A Look Back: The 5th TIC & VIR Travel Start-up Night 2022 in Berlin
This was the fifth TIC&VIR Travel Start-up Night in Berlin. On September 8, 2022, the audience filled the venue hosted by Juvigo, a former start-up winner. There was a lot of hype leading up to the event, and the strong networking within the tourism industry was clearly evident among the nearly 70 guests. From students to top-tier industry experts, a diverse crowd was in attendance, making for an exciting networking evening.
Introduction & Welcome to the Audience
The TIC & VIR Travel Start-up Night kicked off in Berlin at 6 p.m. Jacqueline Petzinger, Executive Director of the Verband Internet Reisevertrieb e.V., opened the evening. She warmly welcomed the numerous guests and thanked the sponsors of the prize package, which the top three start-ups can win at the grand finale in Frankfurt this December.
This year’s event partner, Berlin Partner, was once again warmly represented at the event by Birgit Plein.
The microphone was then passed to the hosts. Björn Viergutz, founder and CEO of Juvigo, welcomed the guests and introduced his company, which has since become a well-established player in the market and was once a startup.
Before the pitches by the evening’s selected startups began, Hannah Trapp from TIC and Jenny Hanisch from VIR jointly introduced the evening’s program and the presenters.
3, 2, 1… Pitch
Stefan Wörner of Guidable
And so began the battle for the night’s victory and a spot in the finals of Travel Start-up Nights 2022.
First to speak was Stefan Wörner, founder and CEO of Guidable.Guidable is a livestream service for virtual travel experiences that allows users to connect directly with local guides and interact with them. The startup is reimagining the concept of vacation in a sustainable way. They provide an interactive platform and podcast formats that allow users to experience unfamiliar destinations through books, stories, and more—all from the comfort of their own homes.
Dennis Drüke of Let’s Flow
Next up was Dennis Drüke, CEO of let’s flow. The startup is committed to improving work-life balance and actively works to combat stress, currently the biggest health issue. As a provider of educational leave, they operate under Berlin’s Educational Leave Act, which grants employees the right to time off to participate in recognized educational events. Let’s flow combines psychological content with engaging activities, enabling employees to invest in their mental health.
Karl Hänska and Hannes Nieth from Loco Life
Third to take the stage were Hannes Nieth and Karl Hänska. The two founders of Loco Life offer various day passes through an all-in-one app . This allows travelers to discover selected locations and services at their vacation destination while enjoying discounts and free admission. Thanks to personalized offers, tourists can spend their vacation time enjoying exciting activities instead of spending time searching for them. The Loco Life app is currently being tested and further developed in Ibiza.
Paul Kissel of Motravo
Next up was CEO and founder Paul Kissel with his startup Motravo. The company combines the convenience of online travel research—which is convenient for tourists but time-consuming—with offline travel consulting, which is inconvenient due to the effort required to travel to a physical location. Motravo offers a digital customer journey for hybrid travel sales. Customers enter their needs digitally, and the results are forwarded to a travel advisor. Individual offers can then be created based on this information. This enables a more targeted approach to customer groups. In addition to end customers, the startup also targets travel agencies, which can integrate its software into their CRM systems.
Ines Ganner of NeedNect
The session concluded with a presentation by Ines Ganner, CEO and founder of NeedNect. The startup provides software for creating digital guest profiles based on personalized data. The software enables a personalized travel experience for hotel guests, improves F&B planning, and reduces food waste. The goal is to continuously increase guest satisfaction and revenue while addressing the issue of the skilled labor shortage through a modern solution. Nevertheless, the aim is to identify and address guests’ needs.
Who will win Start-up Night?
The audience during the vote
After each pitch, the audience had time to ask questions of the founders. Once again, there was plenty of praise and constructive feedback. Since both established players in the tourism industry and young startups regularly attend the TIC & VIR Travel Startup Nights, the event offers an ideal opportunity for the presenters to gather fresh and expert input for their business ideas.
Before the evening drew to a close with finger food and delicious drinks, the first- and second-place winners of the night were, of course, announced. Ines Ganner from NeedNect made the strongest impression on the evening’s guests with her pitch, thereby securing one of the coveted spots in the finals in Frankfurt. Second place went to Dennis Drüke from Let’s Flow, who can now also hope for a chance in the finals. The top two runners-up from the previous rounds will also advance to the 2022 finals.
Dennis Drücke, Ines Ganner, and Björn Viergutz
We would like to take this opportunity to once again extend our heartfelt thanks to our host, Juvigo, for a very successful evening and a perfect TIC & VIR Travel Start-up Night in Berlin.
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