The nine-month Silicon Valley Program is the tailor-made scaling and transformation programme of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology. In cooperation with Santa Clara University, we have been supporting ambitious teams for over 14 years on their way from a minimum viable product to a company - ready for financing - with a scalable business model.
The Silicon Valley Program incorporates the knowledge and experience of successful investors from Silicon Valley: together with us, programme participants go through a structured and scientifically based process with clearly defined content and milestones. In this way, we ensure that all aspects relevant to the development of a scalable business model are taken into account and addressed. In addition, participants benefit from the experience and network of our international mentors as well as exclusive access to a strong ecosystem of investors and companies.
The Silicon Valley Program turns promising inventions and the US-American understanding of global market penetration into sustainably successful companies. Would you like to be a part of it? Then apply now for the programme starting in July 2025.
overview
The Silicon Valley Program is aimed at teams, regardless of industry and age, who want to develop a promising product with first customers into an internationally successful company with a scalable business model. We bring your pitch deck and pitch skills to an international level.
You have come to the right place if
- You have an ingenious product and first (pilot) customers,
- You identify with a "think big" mentality,
- You want to scale internationally with the support of a global network.
Over the course of nine months, experienced mentors and instructors guide each team through the Silicon Valley Program and address their individual needs and challenges. The participants can expect an optimally coordinated combination of workshops, peer-to-peer learning and regular pitch and feedback rounds in front of investors. The highlight of the programme is the six-day stay with a pitch in front of investors in Silicon Valley. All the results of the nine months' work are incorporated into the pitch deck and are the perfect preparation for meetings with investors.
The participation fees for the Silicon Valley Program are € 20,000 per team of up to three people. This includes the support of an experienced mentor, participation in specialist workshops, pitch sessions with feedback from Silicon Valley investors, a six-day stay in Silicon Valley (excluding travel and accommodation costs) with company visits and pitch opportunities in front of investors, as well as exclusive access to our investor and company network and the research facilities of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology.
The workshops and pitch sessions will take place at BITZ Oberschneiding in Lower Bavaria. The exchange with the mentors is arranged individually and can take place on-site or remotely. For the Experience Week, the programme participants will fly to Silicon Valley in spring 2025.
contents & time frame
Kick-off: The Silicon Valley Program begins in July 2025 with a kick-off event. Over five intensive workshop days, we will work with you to develop the foundations for your scalable business model. Key elements include the right mindset, a suitable market entry strategy, comprehensive competitive analysis, and a compelling pitch to investors.
Mentoring: Right from our initial meeting, we start considering which mentor would be the best fit for you. Beyond industry experience, personal compatibility is also important to us. Following the bootcamp in July 2025, a lead mentor will guide you through the entire program, acting as a knowledgeable sparring partner in one-on-one sessions.
Pitch- and Feedback Sessions: Monthly workshops will be held at BITZ Oberschneiding from September 2025 to February 2026. There, you will have the opportunity to present your progress to mentors, investors, and other teams. Based on this feedback, you will continuously refine your business model and pitch.
Experience Week: From March 21–27, 2026, we will fly with you to Silicon Valley. There, in addition to exclusive company tours (e.g., Google, NVIDIA, or eBay), you will have the opportunity to pitch to Silicon Valley investors.
This year, the Silicon Valley Experience Week—the highlight of our Silicon Valley Program—will take place from April 6–11, 2025, at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley. In addition to exclusive company tours (e.g., Audi of America, NVIDIA, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and others), you will have the opportunity to attend workshops led by seasoned experts and witness pitches by various startups to Silicon Valley investors.
Homecoming: The program concludes in May 2026 with a final pitch before investors, entrepreneurs, and alumni at our legendary Homecoming. You remain part of our network even after the official program ends.
All dates at a glance
The exclusive MasterClass takes place every October in Silicon Valley at the partner institution, Santa Clara University. In addition to intensive workshops, the program offers unique opportunities to engage with key network partners on-site and gain deep insights into the working methods and mindset of Silicon Valley. The workshops focus on the development of groundbreaking innovations and scalable business models. The goal is to familiarize participants with the "Silicon Valley mindset" and equip them with the tools to transfer this expertise back to Germany.
A special highlight of the MasterClass is the schedule of visits to some of the world’s leading and most innovative companies. The itinerary includes excursions to Nvidia—a pioneer in artificial intelligence and graphics technology—and C3.ai, a leader in enterprise AI software, among others. These visits provide participants with exclusive insights into the strategies and technologies that drive the success of these companies.
team, mentors & ecosystem
All participants of the Silicon Valley Program have access to our ecosystem of global market leaders from different industries, investors and research institutions. In addition to a large number of reliable contacts in Bavaria, we maintain excellent relationships in Silicon Valley.
Our mentors are successful founders themselves, have exit experience and have already accompanied teams on their way to financing maturity.
MENTORS
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Prof. Dr. Tobias Strobl is the founder and managing partner of ARIAx Ventures, as well as a lead mentor and strategic advisor operating internationally. He teaches "Methodology of Scale" at THD and leverages his extensive expertise across the startup, corporate, and academic sectors in North America, Europe, and Asia. His focus lies in the global aerospace, defense, and mobility sectors. |
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Dr. Markus Ortmann is a company builder specializing in digital innovation and transformation. Drawing on his extensive experience, he helps companies precisely align their strategic goals with market demands and successfully master the challenges of the digital world. |
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With over 20 years of experience in banking, innovation strategy, corporate venture capital, and international business across the US, the UK, the Middle East, and Asia, Amar Rathor is a sought-after expert in advising corporate teams—particularly on finance and fundraising strategies. |
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Jens Weitzel is the founder of Yabusame Partners, an international consultancy that supports early-stage startups with their founding and scaling. He guides startups through international expansion, serving in senior sales or business development roles. His expertise spans the software/SaaS, automotive/mobility, IoT, supply chain/logistics, energy, and climate technology sectors. He is an active mentor at several Silicon Valley accelerators, including StartX (Stanford University Accelerator), German Accelerator, and Plug and Play. |
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Geoff Baum is an Executive Fellow and Chief Mentor for C100 Growth, as well as a Steering Committee member and Lead Mentor at German Accelerator. He served as Vice President of Marketing at Acceldata until 2022 and is a co-founder and Vice President of Marketing at Garage.com. As a founder and an international product and marketing expert, he works with startups and scale-ups, having advised and mentored over 500 companies from more than two dozen countries. |
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Dr. Thomas Meenken is CTO at Schlateck LLC; he helps corporate teams understand scaling dependencies and provides them with a guide for scaling products and solutions. |
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As Chair of the Software Industry Group at Band of Angels, Dr. Ron Weissman brings over 25 years of experience in investment and executive management. Through his work in venture capital and angel investing, he has advised and invested in numerous companies, playing an active role in many of them. His investment focus lies in the areas of software, analytics, SaaS, text technologies, and healthcare IT.
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IMPRESSIONS
current teams in the silicon valley programme
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aipama develops fully automated payroll processes that can be used worldwide. |
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Bionorica is one of the world's leading manufacturers of phytopharmaceuticals and offers a novel, ultra-fast method for analysing highly complex mixtures of active ingredients with regard to product quality and shelf life. |
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Career Captain helps companies to attract the next generation through gamified recruiting. |
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CURIOX is developing an interactive toy figure that makes audio stories playable. |
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HydroGENTs automates the industrial production of hydrogen tanks -Controlled, standardised and repeatable in accordance with legal requirements, we scale the production of tomorrow. |
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move technology is developing a universal and innovative B2B ecosystem for AI-based knowledge transfer and user-friendly learning. |
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sun-X develops an efficient solar system maintenance ecosystem for system operators and service providers |
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The Green Bridge
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Traeger GmbH
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success stories
WURI-Ranking: The World University Rankings for Innovation
(vormals: World's Universities with Real Impact in Entrepreneurial Spirit)
The university ranked first worldwide in the "Entrepreneurial Spirit" category of the 2023 WURI ranking.
Find out more about the award: Für Unternehmergeist mit Platz 1 weltweit ausgezeichnet
The Silicon Valley School, with its Silicon Valley Program at BITZ Oberschneiding, has contributed significantly to the successes achieved in international comparisons.
Global ranking in the "Entrepreneurial Spirit" category according to the WURI ranking 2020–2022 (World's Universities with Real Impact).
alumni
Our alumni about the Silicon Valley Program:
"The Silicon Valley Program does a great job of translating theory into real-life practice, which has had an immediate positive impact on our venture. The ecosystem of the programme is unique and it has definitely helped us open numerous doors to experts and potential customers, validate our theses and develop our venture at an incredible speed."
Philipp Gellert, Co-Founder iVivid
"Through the Silicon Valley Program, we were encouraged to offer our platform not only in the DACH region, but also for the US market. "Think Big" not only gives us access to a larger customer base, but also enables more people around the world to save resources by using our platform."
Kamill Skupien, Co-Founder reBricker
"The extremely detailed feedback from the mentors put the finishing touches on our pitch. The Silicon Valley Program prepared us perfectly for the upcoming funding round."
Chris Gnerlich, Co-Founder brainjo
"After participating in the Silicon Valley Program and the successful pitches, the startup b-plus automotive GmbH received the Innovation Promotion Award of the City of Deggendorf in November 2019 for the product, "Connectivity Solution for Vehicle Test Fleets", which enables faster development cycles in automotive pre-development. The goal for the future is to develop even more solutions in addition to function integration for ADAS sensors and ECUs with which OEM and Tier1 customers can bring their products safely and quickly into series production, always one step ahead to master the hurdles of tomorrow."
Josef Behammer, Managing Director b-plus automotive GmbH
"We were allowed to participate in the Silicon Valley programme several times with different teams. The participants learned what steps and what content is necessary to bring an idea to market. There is a focus on thinking big and scaling up as much as possible. The impulses into our organisation initiated by the programme have sustainably promoted our positive company development."
Karl Fuchs, Managing Director T.CON GmbH & Co. KG
contact & registration
We're happy to help if you require further information or individual advice. Feel free to contact us!
Deggendorf Institute of Technology
Bavarian Innovation Transformation Centre (BITZ Oberschneiding)
Silicon Valley School
Straubinger Str. 19
94363 Oberschneiding - GERMANY
+49 991 3615 8700
Programme Manager Silicon Valley Program:
