When people talk of Berlin growing its startup ecosystem, it’s important to remember that they don’t just mean an influx of entrepreneurs and techies. There is also a need to expand the number of service providers connected to innovation, with the most obvious example being bringing in more venture capital investors from overseas.
But equally, it’s good to see a digital agency like Fetch recognise the potential contained in the German capital’s scene. The company, which already has offices in London and San Francisco, has opened a new base in Berlin in what it says is an effort to meet the wishes of existing customers like eBay and Hotels.com to be closer to the German and continental European markets, especially CEE.
Fetch – which focuses on the mobile industry – will also look to acquire new, locally-based customers such as foodpanda. The new team at its office in Mitte will be led by Melina Ex, formerly the chief marketing officer at 88TC88 in Beijing, and Herber Gonzalez, who was director of mobile at glispa; both Berlin-based companies.
James Connelly, Fetch co-founder and CEO, said: “We remain a hugely ambitious company with global ambitions. This is our third operation in our network offering mobile media, strategy, creative and analytics that will complement what we do in London and San Francisco.”
Some startup founders tend to look down their noses at agencies, but they can serve as a training ground and assembly line for future startup entrepreneurs and employees. And it is also encouraging to see further recognition of Berlin as the ‘second European hub’, and certainly as the main gateway in Central and Eastern Europe for Western European and North American companies.