about the sport.

(more…)

Sascha Konietzke is the founder of Thriventures, and the director of its main product, Storage Room. Storage Room is a cloud-based CMS (content-management system) for mobile and web applications, with which app developers can distribute, store and manage content. They no longer need to worry about creating a backend from scratch – something that would cost more time and money in addition to the creation of the app itself. Sascha has recently begun to work from betahaus.

What exactly is Storage Room, and how does it work?

(more…)

Shopping for furniture, clothing, and other things we need in our daily lives, can be costly, time-consuming, and, above all, creates waste and supports wasteful industrial practices.

Enter Le Van Bo; architect, designer, and initiator of the Hartz IV Möbel project. Named after the national welfare system, Hartz IV Möbel is a DIY movement, centred around a series of basic, practical furniture pieces that are both simple and affordable to construct, making use of commonly-available, low-cost materials.

Le has recently published a book, the Hartz-IV Möbel-Buch, which not only contains instructions for all the furniture projects, but also provides tips on cost-effective living in small spaces, as well as features on prominent members of the DIY community in Berlin.

For those who aren’t familiar with it, what is the Hartz-IV Möbel project all about? 

Hartz-IV Möbel is a social design movement, and I am its initiator. The basic idea is that I try to create construction plans for furniture inspired by classic Bauhaus-era pieces, which are normally very expensive. For instance, a chair, which would typically cost around four or five thousand Euros, can be made, using one of my designs, for 24 Euros, in just 24 hours. I call it the ’24-Euro Chair’, and you can even find one in the betahaus café – just look for the green “Build Me!” sticker.

What inspired you, as a trained architect, to start such a ‘social-design movement’?

It started out as a bit of a coincidence – I had constructed a chair for myself for the first time after attending a basic carpentry course at the local Volkshochschule (community centre). I had been designing wooden furniture, yet despite that, I had never even held a saw in my hand before – I had, as you might say, two left hands. So of course, this made me really proud. I then blogged about this chair, and told all my friends about how I built it. That was the beginning of the movement – I was so inspired by just how easy it was to build something so useful, and so were others.

DIY lamp, found at Open Design City

I am neither a product designer nor a carpenter – I had never even held a saw in my hand before making my first 24-Euro chair, and I’m still a complete amateur even today. When I created the 24-Euro chair project, I wanted to inspire those who are not only not designers, but who may not have enough money to buy all of their furniture, to simply create their own instead.
The name and its reference to the welfare system is a deliberate provocation; to make it clear that this is not a project about design, form, or materials. For me, chairs and other basic pieces of furniture are a social issue, and not one of design, because the way in which one furnishes their home defines their wealth in a way. This project is intended for those who may be short on money, but who have good taste which they wish to express.

Has the Hartz-IV Möbel project been applied, or attempted, in any other cities, besides Berlin? Do you see this becoming a movement worldwide – somewhat in line with other “DIY-revival” trends (e.g. sewing, gardening, etc.)?

I know that there is definitely an increasing number of DIY projects like this one happening throughout the industrialised world. A lot of people are simply fed up with capitalism, and are starting to reconsider the actual value of products we normally buy at large-scale stores like Ikea or H&M – questioning why everything is so cheap. It doesn’t help that many of these companies cannot say just how, where, and by whom their products are made. Nowadays, more and more people are trying to regain power, particularly over what they consume. We see it with the Occupy movement, with guerilla gardening – the conversion of public green spaces into community gardens, and with something I organise called Guerilla Lounging, where unused public spaces are turned into “lounges” for the general public.

Le Van Bo's "Hartz-IV Office", Open Design City

The book is a very special project because it is not carried out in the normal way in which a book is published. Normally, one writes content, finds a publisher, and then publishes the book. What we are doing instead is finding readers, asking them to finance the book through donations on StartNext, collecting their stories, illustrations, and other content they submit, and then finally finding a publisher.

The fun thing about this project is that, because it’s a collaborative effort, everybody can contribute to it in some way. This raises the question of quality control – many people wonder if this method would perhaps result in a patchwork of varying styles and quality. However, what this process revolves around is something called “crowd-storming” – a collective form of brainstorming, in which an idea is displayed to a public forum, and is open to feedback from just about anyone.

As for content; this book will contain not only all of the construction plans, but also some tips and advice on how to organise a small space in the best way possible. There’s one chapter, called ’99 ideas from the 99%’, in which we have collected 99 of the best ideas for various kinds of DIY projects. Another chapter is called the ‘Karma Economy’, where I try to summarize the things I’ve observed at companies who can successfully motivate people to do good with something other than money – something I call the “karma credit”.

We have a small number of copies available, and if you donate to the project on StartNext, you’ll receive one. We’re hoping to find a large-scale publisher soon, though we’ll try not to publish too many copies, as that would create waste – the one thing we’re fighting against.

Le Van Bo will be holding a ’1m² house’ workshop on 31.03 at Open Design City, where you can learn how to build the smallest, fully-functional house imaginable!

The next betapitch | Berlin is on its way, preparations are in full effect, and the whole betahaus crew can hardly wait to get your onepagers into their hands. We also want to get that fire into you, get you ready for your pitch, and help you prepare as best as you can. So from now on we will supply you with more background info on some of the judges, in the form of interviews. This week we will start with Wolfgang Wopperer. Enjoy!

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Interview by Mateja Plaskan

Samsarah Lilja is the head of Lilja Design, and specialises in corporate graphic and web design. She offers a wide range of services, such as logo development, logo optimisation for various types of media, vectorisation of image files, and business cards. She has developed an overall design and utilisation concept which integrates many elements into her work.

Samsarah has had over 10 years experience in the fields of web design, programming, structure, and marketing and has gained substantial know-how through working at the Department of Architectural Theory alongside Prof. Fritz Neumever at TU Berlin, as well as completing an internship at the well-known international architecture office of Prof. Hans Kollhoff in Rotterdam. She is also the founder of archinoah.de; an internet platform for architects, and tektorum.de; an affiliated discussion board.

Samsarah has been a member of betahaus for over a year and a half.

(more…)

betahaus | Berlin is bursting at the seams since the beginning of the year. Fixed desks are sold out and teams are piling up requesting better teams space for their ventures AND of course phone boxes not to forget BETTER TOILETTES. (Apologies to all those who lived with the current conditions for years. We love you and we were young and didn’t have the money!)

Well, we are expanding. A lucky coincidence gave us the chance to get a hand on the 1st floor in our beloved building with an additional 800 sqm space for all our dreams to come true in the near future (except the roof terrace). This might be of importance for you, too if you like to have office space. Here are the next steps.

• Stage I (May 2012):
• We are bootstrapping one third of the 1st floor into office space next monday for all those peeps that are in the waiting list for ages. Are you interested to grap a space there? We’ve got 1-2 team tables left. You can sign up on our waitinglist.

• Stage II (June – September 2012)
• We’ll reconfigure the rest of the space during June, July, August and September and push betahaus | Berlin to the finest in coworking space – design. We’ll have bigger team spaces for fast growing startups or those a like and some cool collaborative spaces for coworking lovers as well. There will be lot’s of features we have dreamed of for years: Foozball (kicker), hangout space with sofas, skypeboxes, private areas etc.  May the coworkers dream come true! …and the force be with us.  ;)

That’s the update for today. If you fancy a space there or like to get involved anyhow, please contact us today at kontakt@betahaus.de and we’ll get in touch!

Cargo bikes are a new form of bike transport. Bikes are already commonly used as a perfect environmental-friendly way of transporting yourself. You burn fat, stay healthy, save money, never get stuck in a traffic jam, etc.  But what if you are not alone, but accompanied by a cozy armchair for your apartment? Then you have to ask one of your friends for a lift or rent a car and put your armchair into the trunk, right? Because it`s impossible to transport it through half of the city by bike. Just impossible. Sure? (more…)

Oh what a night! Not that all of us were not already nervous enough, no, last minute mistakes were inevitable of course. The heat and humidity didnt help one bit with making us feel more relaxed. But then: the first pitch. And it is awesome, wonderful, grande, and so is the rest of the pitches!

To be honest we could not have been happier with last night. We received so many great ideas beforehand, and we saw ten true rockstar startups present last night. So competition was tough. And from what we hear, the discussion after the pitches in the jury room was too. But the quality of the ideas presented during the pitches was so high that the jury uniformly decided that there should be two winners: one for societal impact of the idea and one for the business model.

And here they are (we really cant hold back any longer): The two winners of betapitch #3 are…..

KNOWABLE and SOMEWHERE!

Wooooooohooooooo!

As already said, we could not be happier and we cant wait for them to move in.

Thanks to everybody for making this happen. We are looking forward to the next round!

The Terranauten is a project of professional  dancer Lisa Oettinghaus and freelance photographer Kay Strasser. They have developed a symbiotic project between dimensions of the creative worlds: text meets dance meets photography, creating something new. Terranauten explores spaces with gravity, and provides a relation between the act of flying, and the texture of the ground. This is what they capture in exciting photos that show what cannot be, taken without tricks, without any technical manipulations and without photomontage.  The Terranauten have been betahaus members since last October. (more…)

Jordi, one of the betahaus | BCN founder picked me up in his Mini at the airport and gave me a nice drive through the sunny streets of Barcelona. After half an hour we arrived in Graciá, Vlilafranca 7 1km from the center of Barcelona. A well known neigborhood for the creative dudes and hipstars, the Gaudí-designed Parc Güell is around the corner.

(more…)

Friends of betahaus, soon we ll transform our café into a virtual soccer field. We ll show every game of the EM during the next weeks. Of course there will be also lots of BBQ and cold beer. So come and join us for the European Championship.

Yourz betahaus | Team

PS to get in the right mood check out the coworking cup

Knowable is a social business network in Berlin, created by Simon Höher, Ansgar Schürmann and Emanuel Schwarz. Simon is responsible for the network, business development and contacts with partners; Emanuel knows front end website design; and Ansgar is specialized in backend web development. They are interested in creating and summarising practical knowledge, which could be accessible for everyone. They started to develop the project in January. Recently they got the 1^st place at the betapitch and moved into the betahaus. (more…)

Interview by Till Wagner.

Tor Rauden Källigsten presented his start-up loopc.am at the last betapitch. Like actually all the ideas presented, Tor’s also seemed pretty interesting to us, which is why we did this interview with him. In general: loopc.am is a social platform for sharing animated .gif images….but let’s see what Tor has to say about it. (more…)

WHAT: 1^st Fab Café in Berlin

WHERE: betahaus| Berlin     

WHEN: Soon! Oh, so soon!

As you could have noticed in one of our May blog posts, we were very inspired by the idea of Fab Café, which opened in Tokyo. Thought. -> Done! We got together with friends, experienced users of 3D printers and creators of cool stuff, and.. HERE WE GO! Our secret agent has already made his way to Holland, ordering one of the best 3d printers available at the moment.

In couple of days it`s gonna be delivered to betahaus. As soon as we get it in our hands and give it a welcome hug, the party will get started. We are going to combine this great prototyping and making technology with the best coffee in the world (which we truly know how to make). Your prototype will be printed out while you are having a cup of delicious coffee. The main idea is to provide wide accessibility to such a great invention as a 3D printer. After years of improvement, these machines have finally reached the optimal level of simplicity and reliability. So it`s the exactly right time to expand the number of its users.

The 3D printer will be there for both, professional designers and those, who just would like to try it out. As well as printing your own invention, created in Blender, Sketchup or 123D (and so many more) vector program, you could also pick up one of the models in Thingiverse or out of our 3D-model-selection (which we are creating at the moment). Simultaneously with Ocra`s arrival, we will start holding workshops on how to use it.

So, we are very excited about getting this project started. Until then, if you have any particular wishes, suggestions or questions regarding the Fab Café, let us know via comment!

Ciao,

Your betahaus team.

Utopicus is an awesome coworking space in Madrid. In fall 2012 (Sept 19th – Oct 1st) they will send us awesome coworkers. Together with Rafa (founder of utopicus) we set up a little exchange program for them. They will work 10 days at betahaus | Berlin and find their perfect coworker match to start new projects or continue on actual tasks.

So now we need you to get involved. We are searching for 13 hosts in Berlin who will offer a place to stay in Berlin and guide the Spanish guests through the coworking jungle in Berlin.

Here are the profiles of the ones which will come over:

1.Javier Montañes: Hello my name is Javier Montañés and i´m partner and art director since 2002 in Mimetica Comunicación. We are a design studio based in Pamplona and we work in corporate design, editorial design and web/apps development. In 2010 I moved to Madrid and i started to work in Utopic_us looking for new clients and professionals to make a network to collaborate with because i think that the coworking is the best formula for the creative disciplines. Now we have our own coworking in Pamplona. In Berlin woluld like to meet other designers, illustrators and web developers to collaborate and try to develop joint poyects. Greetings!.

2. Beatriz Vasallo: I’m willing to broaden up my personal experience and my clients’ portfolio in translation and interpreting. I’m very attached to the German culture, as I studied for 9 years at the German School of Madrid (DSM) and, apart from that, I really love Berlin, it is one my favourite cities ever, so one could say this is really a dream project to me.

3. Javier Corral: Hi, my name is Javier. Would be nice to be there to stay in touch with theatre’s companies, audiovisual industries, and all relacionated with cinema or tv on the Berlin’s scene. I’m an actor, director an a theatre writer, I would like to show my differents spanish works there. In this moment I’m working in a theatre play about Charlotte von Mahlsdorf.

4. Maria Jose: My name is María Jose, and I am illustrator. So far I have illustrated children’s schools, rooms, logos, wedding invitations, clothes and accessories, flyers and many other things but my real dream is to illustrate stories for children. I am very exciting about this proyect between Utopic_us and Betahaus, because I think that in my time there, I could find some publishing house, editors, or just people who work in the world of illustration, that could advise me about this world. I would like to add that I am a big fan of travel books, so I hope to do a great one in my time there. I know this trip will be a great experience and will open new horizons in my mind. Thanks for everything, Maria José Gajate. If you want to see my work can find it on my facebook: Mariajo Ilustrajo

5. Pablo López: ”I’d like to collaborate with a Video Production Business doing recordings, edition and postproduction tasks. I’d also like to practise my German (my current level is A1, but it would be nice to improve it”

6. Maya: By taking part in this exchange, I intend to create medium and long-term professional bonds with fellow coworkers from BetaHaus, as well as experiment the cultural vibe of a truly artistic city like Berlin. It would be marvelous if I my skills as an artist could be of use to my new teammates; my strong points are traditional illustration, retro-game pixel art and fashion illustration.

7. Gonzalo Larregueta: We are about to launch an online platform (www.loudart.es) for spanish artists (illustrators, graphic designers, etc) to have their portfolio and own shop online, and our idea as well is to create a community around it. We will produce the products (prints on art paper) and ship them on behalf of the artist. I´d love to learn from similar activities in Germany and get to know a bit the art scene in Berlin for possible future cooperation with artists, art communities, galleries, etc.

8. Raul: This trip to Berlin is a great opportunity to live a life experience with my teammates, knowing how to work there, participate on an interesting project to suit my abilities and increase the network to improve employment opportunities. Thank you for this opportunity!

9: Mathew: My name is Mathew and I am a graphic designer and web developer. At present I work mainly in online development, working primarily with WordPress, HTML5 / CSS3 and JQuery. Apart from breaking into the Berlin labour market, I would like to get to know the city, the people, and perhaps even make a life there.

10. Mario Avellaneda: Why do I want to go to Berlin?? Well, first of all, I think it is a great opportunity for all of us to exchange ideas with creatives from another culture in a real work situation. The second reason is because I know there are some people in Berlin developing some interesting projects in the digital publishing industry, which is the field I’m working on. A mag called ASIDE is the first real experiment to create an iPad magazine fully based on HTML5, and its creators are from Berlin. With that example, what I want to say is that I’m absolutely sure there are incredible and very enriching people in the Betahaus, whom I can learn from, exchange thoughts, and, off course, have a nice time together… having a little party ’cause Berlin is also about having fun!!! See ya there!!

11. David Maroto: I would like to introduce myself, my name is David Maroto, I´m a
photographer focused on movement photography, cinemagraph for advertising
and magazines. davidmaroto.com I would like to contact with designers, advertising agencies and travel journalists, I´m also a travel photographer for magazines. My personal work is based on the sequential photography to create multimedia installations. I should highlight “Circuito Emocional” http://www.davidmaroto.com/emotional_circuit.html, this is an exhibition I did for the “Spain Art Fest” in Times Square in New York and “Light Stalker”  at the Instituto Cervantes of New York.

12. Paco Gramaje: “I m Paco Gramaje I´m an audiovisual creative and I have my own studio in Madrid,I am searching new connections, collaborators and experiences in my favourite city outside Spain”

13. Wilhelm Lappe: “I would like to introduce myself and I’m emailing you because I would like to meet entrepreneurs in Germany.My purpose is to exchange points of view, and I’m hoping for this to be a first contact that may evolve into a long-term collaboration.I’ll be in Beatahaus coworking spaces, but I’ll be happy to meet you wherever you suggest. We could simply have a cup o coffee and speak in a relaxed environment.My web and profile are in Spanish, so I’d like to give you an idea of who I am: My name is Wilhelm Lappe an entrepreneur in Madrid, Spain. My project is emprelab (www.emprelab.com) and we work with organizations (such as business schools, foundations, government institutions) that help entrepreneurs, and we also work directly with entrepreneurs. Basically we provide training and services in different areas including business plans, productivity, presentations, or investment projects. Additionally, I’ve been the co-organizer of Iniciador Madrid, a non-profit initiative which purpose is to promote networking among entrepreneurs. We organize two events per month: one of them includes a conference followed by networking, and the second one is a workshop. I take part in different events dealing with IT industry, entrepreneurship and internet or web 2.0 in Spain. Therefore I have a significant network with more than 3000 contacts here. Currently it is my purpose to meet entrepreneurs around Europe and have this network grow.I think European entrepreneurs have an excellent opportunity to make their companies grow in a familiar environment and in countries nearby. I’ll be very pleased if you have 45min to 1h to meet. If we don’t have the chance to meet this time, we can always keep in contact. Thanks for the time you took in reading this email, and I truly hope we are able to meet soon.”

14. Carlos Geijo: Strategic & Interaction Design for Internet based digital services & products. Through stakeholder and user research and keeping into account any technological constrain, I can help you find a balanced solution to get your goals accomplished designing a digital experience that delight your users.This solution can be a Website, Webapp, a tactile interface, mobile/tablet app. I can manage the complete project execution or support its implementation. I like to put a strong emphasis in designing products and services that are both aesthetically pleasing and functional.I’ve been involved with design, art, technology and science since I was very young.When I was a child, I was always drawing. I had an Internet connection when people were not aware of its existence, before that I used to connect to private BBS (Bulletin board systems). I’ve used MSDOS and assembled computers myself.I’m used to work with interdisciplinary teams of people, including coders (Assembler, C++, PHP, .Net, Ruby, Java… so I’m aware of the technologies involved in technological projects, I’ve used to code in the past too), film producers, photographers, engineers, illustrators, musicians, etc. I also like arts, I’ve painted portraits, and I’ve also created a short 3d animation that was featured in Ars Futura.I believe all this activities and people that I’ve been involved with help me to have a holistic view that integrate the artistic, the technical and the social. This view is useful when leading digital design projects.

15. Elena de Miguel, founder of mmmfood.Elena de Miguel has been working in the fashion business as an apparel-designer, product manager, team manager and cool-hunter for twenty years. In that time, she has developed some other activities such as interior designer. She has also collaborated with advertising agencies. At the beginning of 2011, Elena founded eMMM studio, her own design company, which merges fashion and interior design, teaching, and the organization of gastronomic events. Such events are run under the brand mmmfood, a 100% natural catering, where design and ecological products blend into five-sense experiences.Nowadays, Utopic_US and mmmfood have launched a new venture: mmm_US a new-concept bar where you can enjoy creative, unexpected gastronomic experiences throughout the day. The exchange with Bethahouse is a great opportunity for Elena to take profit of Berlin’s culture, and co-working benefits.

If you can offer a bed or sofa where they can stay from Sept 19th to Oct 1st and you take some of your time to connect them with some of the best coworkers in this town please send us an email and we ll match you! Contact: madeleine@betahaus.de

Dear Makers,

the time has come for more DIY at betahaus: We will not only turn betahaus| café into the city´s very 1st fab café, we will also launch build or buy!

build or buy is a collection of DIY-products that you can – SURPRISE! – either build by yourself or buy prefab.

On the one hand, build or buy seeks to give talented designers from the people in beta community both a presentation and a sales platform for their ideas. On the other hand, it aims to encourage consumers to be proactive and to engage in the process of fabrication.

We will develop a workshop program on presented products, where everybody is invited to take part in and benefit from the satisfying process of production. Apart from the workshops, we will implement an online shop within the betahaus web page to sell the build or buy products.

build or buy is not restricted to any product-category. The only condition is AWESOMENESS! If you have a smart, functional, good looking DIY-idea and want it to be part of build or buy, please send a photo of your product to elizaveta@betahaus.de and we will provide you with all further information. Deadline is the 15th July.

We are so looking forward to your applications =)

Interview by: Lisa Hillers

Farhad Payar is a freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker with a wealth of experience in a wide range of industries. Born and raised in Iran he came to Berlin to study Mechanical Engineering and Political Science during the 1980s. He then took on a multitude of jobs working as a taxi-driver and a social worker among other professions. Currently he is working as an actor, filmmaker, theatre director and journalist based in Berlin. More recently, he has been working on a project called “Transparency for Iran”, an online news resource designed to provide a broader perspective on current events in Iran and heighten the German public’s awareness of these issues. The goal is to support human rights and press freedom, through holistic understanding of Iranian internal affairs and local knowledge.

How does your personal background and previous experience influence your work for TFI? (more…)

We are happy to – now even more – officially announce the second edition of our beloved People in Beta Festival on Saturday, September 22nd.

It will be a one-day-festival for the startup, coworking and maker scene. So basically for all our friends and fools! It is for free and you are invited! (more…)

Bücherwürmer aufgepasst: Seit einiger Zeit gibt es im betahaus | café eine baumelnde Minibücherei über dem großen Podest. In der neuen Leseecke hängen einige der spannendsten Bücher, die Coworker, Startups und Maker sich vorstellen können: “Program or be Programmed”,”The Shallows”, “Thinking, Fast and Slow” und “Wo die wilden Kerle wohnen” sind vier der aktuell zwölf Titel. (more…)

Interview by Lisa Hillers

There is a great deal of variables a fledgling startup has to deal with. Uncertainties, like timing and relevance of the business idea, the appeal of the solution to the customer, market awareness, availability of cash, the ability to make sufficient sales and a good many others can cause quite a headache sometimes-successfully launching a startup, whilst planning and managing all these challenges carefully, can prove to be a daunting task. Having someone by your side that helps you to keep track of the financial structuring can be invaluable at times.

(more…)

Where were you working before you got a desk at betahaus? Optionally, you were wearing a suite preparatory to making a decision to change your life completely and uncompromisingly. Or you have always been a freelancer and experienced all the hell and heaven of working wherever your lap top lands. (more…)

Interviewed by: Lisa Hillers

Jacques-André Dupont is a french Filmmaker and VJ, who is shooting and directing commissioned works for NGO´s, Start-Ups and communication agencies as well as music videos, light installations and documentaries. He moved to Berlin 2 years ago and is now working as a freelancer here at betahaus.

How did you first get into motion design?

It began when I did my studies in post-production for movies. I was looking for references for special effects and when looking for this material on the internet, I came across more graphic-based media. I was working on some 3D projects too and I became very interested in more graphic design elements. I was always interested in using technical knowledge and special effects together, and combining it with the video. It allows you to help the video by somewhat augmenting the reality. I’m more into video than pure graphic design, animation or illustration – I come from a video background. I try to mix all of these elements together to develop my unique visual style.

Was there anyone that really influenced you when starting out?

The two biggest influences on my work are both related to music. Firstly, I was very inspired by the music videos of Chris Cunningham and his work with Warp Records. I was also a big fan of videos from Coldcut on the Ninja Tune label. They were both doing crazy things with video and it was the first time I felt like you could be a video DJ. At that point I realized how cool it could be to mix music and video together.

What are your biggest challenges working as a freelancer?

Well after my studies and 6 months of internships in Paris, I worked on motion design for vente – privee.com, an e-commerce website. We were a huge team of motion designers, some more into graphic design, others more into special effects. It was a great mix of people and I really learned a lot from my 2 years there. After this job, I came to Berlin and began my first experience as a freelancer. It was both a change of country and a change of working style. Setting up in Berlin was a big challenge because of the language and all of the administrative work you have to get through. Now that is behind me and my current challenge is getting enough paid work. (more…)

IT HAPPENED! The first Fab Café in Berlin is launched @ betahaus!

It´s not a dream, neither an upcoming project. It´s reality and it is already happening! (more…)

Since the introduction of the Internet and Apps for Smartphones, companies have been using these tools as a way to promote their events. However, Apps created by companies that organize events are for a single-use event and do not bring enough value to the customer. For example, a customer has to download an App for each event and cannot interact with the other attendees. This results as an infrequent use of Apps and a waste of many for the companies. OleaPark started in response to the need of an events’ platform around the world.

Interview by Alessandro Vercesi (current intern at betahaus)

What is OleaPark and what does it offer? (more…)

Good news, the summer of construction at betahaus is almost over! Since weeks Kim Wang and his team are working hard on our new floor. 5 of 9 teamrooms are already finished and the first teams moved in. From now on you will meet the teams: Somewhere, Car2Go and Wahwah.fm (doing a restart soon) in their new offices at the 1st floor. From next week on there will be also plenty of open space with flexdesks for every betahaus member to work at. Drop by for one of our tours (Tuesday, 5pm, Thursday, 11:30am) if you want to check out the new floor.

Here are some impressions by Sepehr Atefi (more…)

Hi there!

It is time for being creative, learning new things and having a crazy party at
the same night. It`s Un-combinable? Oh, no, it so isn`t!

Where and when?
It all starts at the betahaus| Berlin  at 7 p.m. 9th November.
The whole ground floor will be turning into a big MAKERSPACE inspired by

Open Design City & designers from Build or Buy project.

What and how?

We have created the concept of a real DIY party – the MAKER PARTY. The plan is clear – we start at 7 pm with a whole row of awesome workshops. Lead by our makers & designers you will create the whole lay out of the party. Yes, YOU will MAKE the party, we will help. J We will show you how to make interior decorations, interactive videos, costumes, installations, even a stage for the DJ’s who will take the night over at 11 p.m. (more…)

One of our good startup friends, Gidsy, is turning 1 and to commemorate this milestone, they are organizing Gidsy Day – happening all day on November 10th in cities all over the world.

What is Gidsy Day?
On November 10th, there will be Gidsy activities happening all day long all across Berlin & beyond – all for only 5 bucks! This gives you the chance to spend the day exploring your city, participating in really fun things and meeting new people – the full Gidsy experience.

You can take a painting class in London, a canal tour in Amsterdam, a walk around Brooklyn NYC, a lovely walking tour in Paris, a coffee brewing workshop in Berlin and much, much more.

There is plenty of amazing experiences to be had on Gidsy Day so be sure to book your spots: www.gidsy.com/gidsyday

If you’re in Berlin, at the end of the day they`ll be hosting a birthday bash that everyone’s invited to. RSVP for the event on Facebook.
Happy Exploring,
your betahaus team

The core of betahaus is doing stuff. It’s doing projects, doing it yourself, learning by doing, making things, producing or  getting things done. We figured out that this is the perfect way for people to learn things, improve their skills and stay motivated on the way. Talking – Hell now! Let’s do more stuff. (more…)

Concept

You can’t get creative insights sitting behind an office desk. Everything is more or less predictable and contradictory things can be left outside. Out in the world, it’s more chaotic. You have to deal with unexpected findings, with uncertainty, and with irrational people who say things you don’t want to hear. But that is where you find insights. That is why at the Convention Camp, we are not making a presentation of how we work, neither telling about our successful stories, nor our failures. We are venturing in the Convention Camp pursuing learning without any hypothesis or script, but to challenge our comfortable assumptions (and the ones o of its visitors)

We want to know How will we un-share the world in the future? (more…)

Are you organized, motivated, interested in DIY culture, and keen on meeting all kinds of interesting and creative people? Open Design City wants you!

Open Design City is a hands-on, creative coworking department of betahaus, and can best be described as a mix of fab-lab and makerspace. People come to Open Design City to prototype their ideas, get input on projects, build all kinds of things, and participate in some neat workshops.
We are looking for a marketing & communication intern who will work with us on spreading the word about our space online and offline. Your duties will include:

• Promotion of Open Design City and Build or Buy store on various social networks.
• Creating and executing guerilla marketing campaigns.
• Researching funding.
• Organising workshops, and finding people to host them.
• Co-creating events, e.g. Maker Party

If this sounds like the right job for you, and if you’re available for at least 3 months, feel free to contact us via somewhere.

Once upon a time.. we opened a coworking space.. But you know this story pretty well… Now we decided to make it one step further. We want to find out how the workspace of the future will look like! How will it be once all your coworking wishes will collide with design expertise and work out THE PERFECT COWORKING SPACE?! That`s what we`ll find out within the Coworking Challenge Project!

(more…)

You still remember how to get things done rather than just talk about them?

Quite possibly you do since the last MAKER WEEKEND was not that long ago. But now it`s time to get back to the holy motion of making!

More exact time is 23/24 Feb – MAKER WEEKEND # 2. (more…)