Day 32: An Elevator Pitch, Literally
After a start-up evening in an office tower in Hamburg, Dominik (B), a young founder, steps into the lift on the twelfth floor and finds himself alone with Karsten Ohlsen (A), a well-known investor.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Sie sind doch der mit den Kleingärten, oder? Bis zum Erdgeschoss haben Sie vierzig Sekunden, legen Sie los.
You're the one with the allotments, aren't you? You've got forty seconds to the ground floor, fire away.
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B
Unsere von zweihundert Hamburger Kleingärtnern getestete App vermittelt ungenutzte Beete an Leute von der Warteliste.
Our app, tested by two hundred Hamburg allotment holders, matches unused beds with people on the waiting list.
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A
Zehnter Stock. Und Ihr Geschäftsmodell, bei einer Kundschaft, die sogar das Regenwasser in Tonnen sammelt?
Tenth floor. And your business model, with customers who even collect their rainwater in water butts?
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B
Fünf Euro pro Beet und Monat, und von der Stadt haben wir schon eine Anschubfinanzierung zugesagt bekommen.
Five euros per bed per month, and we've already been promised start-up funding by the city.
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A
Siebter Stock, und zugesagt ist nicht überwiesen. Außerdem entscheidet im Kleingartenverein der Vorstand, wer auf eine Parzelle darf, und nicht Ihre App.
Seventh floor, and promised isn't paid. Besides, in an allotment association it's the committee that decides who gets onto a plot, not your app.
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B
Deshalb haben wir den Vorstand in Barmbek gleich mit ins Boot geholt. Der von mir persönlich bekehrte Vorsitzende nutzt die App inzwischen selbst.
That's why we brought the committee in Barmbek on board straight away. The chairman, whom I converted personally, now uses the app himself.
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A
Vierter Stock. Ein Verein, fünf Euro und eine bloß zugesagte Förderung: Das skaliert nicht, das ist ein Hobby mit Impressum.
Fourth floor. One association, five euros and funding that's merely been promised: that doesn't scale, that's a hobby with a legal notice.
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B
Also keine Finanzierung, verstanden. Dann danke ich Ihnen für die ehrlichsten vierzig Sekunden meiner Gründerkarriere.
So no funding, I see. Then thank you for the most honest forty seconds of my career as a founder.
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A
Erdgeschoss. Hier ist meine Karte, nicht für die App, sondern für Sie: Wer einen Kleingartenvorstand herumkriegt, den brauche ich im Vertrieb.
Ground floor. Here's my card, not for the app but for you: anyone who can win over an allotment committee is someone I need in sales.
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