The Delta BlogSeite 3
Insights, stories, and updates from Europe's leading startup ecosystem
The Founder Dinner: Why the Smallest Rooms Make the Biggest Deals
A 500-person conference creates energy. A 50-person dinner creates trust. There's a reason the most serious relationships in business are still built over a table. Here's how we design curated dinners at The Delta, and why the most valuable conversations happen over five-star food on a rooftop under the stars.
The Psychology of Space: Why the Right Venue Changes the Energy of Your Event
Event energy is shaped long before the first speaker begins. The layout, the light, the acoustics, how close people sit to one another. All of it influences how people behave, whether they engage, open up, and connect, or stay guarded and leave early. Understanding the psychology of space is one of the most underused tools in event design.
The Fastest R&D Cycle Your Company Has: 48 Hours.
Most corporate innovation moves at the speed of the calendar. A problem gets identified in Q1, scoped in Q2, resourced in Q3, and quietly deprioritised by Q4. A hackathon answers the same question on the weekend. Here's how ambitious companies are using them to pressure-test problems, ship prototypes, and break internal inertia.
Why Dr. Gero Decker Didn't Buy an Island After His €1 Billion Exit
Most founders slow down after a nine-figure exit. Gero Decker set a new high score instead: making Signavio the best acquisition in SAP's history, doubling its business case within 18 months, and pushing it towards the two billion revenue mark that earns a seat at the table. Along the way, he is writing a book on AI and art, and refining a leadership philosophy built on trust, clarity, and momentum. It is one of the clearest pictures we have heard of what it means to keep building after the money stops mattering.
Stop Reading CVs. Run a Hackathon.
The engineers you most want to hire are the least likely to apply. They're employed, they're building, and they're not refreshing job boards. A hackathon inverts the whole thing. Instead of assessing how someone performs in an interview, you watch them do the actual job. In 48 hours, you learn more about how a person thinks and builds than five interviews will ever tell you.
Der Nerd, der Hasso Plattner absagte und trotzdem ein Unternehmen im Wert von 1 Milliarde Euro aufbaute
Bei der 8. Ausgabe von Gründerszene x The Delta erzählte Dr. Gero Decker die ganze Geschichte hinter Signavio: vom nerdigen Jungen, der ein Computerspiel für Zaha Hadid entwickelte, über seine Absage an Hasso Plattners HANA-Projekt und eine Liquiditätskrise, weil zwei Monate lang niemand Rechnungen geschrieben hatte, bis zu einer Verhandlung wie auf dem Basar, die mit der Übernahme durch SAP für 957 Millionen Euro endete. Eine Gründergeschichte darüber, sich für den Markt zu entscheiden, den alle langweilig finden, und allen das Gegenteil zu beweisen.
When Is It Time to Upgrade? The Key Signals Your Startup Has Outgrown Its Current Office
Most office upgrades do not start with a desire for something better. They start with small workarounds. A hallway call here, a café meeting there. Startups adapt, and that adaptability becomes the problem. Workarounds quietly drain time, focus, and team energy until friction starts to feel normal. If you are starting to recognise the signs, it is probably time to pay attention.
Why the Best Hackathons in Europe Happen at The Delta
Hackathons stopped being about free pizza and toy demos. The new kind is curated, challenge-driven, and built around real problems. When the right builders meet the right space, the output speaks for itself. Here's why the best ones run at The Delta.
How We Built a 500-Person Conference in Under 90 Days
Al Gore opened it. 500 hand-selected founders, investors, and builders filled the room. And it was conceived, built, and delivered in under 90 days. Here's what it actually takes to produce a flagship event at that level, and why the venue you choose makes all the difference.