The first chapter of the Berglin story

Berglin: /bɛʁklɪn/ n. [from the combination of "Berlin" and "Berg", capital of Germany and "mountain" in German respectively].

1. Digital platform serving communities of mountaineers and outdoor enthusiast.

It all started with an idea for a project around the world of mountaineering and with participation in a 5-month entrepreneurship programme called SEP (Summer Entrepreneurship Programme). The programme is a new initiative of Vali Berlin, the entrepreneurship hub of the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT Berlin), and aims to empower responsible entrepreneurship for the creation of social, economic and environmental value.

During the programme we have grown a lot personally and in terms of progress with the Berglin project. We built connections with (mainly) two very interesting communities and ecosystems: on the one hand, mountaineers and mountain enthusiasts from all over the world, mountain professionals and alpine institutions; on the other hand, entrepreneurs and thought leaders, academics and experts from the Berlin start-up scene.

With the conclusion of the programme, we have been given the opportunity to make a pitch in front of a formal jury and the ESMT and Vali network presenting our idea of Berglin as a community-based platform that allows mountaineers to search for partners, guides and pre-organised experiences.

Read our interview on the ESMT blog and find out more about our experience with Vali Berlin and how the SEP helped us fine-tune our vision and start our journey towards its realisation.