IBM's Global Entrepreneur Program for Cloud: Focus in Germany
IBM has a long and deep commitment to the entrepreneurial community. IBM works with more than 400 leading venture capital firms in 30 countries to get an early-look into new technologies and upcoming entrepreneurs. Through the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program, IBM already works with 6,000 startups worldwide, mentoring them to help them grow with free software and technical expertise, exposure to 600+ expert mentors of corporate executives and serial entrepreneurs, plus access to a global network of clients.
In Germany, we have been working together with 150 Startups. On Thursday, I will be in Berlin meeting with some of the best of the best German Ecosystem members -- from startups, to VCs to incubators.
Last time here, I met with the Investment Punk https://de-de.facebook.com/investmentpunkpage
The IBM Global Entrepreneur Program for Cloud Startups is the leveling up of IBM’s current entrepreneur progam, combining the incredible power of IBM Cloud with the company’s vast, existing network of resources for startups. This program is a game changer for entrepreneurs, offering them $120,000 of free IBM Cloud platform credits for one year and deep connections to IBM’s enterprise client base. This financial offer is higher than any other cloud vendor has offered startups to date.
This is the highest value cloud startup offering in the market for two reasons: the power of IBM Cloud, and the face-to-face connections and visibility for early stage startups to large enterprise clients. We want to help ignite even more the growing community in Berlin and beyond in Germany.
IBM Cloud also offers startups an advantage in technical breadth: IBM is the leading vendor to provide a full suite, from bare metal to platform services with DevOps, in both virtualized and hybrid environments. Bluemix is IBM’s cloud platform as a service, which offers a tremendous breadth of services to help startups build and scale their innovations quickly, as well as leverage rising volumes of Big Data from growing mobile and social networks, IoT devices and more.
“IBM is the only large tech firm offering face-to-face, in-person connections to enterprises and mentoring that is so critical for early stage companies,” said Robin Hrassnigg, CEO of Diabetizer, a German startup and IBM partner recently recognized by the World Health Organization for its innovative health care app, in a statement. “As our company continues to scale our app, which uses cognitive computing and cloud to help diabetics manage their treatment with flexibility and accuracy, we will increasingly look to these types of in-depth connections to bring our approach to big data to different industries.”
IBM is also offering entrepreneurs connections to its enterprise client base through regional face-to-face events, as well as CIO and entrepreneur meet-ups. These face-to-face connections with enterprises are invaluable to early-stage companies, and IBM is the only large tech firm to offer interactions at this level.
The IBM Global Entrepreneur Program for Cloud Startups also offers entrepreneurs the most extensive global network of local technical expertise through IBM’s 43 Innovation Centers, all of which also host local tech community events and meet-ups. And Using IBM Bluemix allows companies to accelerate the time it takes to bring their innovation to market - from weeks and months to hours and days.
Go Entrepreneurs!
5 quotes from German Authors -- Celebrating my time here!
I love quotes and have been sharing some of my favorites. Since I am in 3 cities in Germany this week, I thought I'd look up some favorites from German Authors.
1. Aller Anfang ist schwer “All beginnings are hard.”
So true! Anything that you start is always hard! Transformations are particularly difficult but the outcomes are sweet! As an entrepreneur, starting that business is hard, and keeping persistent harder. But you have to begin to finish!
2. Aus Schaden wird man klug. Translated it means “Failure makes smart.”
You learn so much from experimenting and failing and taking those insights back into the business. This experimentation is now part of our learning skills!
3. Erst denken, dann handeln. “First think, then act.”
Sometimes we are all impulsive. But thinking, and finding that time to study, is always crucial to your success. In today's world that doesn't mean planning for months, but it does mean pausing to think it through.
4. He who begins many things finishes but few – German Proverb
Stay focused on the right things. I see lots of entrepreneurs trying to do too much (yep, sometimes that me too!) but staying honed in on the right items really makes a difference.
5. Übung macht den Meister
Practice makes a master
I love this concept. I created one that says " Homework is not a MooC point". The thought is that you have to work at what you want to accomplish! I love learning from serial entrepreneurs as they have learned some things of value!
Germany and Social Business! An Infographic
Do you remember when we did the 5 Social Business Surprises? One of those was Germany's leadership of the world in Social Business especially inside of companies.
Now, 2 years later, we see that the social business landscape in Germany is growing in leaps and bounds. According to forecasts by the Experton Group, social business investments for communication and collaboration in Germany are set to grow by more than 50 percent per year from 2013 to 2016.
The number of social business solutions available on the market is growing at the same rapid pace. To help customers make decisions within this environment, the Experton Group identified and assessed around 100 social business offerings. The Social Business Vendor Benchmark 2014 is the first extensive comparative study of its kind in Germany.
