“Arnie” opens startup fair
Schwarzenegger: “You are dependent on Russia”
By Frauke Holzmeier
09/25/2022 1:34 p.m
After a forced break of two years, the startup industry is meeting again at the Founders Festival in Munich. Also present as a guest speaker: Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger. The 75-year-old is harsh on European energy policy.
You can feel the pure relief of the three hosts of Bits & Pretzels when they come on stage to thunderous applause at the opening. “It’s great to see you all again,” says Felix Haas with an almost trembling voice. They weren’t easy years for the events industry and therefore also for Haas and his colleagues Bernd Storm van’s Gravesande and Andreas Bruckschlögl. The fact that the startup fair will take place again this year is not a matter of course after Corona and in times of war and high inflation. The three organizers make no secret of this.
Because not only trade fairs like this are and were under pressure. The entire startup industry is struggling with the current situation and in some cases for survival. “We went straight from a great summer to a cold winter,” says Haas, describing his own situation with and after Corona. But it can also be applied to many of the founders in the room.
Hollywood star, entrepreneur and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger will ensure the best atmosphere at the opening. Appropriately dressed in leather trousers, a checked shirt and a waistcoat, Schwarzenegger entered the stage a little late in the morning. Schwarzenegger says it’s an honor to be the keynote speaker after Barack Obama in 2019. “They just wanted to make sure that a Democrat would speak one year and a Republican the next,” said the former governor of the US state of California.
Schwarzenegger promotes nuclear energy
Visions are important for sustainable success as an investor and entrepreneur. “Say No to No-Sayers”, Arnold Schwarzenegger calls to the founders in the hall and refers to his own rocky path as a native Austrian to bodybuilding champion and Hollywood star. Schwarzenegger, who in the past has regularly commented on social media platforms on current topics such as the Corona crisis or the Ukraine war, is also evident in Munich. “You have made yourselves dependent on Russia,” said the American by choice, referring to the ailing energy supply.
With more nuclear energy, Germany would have a much smaller problem, says Schwarzenegger. Around 5,000 people lost their lives as a result of accidents involving nuclear power plants. Schwarzenegger is convinced that significantly more people die every year as a result of the consequences of coal energy and fossil fuels.
Startup industry braces itself against the crisis
Bits & Pretzels will take place under difficult conditions this year. The industry – like the economy as a whole – is in crisis. Layoffs of employees at companies such as Smava, GoStudent and Klarna have regularly made headlines in recent weeks and months. “Of course, the funds are investing less at the moment. Less is being founded,” admits Verena Pausder in the ntv interview at Bits & Pretzels. The uncertainty is great, the money is more likely to be held back. Nevertheless, the situation for employees is not bad, the entrepreneur and investor is convinced: “In the start-up scene, we are more likely to have no workers than unemployment.”
According to Pausder, anyone who has had to accept layoffs due to the crisis can quickly hope for a new job. This is all the more important because Germany is still lagging behind when it comes to digitization and therefore many future issues. Pausder demands: “We have to train people so that the innovations come from us in the future.” Innovations that can then possibly be shown at Bits & Pretzels 2023. Maybe also with Arnold Schwarzenegger. After all, he promised at the end of his speech: “I’ll be back.”