Tech, Truth & Transparency: Who Controls Berlin's Tech Culture?
The Social Hub and Darrena Mamm are collaborating with Igor Ranc from Handpicked Berlin to bring you a different perspective on the local ecosystem. While the big corporate tech-week conferences are talking about what AI will do to business, we are gathering to talk about what the current economic climate is doing to human beings - and how we, as a community, choose to shape it.
Layoffs have shifted the power dynamic. Re-hiring is happening at a discount. AI is restructuring entire job categories overnight. And many of us feel like we no longer have the luxury to say "no."
And yet - Berlin is not just any tech city. This is a place built on lifestyle freedom, workers' rights, and the belief that a career should fit your life, not consume it. That culture is worth protecting. And right now, it's under pressure - from founders pushing 996 rhythms into local teams, from AI quietly rewriting what roles even exist, from salaries shifting in ways that aren't always visible until you're already in the room signing.
That's exactly the conversation we want to have. Now.
Igor Ranc's 2026 Salary Survey, drawn from 4,600 Berlin tech workers, gives us the data to start it honestly. We're using the numbers as a jumping-off point to talk openly about salary negotiation as a tool. Something we can all get better at. Something that, when we share what we know, actually shifts the dynamic back in our favor.
Because knowing how to negotiate isn't just a personal skill right now. It's how we collectively decide what Berlin tech looks like next.
Join us at The Social Hub on June 9th.
📋 What to Expect
📊 The Handpicked Berlin Data Drop - Igor walks us through the findings from his 2026 Salary Survey and what 4,600 Berlin tech workers are actually experiencing.
🐠 Collaborative Open Discussion - We discuss together, learn how to negotiate, dig into the data, and share what we know. What to negotiate, what to watch out for, what's actually working right now - from people in the room, for people in the room.
We'll get into the real mechanics: how to anchor a salary range so the floor becomes their ceiling, how to swap frozen cash budgets for untaxed Berlin perks that actually cover your cost of living - and how to shut down invasive recruiter questions.
This is for tech employees, founders, anyone considering a move into tech, and anyone who cares about AI and human rights - and wants to have a say in the direction Berlin takes from here.
Space is limited. Bring your unfiltered questions.