Wolfgang Gellert
Co-founder and organiser
Reachable via the network's contact address and at every meetup. Get in touch
More about Wolfgang ↓About us
The team behind the Berliner Netzwerk
Since 2001, two business owners have kept the network going as volunteers, alongside their own companies. For many years Valesca Dolle-Koch has helped them. There's no office. If you have a question, it goes straight to one of us.
Alexander Dolle-Koch
Co-founder, organiser and administrator
Valesca Dolle-Koch
Organisation and support for new members
Co-founder, with us since 2001
What Wolfgang does in the network
Wolfgang Gellert co-founded the Berliner Netzwerk and has held the group together ever since.
In 2001 he was among those who brought two Berlin groups together: the “Handwerker Stammtisch” and “Ausbildungspower”. The result was a network for small and mid-sized businesses where tradespeople and service providers sit at the same table.
01
Where the network is heading
The two organisers decide together what the network should be. Gellert keeps an eye on local businesses and makes sure the trades keep their place alongside the service providers.
02
Host on the night
At the monthly meetups he is often host and moderator. He makes sure newcomers find their footing and that different industries get talking, from the trades to hospitality.
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Contact for the trades
For craft businesses in the network he's the first port of call. He makes sure their topics come up, such as the shortage of skilled workers or the question of who will one day take over the business.
04
Manners at the table
The network used to follow a “one business per industry” rule. It is currently suspended so the network can grow and build a new core. What Gellert still watches is how people behave at the table: introduce yourself, yes; sell, no. Anyone who uses the evening as a sales stage gets a friendly word.
Co-founder, organisation and website
What Alexander does in the network
Alexander Dolle-Koch organises the monthly meetups and runs the network's website. He sees himself as a bridge-builder between business owners who would otherwise rarely cross paths.
In the network he mostly takes care of what has to happen between evenings so that they can take place.
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Co-founder
He was there in 2001 when the “Handwerker Stammtisch” and “Ausbildungspower” became the Berliner Netzwerk.
02
Organising the meetups
He is responsible for the monthly meetups, held at a different place in Berlin each time. Members with questions usually end up with him. He also runs the website with its directory, events and newsletter.
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Open exchange
What matters to him is a group in which owners and managers talk openly about their businesses. Having several companies from the same industry at the table is no problem. Business in the network comes through recommendations.
Professionally he comes from hospitality. He has worked in Berlin tourism for more than twenty years and today runs the Coffee INN Hostel in Schöneberg. Coordinating lots of people and changing venues is part of everyday life there.
Outside the network he is involved in Berlin's hostel industry, including:
- Hostel Round Table Berlin, the volunteer network of Berlin hostel managers, for which he is spokesperson.
- Hostel Talent, a job board for hostel jobs, run by the Hostel Round Table.
- MadeForGroups, a platform for group accommodation in Berlin: school classes, clubs and companies send one request and receive comparable offers.
More about him, his talks and his consulting for hostels is on his personal website.
Behind the scenes, for many years
What Valesca does in the network
Valesca Dolle-Koch has supported Alexander and Wolfgang for many years. She makes sure every meetup has a venue with enough seats, and that newcomers quickly get talking on the night.
Much of what she does isn't visible on the evening itself. Before a date appears on the website, she has often already spoken to several restaurants.
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Restaurants and seats
She looks for venues, talks to the hosts and clarifies how many seats there are and how the tables are arranged.
02
A welcome for newcomers
At the meetups she looks after new members. She introduces them to others and helps with the first conversations, so nobody is left standing on the sidelines.
Professionally she is responsible for seminars and e-learning at DIN Media GmbH. Before that she completed an apprenticeship in hotel operations and worked in hospitality for around 20 years. Welcoming guests and planning an evening for many people is what she knows from her job.
Together
Alexander Dolle-Koch takes care of organisation and the website, Wolfgang Gellert of the people at the table. That's how the two have shared the work since 2001. Valesca Dolle-Koch makes sure there's a table and that newcomers find their place at it.
All of this as volunteers, alongside their own businesses. In 2026 the Berliner Netzwerk turns 25.
25 years of Berliner Netzwerk
In 2001, two Berlin groups joined forces: the “Handwerker Stammtisch” and “Ausbildungspower”. The result was the Berliner Netzwerk. That was 25 years ago, and we're still here.
25 years sounds like a number on a certificate. In reality it's hundreds of evenings in restaurants, workshops and businesses across Berlin. Deals that came together between starter and dessert. Successors found at the next table. And quite a few people who are now friends because they once happened to sit opposite each other on a Tuesday evening.
That the network has lasted this long isn't our achievement. It belongs to everyone who kept coming back. Who offered a venue when there wasn't one. Who brought someone along because they thought: this person fits in here. Who recommended others without wanting anything in return. For that we want to say thank you, to every single one of you.
Berlin has changed thoroughly in these 25 years. Companies came and went, industries appeared and disappeared. What has stayed is the value of someone you know by first name and can trust when it matters. That's exactly what we're here for.
In 2026 we're celebrating: at the meetups, with guests, and with one evening that will be bigger than the others. We're looking forward to the years ahead and to everyone who comes along with us.
How to reach us
We answer ourselves. Email is fastest, and of course at the next meetup.
