Business trip to Munich — Attending the Bits&Pretzels conference
Almost a week in Munich, we are having an amazing experience exploring the city and attending “Bits and Pretzels”, one of the biggest business conferences in Europe. It was opened by one of the most aspirational leaders in the world, Arnold Schwarzenegger and it was such a great opening, a real motivational speech that “woke us up” at 7 in the morning.
We were warmly welcomed by our team (MinQi.io) with the best and oldest beer in Munich (Augustiner), where I work as a Chief Technology Officer.
Meeting and talking to such people, leaders and businessmen, it’s really priceless, we couldn’t have spent our time better. There are 5 000 attendees at the conference and you can just meet one by asking “what do you do” and then maybe end up at the party rock and rolling with a bottle of Paulaner in your hands.
Great startups were attending the event, they were pitching and competing each other as well as chasing for investors who are probably the “winners” in this “game”, throwing a few million of dollars which I’m sure they will 10x that in the next 5–6 years.
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At the beginning I didn’t have any strategy for how to meet people at all, I was just attending the talks listening to speakers and after a while I took a break at the beer stand where I realised that’s my strategy. Everyone was coming for the great Bavarian Weizenbeer, Paulaner, established in 1643 and I was just sitting there communicating with all of them. The bartender revealed my strategy and he was just filling my glass :D I met very interesting people, talked about different topics from business to skiing in Garmisch Partenkirchen which I can’t even spell.
Meeting new people and exploring different cultures and businesses has tremendous value, your mind gets expanded and just one thought can change a lot in your life and I think that’s how you find yourself and your passion as well. It’s just “Time X Volume”, what you are doing times the volume of that, the formula is simple as my business partner says, but it’s just not easy to implement. You have to wake up and just do something, there is no such thing as depression.
And of course, there is the Octoberfest, one of the most popular festival in the world. Actually I think it’s the only festival with a mixed audience, from 15 to 70 years old people. That’s a very cool and “wild” experience, but it’s better if you are a group of party animals who went specifically for it.
You will probably “Put your hands up in the air” and sing “I got a hangover”, oooo!
Last but not least, Munich is a very beautiful city with a perfect infrastructure. You can rent an e-scouter and ride it all over town. If you ever plan to visit, make sure you go to Marienplatz and eat a Chicken Wrap from Ali’s super food, it’s delicious!
If you’ve made this far, thanks for reading, this is my first personal blog and also my first business trip.
