Interview with Dr. Stefan Franzke, Managing Director of Berlin Partner
Dr. Stefan Franzke helms Berlin Partner, an organization that provides business and technology support for companies, investors, and scientific institutions in Berlin. Berlin Partner enables growth in Berlin and supports investors with customized services and a wide range of programs by helping companies launch, innovate, expand and secure their economic future in Berlin. We talked with Dr. Franzke about why he believes in collaboration between New York City and Berlin, and what he hopes will be achieved to strengthen that collaboration during this conference.
Why should New York and Berlin collaborate?
New York City and Berlin are two cities where cross-Atlantic entrepreneurial collaboration just makes a lot of sense. Berlin as well as New York provides unique opportunities and each city has a distinctive potential that perfectly complements one another. Berlin has international culture, an outstanding quality of life and a deep pool of talented, well-educated people. New York is the #1 place in the US for applied tech and consumer innovation, with a highly developed startup ecosystem. The collaboration between both cities helps US companies expand in Europe on one hand and furthermore assists Berlin-based companies with their market entry in the US. Berlin startups can benefit from tapping into that ecosystem and New York can profit from the thriving start-up entrepreneurs in Berlin.
How have you seen this collaboration work in practice?
The New York City Economic Development Corporation invited both Berlin Partner and Berlin startups to their “World to NYC” international program. During their visit, Berlin startups received an invaluable introduction on how to do business in New York City. This was of tremendous value for the companies. After this experience, Berlin Partner decided to offer a similar program in Berlin in order to strengthen relationships on a long-term basis.
What is the goal for your visit this time?
We will focus on three goals: provide Berlin startups with concrete plans for US expansion, access to relevant networks, and advice on how to implement their plans. We also hope to represent Berlin as a great place for doing business. And we want to continue our talks with New York City officials on initiatives that enable companies in both cities to expand faster and cheaper across the Atlantic.
How do you measure success?
We use three parameters. First, to what extent are Berlin companies more successful because of our initiatives? Second, to what extent are we able to tell the great story of living and doing business in Berlin and attract companies to the city? Lastly, what do we have to do today to be better positioned as a city in the future? When this works well, we can replicate the framework of the New York/Berlin collaboration and the collaboration between TEP and its partners to export it to other cities and stakeholders.
| “Berlin and New York provide unique opportunities and each city has a distinctive potential that perfectly complements the other.” |
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Dr. Stefan Franzke, Managing Director of Berlin Partner
