The FC Bayern Media Lab, a subsidiary of FC Bayern München AG, is entering into a long-term strategic cooperation with Bits & Pretzels, the leading European start-up founders' conference. As part of the collaboration, Bits & Pretzels will connect FC Bayern with leading start-ups from the fields of sports, technology, media and food tech. The top founders will support this year's Champions League winners with their ideas and business models in innovations and digitalisation.
Driving forward digitalisation
Further goals of the cooperation are joint events with founders and innovators at the upcoming Bits & Pretzels networking week in September. Further events are to follow throughout the year.
“Digitalisation has been driven forward with great commitment at FC Bayern for years and it will become even more important in the future,” said FC Bayern München AG CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, under whose leadership the FC Bayern Media Lab was founded in 2018 and the first FC Bayern Hackdays were initiated. “Networking, mutual exchange and co-operation are becoming increasingly important, especially in the field of digitisation, for companies, but also for football clubs. For this reason, we look forward to the joint projects with Bits & Pretzels.”
A step into the future
“The cooperation with Bits & Pretzels is another step into the future for us,” explained Stefan Mennerich, FC Bayern München AG Director of Media, Digital and Communication and FC Bayern Media Lab GmbH Managing Director. “It makes sense, and not just because of the innovative character and the benefits for both sides. As Munich companies, FC Bayern and Bits & Pretzels have a similar understanding of the importance of tradition in a digital and international market.”
The new collaboration will kick-off during the Bits & Pretzels networking week (27 September to 2 October 2020) with various appearances and events. FC Bayern board member Oliver Kahn will be a keynote speaker in the networking week main programme, talking about his experiences as a founder and entrepreneur as well as leadership.
Learning from one another
Bits & Pretzels Managing Director Christoph Commes added: “We are very pleased to have won over FC Bayern for the cooperation with the Bits & Pretzels community. We see many points of contact between innovative start-ups and FC Bayern, one of the most successful sports clubs in the world and reigning Champions League holders. Learning from each other is a great opportunity for the whole start-up scene.”
FC Bayern Media Lab GmbH, founded in 2018, is a subsidiary of FC Bayern with the main business areas of scaling backend systems, scaling frontend / content management systems, digital consulting and start-up investments. With 75 employees, the media lab is active not just for the digital areas of FC Bayern and its partners, but also as a service provider for other sports clubs.
Europe's leading start-up conference Bits & Pretzels welcomes the most important entrepreneurs of the international technology and innovation eco system to Munich every year. Top speakers in recent years have included Barack Obama, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Drew Houston of Dropbox, Sir Richard Branson, Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk and Hollywood star Jessica Alba. The conference connects the leading founders, investors and companies for networking, education and business.
Winning the Champions League brought FC Bayern record figures on the club media platforms:
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