Golden Pretzel Award - Pre-Round I
The available transcript presents the Golden Pretzel Award pre-round as a deliberately redesigned pitch format: 11 handpicked startups are not only pitching to investors, but appearing alongside the investors who selected them. Host Flo Akinbiyi frames the session as a high-energy, audience-supported competition at Bits and Pretzels 2026, with six minutes for each startup-investor presentation and three minutes for concise jury questions. The jury is introduced as Anna Fedulov of Rotom Capital, focused on underrepresented founders; Inge von Holz of UnternehmerTUM, described as leading startups and investments; and Jan Reicherheit of 10x Founders, noted for building and selling Mendeley. The first company, Arch, is presented by Antler’s Christoph Klink together with founder Eli Waxman.
ai-wearablesstartup-pitchbrain-interface+10 other speakers