7,500 attendees, more than 1,700 investors and founders from around the world: At the end of September, Munich once again became one of the biggest gathering places for the European startup scene for three days with Bits & Pretzels. Also in attendance this year were three participants from the GO! Upper Franconia Startup Hub at Hof University of Applied Sciences. They were accompanied by Nadin Winter-Langer and Camilla Lenz from the StartUpLab.
The students’ participation was made possible by three free tickets from Gründerland Bayern. A heartfelt thank you for that !
A big stage, inspiring minds—and, above all, plenty of conversations
Under the motto “Human After All,” Bits & Pretzels once again brought well-known figures from the startup scene, business, politics, and society to Munich in 2026. Speakers on stage included Trevor Noah, Steven Bartlett, Mistral founder Arthur Mensch, n8n founder Jan Oberhauser, Quantum Systems founder Florian Seibel, and EU Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva.
For the Hofer Group, however, the many opportunities for direct interaction were at least as exciting as the stage program. More than 3,000 founders and 1,700 investors came together this year. Bits & Pretzels once again placed a strong emphasis on targeted networking and personal encounters.
For Vanessa Klopf, this approach paid off in a big way. The student and her business partner had recently launched myfestbase and made the most of their time in Munich to build new connections for their company. Their efforts paid off: they were able to secure two business angels for their startup at Bits.
Maximilian Völkl was also there with his business idea for an ambient light featuring an integrated air quality sensor. In addition to gaining new insights and feedback, his main focus was on finding the right contacts. Max is currently looking for a co-founder to help further develop his idea. Anyone interested in the idea who can envision working on it together is welcome to contact StartUpLab.
Janis Zuniga Ostwald, another participant from the latest GO! cohort (2026/27) at Hof University of Applied Sciences, was also in attendance.
GO! Upper Franconia Meets in Munich
GO! aims not only to support aspiring entrepreneurs at individual university locations but also to create a shared startup community in Upper Franconia over the long term. The fact that this community extends beyond the boundaries of individual universities was demonstrated in a very practical way in Munich.
There, the Hof group met Regina Flad from the GO! class of 2024/25 at the University of Bamberg. She is part of the startup Satoumi, which is developing a mobile pyrolysis reactor designed to convert biomass that previously could not be reused into biochar and other usable products. The team is now receiving funding through the EXIST startup grant. The reunion quickly turned into a small Upper Franconian GO! community right in the heart of Munich: Regina joined the group, and over the course of the days, there was plenty of opportunity for exchange, shared experiences, and new ideas. In this way, the GO! community spirit was naturally brought to life beyond the university campuses.
Two alumni from the StartUpLab community—Lars Scheid and Ursus Ixmeier—were also back in Munich. Both now live in Munich; they previously participated in the 12-Peak Tour, among other things—and also in HofSpannung, whose current team includes Max. So, at Bits & Pretzels, old and new connections from Hof naturally came together again.
Networking with a twist: the last day at Oktoberfest
The third day of the conference traditionally took participants to Oktoberfest. There, the Schottenhamel tent—with more than 300 tables and around 250 table captains from a wide variety of industries—once again became a hub for networking. Instead of traditional trade show booths, the focus was on conversations, making new contacts, and personal exchanges.
For the three GO! participants, the trip thus offered not only insights into one of Europe’s largest startup conferences, but above all the opportunity to discuss their own ideas outside their usual environment, make connections, and gain new perspectives.
And the verdict after three intensive days? Consistently positive. New contacts, concrete starting points for their own startup ideas, conversations with investors, and plenty of fresh inspiration were brought back to Hof.
For young founders in particular, one thing becomes clear time and again: A good idea is important—but the people with whom you discuss it are just as important.
