The view from NOAH 2014

In a rare departure from Teutonic efficiency, NOAH sees the German-speaking ecosystem of internet ventures, investors, and corporates all ‘up sticks’ and visit London for what is regarded by some as the leading internet conference in Europe these days. Over 1700 guests attended this year.

Aside from the somewhat surreal experience of it feeling like you are in Berlin when you are actually in the capital of the UK – much of NOAH is really impressive.

If you haven’t been before, it is organised by corporate finance firm NOAH Advisors, and the intense speaker schedule is moderated over the entire two days by founder Marco Rodzynek in a display of relentless energy.

Whilst the schedule contained a number of leading lights as well as emerging talents, the beauty of NOAH is that it really is set-up to do business, and, whilst most sessions were near capacity, there were always a similar number of attendees engaged in meetings throughout the well-planned conference venue.

So, if NOAH sheds a light on what’s happening in the DACH region, I would highlight:

• There were a really significant number of attendees from the online classifieds industry, and this segment does seem to be a real powerhouse in the German speaking countries. The travel sector was also well-represented, and, indeed, Rocket Internet has announced that travel is a sector of interest.
• The big corporates are really very active and committed to the internet ventures space. Representation from the likes of ProSiebenSat, Axel Springer and Bertelsmann was really significant. Next year, Axel Springer will co-present the 1^st NOAH in Berlin; theming the event on digital within the large corporate.
• Berlin is clearly the epicentre of digital venturing in Germany, and, in a country containing a number of major business cities; it will be interesting to see if there is some geographic diversification over time.

Day 2 saw Rocket Internet’s Oliver Samwer in an entertaining ‘fireside chat’. Some commentators have described Rocket’s IPO valuation as representative of a ‘bubble’, but, overall, the commonly reiterated theme at NOAH was that it takes time – really a decade – to build a proper business; there are no quick wins.

Of the emerging players that presented, Index Ventures backed Bitpay delivered the freshest message thanks to a spiky performance from its European Business Development Director and looked to me like the one that could ‘shoot the lights out’. If I were a betting man, I’d put a Bitcoin on it.

When all is said and done, this event is ultimately all about effective monetisation, and, as there are more questions than answers to that challenge, the future of NOAH looks assured.