We are proud to announce Stephan Schambach as our first guest for our launch event in Berlin. Stephan is a serial entrepreneur and e-commerce legend who built several companies in the US and Europe. Intershop and Demandware are his biggest successes to date. Demandware is the leading cloud-based e-commerce platform serving some of the biggest international brands — ranging from adidas to Lacoste and Panasonic. Demandware went public in 2012, achieving a market valuation of over 1.5 billion dollars. Stephan was born and raised in the DDR, dropped out of college and has been self-employed ever since, focused on becoming an entrepreneur in a society that did not welcome such aspirations. He pioneered e-commerce in Germany with Intershop as early as 1992, moving on to become one of the most important figures in today’s e-commerce business. The interview will be led by Christoph Raethke. Christoph has been working in the digital industry for over 17 years. He has run two semesters of the Founder Institute and is the founder of the Berlin Startup Academy — Berlin’s boutique, independent Startup Accelerator. In addition to that, Christoph is a frequent speaker at international events and renown for his critical and thought-provoking views. Our event takes place in the St. Oberholz apartments. As the central meeting point of Berlin's digital scene, there could be no better setting for our intimate “fireside chat” interview format. We are excited to welcome Stephan on stage to share his story with us and look forward to a great first event at St. Oberholz apartments. (Please note: The interview will be conducted in German) Startups: If you want to pitch your startup in front of our speaker and attendees, please send an email to florian@startupgrind.com.