Stefan Glaenzer, Mike Butcher and The NextWomen's Joana Picq on the Jury for the NEXT Elevator

The jury for the NEXT Elevator Pitch - the large Start-up competition for the NEXT Conference in Berlin on May 17 & 18 - has been finalised. After the community selected the top 30 start-ups from all submitted applications, by voting at elevator.nextconf.eu, the final choice now rests with the jury. Mike Butcher, the European face of TechCrunch, and Stefan Glaenzer, prominent player in all matters of founding a business, are just two of the names on the international jury.

The German and European Venture Capital scenes are well represented with Sarik Weber (Hanse Ventures), Stefan Glaenzer (White Bear Yard) and Reshma Sohoni (Seedcamp) among others. Other members of the jury have already completed the journey from start-up to big player with their own businesses. Boris Veldhuijzen van�Zanten, founder of The Next Web and other companies; Mike Butcher from TechCrunch; The NextWomen's very own�COO Joana Picq; and the media partner Wired UK, all assure that the participating start-ups will get the international attention necessary.

The jury will decide which 12 founders will present their businesses at the NEXT Elevator Pitch on the first day of the NEXT Conference on May 17.

The presentation and the subsequent award ceremony will be moderated by Hermione Way (The Next Web).

The complete jury consists of Marco B�rries (NumberFour AG, Founder), Mike Butcher (TechCrunch Europe, Editor), Alexander von Frankenberg (High-Tech Gr�nderfonds, Managing Director), Maks Giordano (juuman�okudo, Founder), Stefan Glaenzer (White Bear Yard, Founder), Olaf Jacobi (Target Partners, Partner), Torsten Oelke (YOU IS NOW, Manager), Joana Picq (The Next Women, COO), Christoph R�thke (Founder Institute, Berlin Director), Reshma Sohoni (Seedcamp, Partner), Boris Veldhuijzen from Zanten (The Next Web, Founder), and Sarik Weber (Hanse Ventures, Founder).

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