On Thursday evening, the moment finally arrived: After a brief welcome address by Georg Räß from the Munich Chamber of Crafts and Trades and Regina Bruckschlögl from Munich Startup, the program began with a keynote speech on the topic of "New Space & Crafts." A true success story between a startup and a craft business was told: The Munich spacetech startup Dcubed and the craft business Schweyer Precision Mechanics are jointly developing innovative components for the next generation of small satellites. In a short interview, Alexander Titz, co-founder of Dcubed, and Daniel Dichtl, Senior Mechanical Engineer at Schweyer Feinmechanik, talked about their collaboration, including all its challenges and benefits.
The short pitches then began. Each participating company had just three minutes to introduce itself and its business model to the audience. The subsequent networking portion of the event provided space for in-depth discussions and questions.
The first was Definitely Digital: Fabian Glanz presented how his startup's solution can help craft businesses save 25 percent more time. Next up was BPSO with Maximilian Salfer on stage. He explained his company's patented connection system, which dramatically accelerates the assembly of prefabricated walls on ceilings. The discussion then turned to artificial intelligence (AI): Branchly demonstrated how AI can be used effectively in customer communication. And Jonas Matting and Matthias Mann from Unvyl explained how to create legally compliant and easily findable websites using their AI-based solution – without the need for an agency.
The next pitch took us briefly to the mountains: Qwick Lane presented its innovative solution for the vexed issue of "adjusting climbing aids." The group then descended from the mountain to address the topic of "robotics" – a topic that is also hotly debated in the trades community. On the "Startup meets Trade" stage, Nova Spraytech its coating robot for new construction and renovation. It's no secret that skilled workers and talent are lacking in the skilled trades. Crafthunt wants to change this situation, at least in the construction industry, and presented its platform for the placement of construction site jobs. And finally, Stabl Energy Another innovative solution was presented for storing electricity generated by PV systems when it is not needed.
The second part of "Startup Meets Crafts" offered ample opportunity for a deep dive into the solutions presented: In the networking section, all protagonists were able to be further questioned by the audience and potential collaborations were agreed upon. This part was accompanied by "Bavarian delicacies": The Rolling Boazn – also the winner of this year's audience award from "Startup Meets Crafts" – provided all participants with drinks, music, and the good feeling that only a Baozn can give. The daytime bakery Bread source had not only very good bread, pretzel cakes, but also a butter pretzel machine. And the Moser Butcher Shop – a true world-class company – provided everyone present with freshly grilled sausages and grilled vegetables. Well-fed, many intense conversations took place in a relaxed atmosphere.
And so the event showed once again that the world of startups and that of skilled trades fit together very well – perhaps better than many think.
