With startup.berlin, Berlin Partner recently launched a new, central event calendar for the capital’s startup ecosystem. The goal: Everything in just one tab! Bundling the countless meetups, pitch nights, and conferences in one place. But what exactly does the platform offer for startups and initiatives in the circular economy sector? We asked the team at Berlin Partner how the calendar is curated, why the “Impact” filter is particularly exciting for our community, and which events—like our upcoming LOOPTOPIA in November—the network can look forward to there. And Antje Marquardt gave us the answers.
Hi Antje! Thanks for your time. So… who is the event calendar for?
For the entire Berlin startup ecosystem. For submissions, we want to reach event organizers like you or hubs, and for browsing, we want to reach founders, investors, and corporates.
When is the official launch, and what is your strategy for spreading the word?
The calendar is already live: startup.berlin. We are currently orchestrating the campaign with partners like you via social media posts and the like.
Do you also populate the calendar yourselves on a regular basis? And if so, what criteria do you use to curate the entries?
Sure, we crawl various sites. We’ve defined about 40 queries for this to find as much as possible. In addition, we use Google Events and add things ourselves, but above all, the ecosystem itself should submit entries. We will regularly promote the calendar on social media to give the events more visibility.
Is there a short backstory or a quote from you guys on why you launched the calendar right now?
We had been planning this for a while. An incredible amount happens in Berlin every day: meetups, pitch nights, hackathons, conferences, and community events. At the same time, we keep hearing how hard it is to keep track of everything. That’s why we created the Startup.Berlin event calendar: a central place for everything that moves the Berlin startup ecosystem.
What kind of events are you hoping for the most in the beginning?
Pitches, hackathons, meetups, conferences…
Are you primarily focused on large conferences, or should small, niche meetups find a home there too?
Definitely the small ones too! It just needs to have a startup context. We also curate and publish manually submitted events after a quick review.
What is your vision for the calendar in 2027? Ideally, how should the Berlin startup community integrate it into their daily lives?
All events in just one tab.
Will the event calendar be inclusive later and also offered in German?
Nope, we’re sticking to English.
Are there already other providers on the market, and will the event calendar also be available as an app?
There are a few sites that list events, but not everything at a glance. An app is currently not planned due to a lack of resources.
Do you offer an API or an import function for direct bulk uploads to your site?
Yes, but it has to have an iCal interface.
Will organizers receive data afterwards on how many clicks were generated via your calendar?
That is not planned for now.
Is there an option for “Featured Events” or editorial highlights?
Yes.
Which event (besides LOOPTOPIA, of course) are you personally most looking forward to in the new calendar over the coming weeks?
The Young Founders Conference.
Will the calendar have specific filters for ‘Circular Economy’, ‘Sustainability’, or ‘Impact’ so that Berlin’s green startup scene can find their events at a glance?
It already exists: the “Impact” filter.
Are you perhaps even thinking long-term about some sort of badge for ‘circular/resource-saving events’?
No, then we’d have to do it for too many subtopics. It will stay with the “Impact” filter.
