Last week I had the pleasure of joining Mentor Day at the NEXT B2B Accelerator, organized by Vali, the entrepreneurship hub at ESMT Berlin. 🚀
The day brought together six high-potential B2B startups and eleven mentors from across the ecosystem, tackling fields from post-quantum security and aerospace tech to digital health, telecommunications, and even sustainable products like matcha 🍵.
The format was dynamic-from quick founder pitches and speed-dating sessions 💡 to deep-dive discussions that paired mentors and startups based on shared expertise and challenges.
It wasn’t just networking-it was real collaboration.
What impressed me most was Vali’s founder-first approach: mentors are chosen after understanding the founders-not the other way around. It’s a small shift with a big impact.
Huge thanks to all mentors Agnieszka M. Walorska, Bernd Brunke, Thomas v. Hake, Simon Kozlik, Tim Jaudszims, Oliver Kranz, Robin Schubert, Dr. Oliver von Quast, Dash Markova, Daniel B.. Baris Efe and the Vali team for curating such a thoughtful experience 🙌 and to everyone contributing to an ecosystem where mentorship feels genuine, not transactional.
For more information, read here!
Grateful to have been part of it and to see how these startups are shaping the next wave of European innovation. 🌍
#NEXTAccelerator #ESMTBerlin #ValiHub #Mentorship #StartupEcosystem #Innovation