At O'Reilly Solid (http://solidcon.com) I gave a talk exploring one questions: What Can IoT Entrepreneurs and the Mittelstand Learn from Each Other?(http://solidcon.com/solid2014/public/schedule/detail/33139).

1. Whatcan IoTstartupsandthe
German Mittelstand learn from
each other?
O'Reilly Solid 2014

2. Hi. I'm
@peterbihr.
I help companies with their
strategy & run conferences
about emerging technology.
One conference is about the
Internet of Things:
ThingsCon.
Web: thewavingcat.com
Mail: peter@thewavingcat.com

3. Let'stalkaboutthe German
Mittelstand.
Germany's equivalent of the Silicion Valley, but for
hardware exports.
Warning: In the name of brevity, beware of some
blatant stereotypes.

4. Whatis Mittelstand
A really vague term:
» SME (often <500 employees) and/or
» family-run businesses & < €50m revenue
» But size isn't everything.

5. Backbone OfThe German Economy
» 99% of tax-paying enterprises (95% family-run)
» 66% of full-time employees
» 38% of revenue
» 83% of trainees
» 70% of exports
(Source: IfM)

6. German manufacturers: Similar
rulesapply
Too large to be Mittelstand, but culturally similar:
Big family-owned corporations in Germany like Bosch.
» 52b revenue
» similar values
» owned by a family-run foundation

7. What's special?

8. Traditon in
industrial
design

9. Verticals
» electrical engineering
» industrial systems
» high-tech manufacturing
» export driven
» B2B

10. No nichetoo small!

12. Culturalbackdrop
The stereotypes? They're true! (Well...)
» risk averse
» ambitious, but humble
» trust-focused
» inward-focused
» focus on long term relationships

13. Mostlyrun & owned by
families.Thatchangesa
lot.

14. “Don'tthinkabout
nextquarter.Think
aboutthe next
generation.”

15. Resilience
Hire and fire? Unheard of.
Economic crisis? Hardly layoffs.
Creates trust, commitment. Almost cradle-to-grave.

16. “Marketdriven? Our
engineers buildthe
best productthey
can,thenwe finda
marketfor it.”

17. noVC money
For most businesses, bank
loans will do just fine!
(Local banks and government
funding programs can help.)

18. Whatdo startupsand
Mittelstand have in common?
» swift decision making (both run by the owners)
» (different flavors of) innovation
» global perspectives

19. What's different?
» speed: agile & quick & growth hacking vs
deliberate and long-term
» mindsets: down to earth, quality trumps price,
long-term relationships
» focus: inward vs outward

20. Struggling? (1)
... with all the things that are second nature to
startups:
» More open sharing (vs closed innovation)
» Fast iteration
» Fail culture
» Being approachable

21. Struggling? (2)
With consumer products and cloud-based services
(privacy, etc. )

22. Whatcan startups learn from
Mittelstand? (1)
» Go after niches that aren't sexy but profitable
» Think long term. Really long-term. (Unlike many
VCs.)
» Build resilient partnerships (internal & external)

23. Whatcan startups learn from
Mittelstand? (2)
» Build the very best you can (don't chase the
market)
» Don't give up control over your company
» Don't outsource key skills: Even seemingly simple
things need deep knowledge to produce
(sawblades?!)

24. Whatcan Mittelstand learn from
IoTstartups?
» Find or create new niches
» User research. Learn from user behavior, don't
assume anything.
» fail culture
» launch early & often
» agility (in the startup sense of the word)

25. Forthe InternetofThings,allthese
questions &their effectswillbe
amplified.

26. “Question: Howcan
we getboth sides
closertogether?”

27. “Question: Canwe
replicate some of
the good effects
elsewhere?”

28. More exchange
» Meetups
» Trips & visits
» Build a trust relationship
» Build stuff together

29. “Yourthoughts &
experiences?”

30. Image sources:
» Screenshot Herrenknecht http://
www.herrenknecht.com
» Screenshot BWT http://www.bwt-group.com/
» Peter Mackey (CC by nd)
» Steve Jurvetson (CC by)
» Andreas Klein (CC by sa)
» Peter Bihr (CC by nc sa)
» Bosch product photo

31. Thankyou!
Peter Bihr
Twitter: @peterbihr
Web: thewavingcat.com
Mail: peter@thewavingcat.com
Here today: Come say hi!