The Enterprise Europe Network Berlin-Brandenburg (EEN-BB) in conversation with Jonathan Ho, one of the two founders of the AI software start-up Wavery, which is based at the MediaTech Hub in Potsdam-Babelsberg. Wavery took part in the major technology conference Web Summit in Lisbon in November 2024 and in GITEX Europe in Berlin in May 2025. In this interview, we look back on the events and the services with which the EEN-BB supports Wavery.

The EEN is the world's largest network of information and advice centers for small and medium-sized enterprises. The EEN provides practical support, largely free of charge, for the organization of business, technology and project partnerships in Europe and beyond.

What does Wavery offer?

We provide “privacy first” audio transcription tools and search solutions for media companies and media professionals. Our tools are based on artificial intelligence and allow media creators to efficiently search, transcribe, and edit large amounts of audio content. We launched the project in 2020 and entered the market in 2024. When we talk about data protection, we mean that our tools are not cloud-based — they run locally on users’ computers. It’s a secure and fast solution that we offer in 99 languages!

How does the Enterprise Europe Network Berlin-Brandenburg (EEN-BB) support you?

The network is internationally oriented, which is extremely valuable for us — right from the start, it was clear that we wanted to set up Wavery’s sales internationally, something that’s more feasible for a software startup than for many other companies. We got to know the EEN-BB a year ago and it immediately organized a great opportunity for us. We were able to exhibit at the “Startup Germany” joint stand at the international Web Summit in Lisbon. It was the first international trade fair we attended.

What was your first day at the Web Summit like?

Overwhelming. Around 70,000 people attend this tech conference! Four different halls, long rows of booths — it’s impressive. As a young startup, it’s easy to feel lost. But being part of the German booth — the largest national booth at the event — gave us a big advantage. It brought us a lot of attention. We also had plenty of space to display our posters and graphics and to showcase videos of our product.

How did Wavery prepare for the event?

The Web Summit itself offers extensive preparation resources. We participated in several webinars and Zoom calls. Country-specific WhatsApp groups formed, where startups connected. We also had a group for startups from Berlin and Brandenburg that were attending the Summit — we networked well and even met in person in Berlin. That was extremely helpful for us.

Of course, we also did the usual trade show preparations — printed T-shirts, created business cards, and used the list of journalists and exhibitors. Next time, we’ll probably skip the business cards and just display QR codes linking to our LinkedIn profiles. We also created a demo video for a future product, which was very useful — we could show it to potential customers and ask if the product would be relevant for them. Important tip for videos: make sure they are clearly visible at the booth, considering screen sizes and lighting conditions.

What are your three most important tips for attending the Web Summit?

Be flexible — despite the best planning, things will go differently than expected. Many good conversations happened spontaneously. We only realized at the event that the attending journalists were our most promising potential customers. That insight led to some very fruitful discussions.

Network before the event — this probably helped us the most. The Summit app is extremely useful for making contacts, checking the agenda, and learning about side events. And of course, it helps with scheduling meetings, even if plans often change on-site — see “be flexible.”

Take advantage of the industry-specific side events organized by the conference. They’re smaller, more relaxed, and often held in pleasant venues like bars or cafés in the evenings. At a film event and a music tech event, we met some very interesting start-ups from our sector – potential future partners from France, the UK, and Spain. That was almost more important than our time spent in the trade show halls.

You just took part in EEN Matchmaking at GITEX Europe. What does this format offer startups?

At GITEX Europe in Berlin, EEN-BB organized a B2B matchmaking event where you could meet new business partners and potential investors. We had about a dozen conversations with potential partners, investors, and public funding experts — including some contacts from Lisbon! All of this is incredibly valuable for us. For our rapid internationalization, EEN and its global network and services will continue to be a huge support! We hope to attend the next Web Summit in Lisbon and will definitely take part in the next matchmaking event organized by EEN-BB.