The Venture Builder
Berlin 5 Phase 1 Weekly Guide
Contents
This guide is being updated as more sessions are organised. Please check back regularly to see future sessions.
Recordings and slides can be found next to the sessions’ names. All times are in CEST.
Week 1
Date
Time
title
Description
Zoom/Recs
Slides
(Pre-kick off) Monday 1st September
18:00-19:00
Welcome to Phase 1
Warming up for Phase 1 with Carbon13.
Monday 8th September
09:00-17:00
1st Day of the 1st In-Person Block
We start with a welcome to Carbon13 and then have a full day of ice-breaking activities facilitated by Paul Bourne.
Location:
Tuesday 9th September
09:00-17:00
2nd Day of the 1st In-Person Block
We will spend the day on the Carbon Case, kicking off with Nicky’s our Mission to address Earth’s Vital Systems and Carbon Case Part 1 – Impact Framework, finishing the day with presentations from the cohort.
Location:
Spielefeld
Wednesday 10th September
09:00-17:00
3rd Day of the 1st In-Person Block
Stephanie Alys asks is there such a thing as a perfect team? Later on we will run the first round of Speed Networking and finish the day with an Idea Carousel.
Location:
Week 2
Date
Time
title
Description
Zoom/recs
Slides
Thursday, 18th September
10:00-11:00
Idea Carousel
An opportunity to showcase your problem space/idea to the cohort. The idea presenters will have ~15 minutes to discuss the topics.
No recording
11:30-12:30
Networking/Teaming/C13 UX/Offline Best Practices
Tips on networking, teaming, C13 UX, offline best practices and founder-led marketing with Simon Dierks.
Link
Passcode: PU9t@SmU
Friday, 19th September
10:00-13:30
Finding your focus and harnessing creativity with Anne Miller
Anne Miller walks you through different techniques to enhance your creativity in this interactive session. Some topics covered are: an exploration of principles for successful innovation; an introduction to the Creativity Bull’s eye tool and its practical application; exploring some creative facilitation techniques and; reflections on the role of the founder.
Link
Passcode: 0r7+ZvCv
15:00-16:00
Embarking on your Odyssey
Join EiR Amrit Chandan for this exciting session all about how to figure out your life mission, dig deep into what motivates you and set yourselves up for success as you look to form your teams.
Link
Passcode: =w1w^Z1$
Week 3
Date
Time
title
Description
Location
Slides
Wednesday 24th September
09:00-17:00
1st Day of the 2nd In-Person Block
The day will contain sessions about how to work on founder relationships, intro to the Hackathon and founder-led sessions.
Thursday 25th September
09:00-17:00
2nd Day of the 2nd In-Person Block
The day will contain the Carbon Coffee Cup Challenge, Speed Networking and work on the Carbon13 Hackathon.
Friday 26th September
09:00-17:00
3rd Day of the 2nd In-Person Block
On this day, we will have time to work on the Carbon13 Hackathon and present the teams’ solutions in a pitch presentation.
Week 4
Date
Time
title
Description
Zoom/Rec
Slides
Wednesday, 1st October
10:00-11:30
Startup Battle Scars with Amrit Chandan
Join Amrit as he delves into the “Overcoming the Monster” narrative, sharing insights on the toughest challenges and hard-earned lessons from the frontlines of founding and scaling startups. Gain valuable takeaways from real-world experiences that can help you navigate the hurdles of entrepreneurship.
Link
Passcode: FyCp%6@J
14:00-16:00
B5 meets C9
Thursday, 2nd October
10:00-11:00
Delta Pitches
Delta Pitch is a 5-minute opportunity for individuals or teams to present early-stage ideas. With a focus on outlining the situation, problem, and scope, participants use three slides to pitch and request feedback or support. It’s a chance to refine ideas, test team dynamics, and prepare for future applications.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89136804252
11:30-12:30
Customer Discovery Kick-off
Link
Passcode: AuQ2k!n&
14:00-15:00
Get your Tech to the Market: Finding the Best Market for Your Innovation
Join EiR Livia Zimmerman as she shares tips on helping technology-first or research-driven teams find the right market fit. This session focuses on aligning innovations with the best market using frameworks like Bill Aulet’s Disciplined Entrepreneurship and the Where to Play model. You’ll learn key early steps to ensure a smooth path to commercialization, especially for tech-driven projects.
Link
Passcode: BWZZW+1X
Week 5
Date
Time
title
Description
zoom/rec
Slides
Thursday 9th October
09:30-10:30
Alumni Panel – CTOs
Denis Barkats, CTO of Shifted Energy, and Sander Arnout, CTO of Astracite, will share insight on their journey to finding and choosing the right co-founders, approaching commercial partners as technical founders, and deciding on the problem to solve. They will discuss navigating the technical complexities of building a climate tech venture, the pivots that follow, and what comes next for their venture. The session moderated by Simon Dierks will close with practical tips for new founders and an open Q&A.
Link
Passcode: V8$$!7Gw
11:00-11:30
Chat with Jimena from TUM about collab
Jimena Merino, PhD researcher from TUM, will go over the collab.
Link
Passcode: J$@uPD8t
You are invited to reach out to Jimena at jimena.merino@tum.de
13:00-14:00
EiR Panel
Get to know some of Carbon13’s EiRs as they share their insights into building a startup.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89181490239
Week 6
Date
Time
title
Description
Zoom/Rec
Slides
Thursday 16th October
12:00-13:00
‘Breaking up is hard to do’ with Steph Alys
Building the right team is never easy — but ending team relationships can be even harder. In this session, Stephanie Alys will share the challenges of parting ways with co-founders or team members, and practical tips on how to handle these difficult conversations with clarity and care. Join us for this crucial and insightful discussion.
Passcode: 6u+!!jrA
14:00-17:00
Domain Expert Carousel Online
Many different experts will join online to provide feedback, guidance and support to our venture builder founders. A sign up sheet will be provided in advance. Great opportunity to meet different experts from all fields.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82993499453
Friday 17th October
10:30-11:30
Industry Insights: Materials & Chemicals + IP
‘Industry Insights’ is a series of sessions that covers trends and hot topics in different industry areas. In this session, Michael Reid will discuss topics related to materials, chemicals, and IP.
Passcode: +5!bRy7c
12:00-13:00
Alumni Panel – CEOs
Come learn valuable lessons from C13 alumni about their journey to find a team and build a climate tech company from scratch.
Passcode: NFB3i&v$
14:00-15:00
Moving from Academia to Entrepreneurship
Cambridge Enterprise and tech founders from Carbon13’s portfolio companies will share their journeys and insights on moving from academia to entrepreneurship.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88297398215?from=addon
16:00-17:00
Team Foundations
Sarah Lubik discusses how to go from “me” to “we” in this session on Team Foundations.
Passcode: 8bZ&BhuQ
Week 7
Date
Time
title
Description
Address
Wednesday, 22nd October
09:00-17:00
Day 1 of 3rd In-person Block
Full day working and learning about on Customer Discovery!
Thursday, 23rd October
09:00-17:00
Day 2 of 3rd In-person Block
We will have our amazing Domain Expert Carousel with the attendance of many C13 domain experts to support and provide feedback on your ideas and problem spaces!
Friday, 24th October
09:00-17:00
Day 3 of 3rd In-person Block
For this final in-person day, we will host live delta pitches, an introduction and best practices for Phase 2, a wellbeing session, customer discovery learnings debriefing and closing cerimony!
Week 8
Date
Time
title
Description
zoom/rec
Slides
Week 9
Date
Time
title
Description
Zoom/Rec
slides
Thursday, 6th November
10:30-11:30
Building a hardware startup/Getting to MVP in hardware with Lewis Jenkins
In this session, Lewis Jenkins will provide personal insights and answer questions about building a hardware startup, focusing on getting to your MVP.
Passcode:
*?3mnh1x
15:00-16:00
Industry Insights: Batteries and Energy Storage with Amrit Chandan
TBC
Friday, 7th November
11:00-12:00
Carbon Credit Buyer: What We Look For and Why It Matters
- How can a climate tech startup assess its opportunity to generate carbon credit revenue?
- What are the main categories of projects that can generate carbon credits (afforestation, renewable energy, carbon capture, efficiency improvements, etc.), and what makes some more viable than others?
- What are the steps (from concept to execution) required to build a carbon credit project?
- How can start-ups integrate carbon credit generation into their business model?
Link
Passcode: JCzr4.k$
Friday, 7th November
10:30-11:30
Industry Insights: Fintech with Sarah Dees
In this session about fintech, Carbon13 EiR and CEO of My EU Pay, Sarah Dees, will discuss about the challenges and opportunities in the fintech space. Bring your questions!
Passcode: DQwnf0x.
Week 10
Date
Time
title
Description
Zoom/Rec
slides
Thursday, November 13th
11:30-12:30
Assessing your Competitive Landscape
Passcode: a0F?YR1u
13:30-14:30
I haven’t teamed. What now?
Passcode: D?q7wN=?
Friday, November 14th
11:00-12:00
Industry Insights: From Lab to Market – Built Environment
Christopher Mills, former head of Innovation and now Discovery Partner at Kiilto Ventures, will share his experience building and supporting deep tech ventures in the chemistry and construction space from scratch. Very valuable session even for founders who are not building in this space!
Passcode: 3M#5s=#U
13:30-15:30
Investment Readiness with David Gill