VentureBeat

Entrepreneurs from across Europe and the world are gathering Oct. 21-23 in Berlin for the Web 2.0 Expo. VentureBeat editor Matt Marshall will participate in the start-up pitch workshop on the first day.

This an important trip for VentureBeat. It’s the second in what we hope will be an increasing number of forays abroad. VentureBeat’s Eric Eldon went to China a few months ago. Matt worked in Germany for years, including with the WSJ in the 1990s, when the venture-startup scene there was moribund. This trip lets him return to Europe at a time when its coming into its own on the technology start-up front.  We hope to do more coverage of the local companies there.

The Pitch Camp, as its called, offers an intriguing format: Some 8 to 12 companies will be selected to participate. The companies get to explain their business to the audience — just as they would when trying to raise money, or close a partnership deal. Each company will then be pre-assigned one of the panelists as a coach (Matt has been invited to be one of the coaches). Here’s where it gets interesting: In a hands-on session, the coaches help each company revise their pitch. Then, the entire audience gets to hear the revised pitch, and the full panel of experts get to evaluate the new pitches. In other words, the judges themselves are also get critiqued for the advice they give to the companies. This ensures some great interaction — not to mention competitive angst.

The companies with the top two scores will receive a range of prizes, including things like marketing and PR services valued at $25,000.

The event is on 1pm on Tuesday, Oct. 21. That evening, they’re having a special VIP party that evening night for people who attend the workshop. Details and tickets will be provided at the workshop. It’s going to be a lot of fun. VentureBeat is a media sponsor of the event.

We’re told one or two spots remain for companies for the Pitch Camp, so apply quickly. Your company can be based anywhere. But the deadline for submitting an application to pitch and participate is Oct. 11. To get an application, email session leaders Robert Goldberg or Ted Shelton.

There’s a lot of other stuff going on too. Berlin Partners’ Alexander Kölpin has listed an overview of the various parties.

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Tags: Berlin Web 2.0