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Vali_SB

Vali Berlin

The entrepreneurship hub at ESMT Berlin

Discover SEP

Learn more about Vali's Summer Entrepreneurship Program.

Empower entrepreneurs to create a better tomorrow

Vali Berlin is the entrepreneurship hub at ESMT Berlin and fosters responsible entrepreneurship for economic, environmental, and social value creation. We do so through a range of initiatives in four main areas: We support founders and joiners, educate entrepreneurial leaders, shape an entrepreneurial culture and connect entrepreneurial stakeholders.

Entrepreneurship Programs

Sustainability Bootcamp (SB)

CREATE IDEAS FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

The Sustainability Bootcamp brings together corporates, NGOs, scaleups and entrepreneurial talent to discuss important problems of our world and ideally develop first solution approaches for them. The bootcamp focuses on environmental challenges.

 

Summer Entrepreneurship Program (SEP)

BRING YOUR BUSINESS IDEA TO LIFE

Summer Entrepreneurship Program is a 12 week program that offers students, alumni, and external participants the opportunity to work on a business idea in a team.

NEXT

TAKING STARTUP IDEAS TO THE NEXT LEVEL

NEXT program is a five-month program that offers support in the following areas: product-market fit, human capital, fundraising, legal, administrative, and tax issues. This program is for SEP team graduates or other ESMT teams (students/alumni) with an MVP or a first prototype

ESMT Demo Day

ESMT Demo Day

The ESMT Demo Day is a startup event where tech ventures, investors, corporates, and other entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem stakeholders meet and discuss new ideas.



In addition to the pitch competition, we host panel discussions and keynotes around the topic of entrepreneurship and innovation to enable connections, networking, and growth for our partners and the ecosystem. 

Vali Berlin news

"Ranking: The World’s Best MBA Programs For Entrepreneurship In 2024"

November 1, 2023 | Poets&Quants
ESMT Berlin has achieved the #2 global ranking and claimed the #1 spot in Germany in the 2024 Poets&Quants ranking for the World's Best MBA Programs for Entrepreneurship.

"AI and its importance for the startup ecosystem – a European perspective"

August 9, 2023 | ESMT Knowledge
Baris Efe, Manager & Co-founder at Vali Berlin, analyzes the significance of AI foundation models for Europe’s AI startup ecosystem and highlights the possibility that Europe might once again miss its chance to achieve digital sovereignty.

"Das Entrepreneurship Hub an der ESMT Berlin"

July 27, 2023 | Startup Insider
In this episode of the podcast, Victoria Hoffmann talks to Baris Efe, founder of Vali Berlin - Entrepreneurship Hub at ESMT.

The four pillars of Vali Berlin

  • 1. Support founders and joiners

    Vali provides participants with tools and resources that help them on their entrepreneurial journey – whether as “founders” or as “joiners” who support founders in entrepreneurial teams.

    A student smiling.

    Vali offers structured programs to support entrepreneurial individuals and teams at different stages of development. 

    1. Sustainability Bootcamp

    The Sustainability Bootcamp (SB) creates a unique environment for creative talents from tech and business to develop ideas and form entrepreneurial teams. Announcement coming soon.

    1. Summer Entrepreneurship Program 

    The 3-month Summer Entrepreneurship Program (SEP) helps individuals and teams with a business idea find the right problem-solution fit, develop an MVP, and pitch their idea in front of investors at Vali´s Demo Day.

    1. NEXT Program

    The four-month NEXT program takes nascent ventures to the next level. It is tailored toward the needs of startup teams with an existing MVP or prototype. Vali helps them refine product-market fit, identify additional team members, secure funding, and solve tax and legal issues.

    In addition to these structured programs, Vali offers support such as:

    • Access to networks of industry experts and the broader Berlin startup ecosystem
    • Customized individual mentorship for founders and entrepreneurial teams
    • Access to co-working space at Space Shack Berlin

    To learn more about our structured programs and apply, please follow the respective links above. To get in touch regarding other offerings and founder support, reach out to us at vali@esmt.org

  • 2. Connect entrepreneurial stakeholders

    Vali serves as the platform for the ESMT community to meet, develop ideas and solutions, find collaborators, and acquire resources to develop and scale new ventures.

    The Vali community consists of a broad range of individuals and organizations, including students, alumni, faculty, serial entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists, and subject matter experts.

     

     

    We foster and grow the Vali community through activities such as

    • Matchmaking events for co-founders and entrepreneurial joiners
    • Organizing startup tours and bootcamps in Berlin, or in cooperation with national and international ESMT alumni chapters
    • Offering exclusive perks such as AWS credit, etc.
    • A Slack community with dedicated channels for topics such as Co-Founder Matching, News and Resources, etc.

    To join the Vali Slack channel or to learn about upcoming events, please reach out to us at vali@esmt.org.

  • 3. Educate entrepreneurial leaders

    Vali creates curricular and non-curricular educational offerings that address the needs of a diverse range of students, corporate partners, and community members.

    Several of Vali’s offerings are integrated into degree programs at ESMT Berlin:

    • The structured Summer Entrepreneurship Program (SEP) fulfills the internship requirement of the Master’s in Management degree.
    • Vali supports various ESMT entrepreneurship courses and experiential programs, e.g., by introducing guest speakers and industry experts, organizing startup tours, and developing hands-on workshops

    The “Entrepreneurship@ESMT” series includes a range of different formats such as keynotes, panel discussions, and workshops on topics relevant to entrepreneurship. This series covers a broad range of topics such as 

    • Talks and panel discussions with thought leaders and successful entrepreneurs
    • Overview of the Berlin entrepreneurial ecosystem
    • Information about entrepreneurship as a career path
    • Entrepreneurship tools such as design thinking, lean startup, and Business Model Canvas
    • Important technological developments such as AI, blockchain, data mining, and advances in health care

    To learn about upcoming offerings or if you have questions, reach out to us at vali@esmt.org.

  • 4. Shape an entrepreneurial culture

    Vali fosters awareness of entrepreneurship as a mechanism to create value and as an exciting career path.

     

    cromme

    Vali shapes and supports entrepreneurial culture at ESMT through a range of events and initiatives:

    • Entrepreneurship @ ESMT Series, workshops, and fireside chats (e.g., Cromme Meets with Christian Miele)
    • Alumni Chapter Meetings featuring startup tours, successful entrepreneurs, or hands-on workshops across Germany and Europe
    • Entrepreneurship @ ESMT Newsletter: Regular newsletter to promote entrepreneurship events at ESMT and share knowledge and resources
    • Interviews and blogs featuring successful alumni founders and Vali community members (e.g. ESMT Blog with Francesca, ESMT Blog with Berglin)
    • Pitch Competition at the annual Digital Future Summit (DFS)
    • Full-time MBA scholarships (e.g. Vali Berlin Female Founders Scholarship, Vali Berlin Entrepreneurship Scholarship)

    To learn about upcoming public events, please reach out to us at vali@esmt.org.

Do you want to kick off your entrepreneurial journey? Or are you interested in learning more about entrepreneurship and its tools?

Then reach out to us via

Contact

Baris Efe

Manager & Co-founder at Vali Berlin - Entreprenurship Hub at ESMT
+49 30 212 31 1649

Henry Sauermann

ESMT Chair in Entrepreneurship & Academic Director at Vali Berlin - Entrepreneurship Hub at ESMT

Juanita Corredor

Program Manager at Vali Berlin - Entreprenurship Hub at ESMT
+49 15158585612