As I sit here in The Factory (a campus for startups and mature tech companies in Berlin Mitte) working on One Spark Berlin with our team I can’t help but think back to the early days of One Spark in the states. The same challenges we faced then, we face now. The same concerns we faced then, we face now. The same emotional ups and downs of starting something new in a very short period of time are recurringly similar feelings now. The same pressure. The same fears. The same tired laughs. And yes, even some of the same disbeliefs of what we are trying to accomplish. A lot is just the same as it was a little under 2 years ago this week.

Yet, there are so many noteworthy differences giving us the encouragement to press on. First, the city of Berlin itself.