The team behind Startup SAFARI Berlin
Startup SAFARI is coming to Berlin for it’s ninth edition already. This year, there’s a new team with four creative heads from PIRATE behind it. Meet Lisa, Lukas, Lilith and Dirk!
LISA
How did you get into the startup world? That happened rather accidentally. I just came back from a trip to Guatemala when PIRATE called and asked if I have time.
What is your daily job so far? As Head of SAFARI Berlin at PIRATE, I make sure, everything goes smoothly. That everyone knows what to do, that we do not forget any task and that all results are brought together.
What was the weirdest question you got asked at your job? How to enlarge and color a cell in Excel.
If you would host a session, what would be your favourite thing to do? Pool and beer session.
What is the biggest challenge for you? This Survey.
What do you like about startup lifestyle? I like that I can have my hands in every single task that comes with the events. I find it boring, especially like it is in large companies, if you only control people and no longer have any relation to the product itself.
Which role do you have in the team? Usually I’m the organizing queen, but this time I’m looking forward to having the bird’s-eye view
LUKE
How did you get into the startup world? I used to work for 4 years in a middle-sized company in the metal industry, but recognized in the end of 2015 that I have to change my work environment rapidly. So I decided to switch from a Mittelstand to the startup-environment.
What is your daily job so far? I’m doing sales and coordinate partnerships for different products at PIRATE; one is Startup SAFARI.
What was the weirdest question you got asked at your job? “Why are you contacting me and why aren’t you boiling some water for a cappuccino?”
If you would host a session, what would be your favourite thing to do? A startup pitch combined with a live concert of punk bands and the foyer of our office
What is the biggest challenge for you? To answer these questions
What do you like about startup lifestyle? That you’re working on something impactful in an open minded environment
Which role do you have in the team? They say I’m the best in finding the perfect memes and gifs for every situation. Does that count as a talent?
LILITH
How did you get into the startup world? Actually – that was by accident. I was bored at my old job and was looking for a part time job over the summer. PIRATE was searching for people to help with SAFARI – so I found myself head over heels in the startup world. And – I still love it.
What is your daily job so far? I’m responsible for marketing and social media for Startup SAFARI, one of my projects is Startup SAFARI Berlin.
What was the weirdest question you got asked at your job? I really had to laugh when one host was afraid, that his office could be demolished if he participated in SAFARI and 500 attendees might run over his office. In the end, he hosted a great session with 50 attendees.
What is the biggest challenge for you? Getting up between 5 and 8 am. Seriously, I worked 2 years at a morning tv show where I had show up at 3 am – that was totally fine for me. But getting up at 6 am? No way.
If you would host a session, what would be your favourite thing to do? I would love to have a big discussion about how we want to balance work and free time in the future. There are great concepts out there that I find very interesting to discuss. With a big barbecue on a sundeck – that would be the perfect session for me.
What do you like about startup lifestyle? Honestly – 5 years ago, i never would have thought that I would work with startups, entrepreneurs and business men and women. I worked at theaters, broadcasting stations, concert halls – and then I found myself working at Pirate.global last year and had the chance to get to know the startup scene from a whole different point of view. I love how energetic the startup scene is. The people are so passionate about what they do, they put all their energy into their projects – I love to work like that myself. I also like the great sense of community. I feel like everybody is super excited to learn from each other, help each other out and get to know each other.
Which role do you have in the team? Well – obviously I’m the social media girl. Since I have no problem talking in front of a lot of people, I’m usually also the one moderating some of our events and pitching SAFARI at meetups, pitch competitions and other events. Besides, I’m the one who is always hungry and never in the office before 10 am (except there is really really really big trouble).
DIRK
How did you get into the startup scene? A friend needed help with his struggling startup, so I jumped in. First with Communications and Social Media, very soon extended to Operations. The Startup didn’t make it, but I loved it so much that I stayed in the Startup World.
What is your daily job so far? For Startup SAFARI Berlin I’m doing Operations and Host Management, and everything regarding Graphics and the Website
What was the weirdest question you got asked at your job? The panicking question by a host if we could guarantee that not more than 20 people would show up to his session – at a point where we were panicking if anyone would show up to his session. In the end, everything was fine.
If you would host a session, what would be your favourite thing to do? Just a networking session at a rooftop terrace with good beer and pizza, with interesting people. Should be a warm, sunny evening, of course.
What is the biggest challenge for you? Raising my child to be a good person in this struggling world.
What do you like about startup lifestyle? I love that you don’t do the same small tasks every day, year in year out, like you would do in a big company. Ideally everyone is doing everything and it never gets boring.
Which role do you have in the team? I’m the one who is not in the office, as I am the only one sitting in Berlin. At Startup SAFARI Cologne some of the hosts joked that I would be a chatbot, but I’m pretty real.
At SAFARI we want to give startups the chance to present themselves to the startup scene – and who would know better how to do just that, than the startups themselves? That’s why every host organizes their own session in their own office. Session hosts are free to do whatever they want during their session – except for two simple rules:
Is, there was always one ticket which gained you access to all sessions. That’s also what we did at our first SAFARI in Cologne. We learned that some attendees were joining SAFARI in order to check out one or two startups. Others were exploring the ecosystem like there is no tomorrow and visited more than 10 sessions. To give credit to these different types of SAFARI attendees we decided to establish a different type of ticketing system. You can now get tickets for one, three or six sessions – and, of course, the network ticket with all sessions and extras for those of you, who really want to deep dive in the ecosystem. And of course, you can always upgrade your ticket if you get really excited about SAFARI;)
