Head in the Cloud 2026

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Last Friday I got to open the Head in the Cloud summit by mittwald in Espelkamp. And honestly, I’m still wondering a little how that happened. ;)

Marc Thiele stands on stage at Head in the Cloud in Espelkamp, wearing a yellow t-shirt and headset microphone, gesturing as he speaks. Behind him, a large screen shows a close-up of Josh Brewer passionately playing a quitar. A beige sofa with small plants and picture frames sits at the front of the stage, with audience members visible in the foreground.
Photo by Thorsten Jonas

It started out completely normal: I applied through the call for papers, just like everyone else. The planned talk then turned into an opening keynote over the course of a conversation. And that keynote was about exactly this: the value of independent community events. About what happens when people meet away from their monitors. And about the fact that you can’t build or order a community. The most you can do is create the space in which one is allowed to form.

Well, and then exactly that happened and where mittwald seem to have done a good job over the last two years for their event already.

The weather played along as if someone had booked it. I mean, it was a little too hot maybe, but we had bright sunshine over the mittwald campus, the stages out in the open air, cold drinks, good food and people getting into conversation everywhere. We had a series of pools spread out to use a piece of cloth we got in the morning to soak it up with cold water and cool ourselves. The setting could hardly have fit better with what I wanted to say on stage.

The lovely thing – and, okay, the slightly funny thing too – is this: I stood on the stage of a company event and talked about how good events aren’t about reach, funnels or selling, but about attitude. About opening a space and being curious. And while I was saying it, I had long since noticed that the people at mittwald had done exactly that.

Nobody told me what to say. Nobody asked to see my slides beforehand. Nobody asked whether I couldn’t mention a product or two. And that is what I mean by independence! Not a question of legal form, but a question of attitude. mittwald is a company, Head in the Cloud is a company event. And still, this space was committed to the content and to the people onsite.

Group photo on stage at Head in the Cloud in Espelkamp. A large group of speakers and organisers stand together, smiling and chatting, in front of a backdrop showing portraits and names of the event’s speakers. The audience is visible in the foreground, watching from their seats. A 'mittwald' banner stands to the right of the stage.
Photo by Thorsten Jonas

What made me happiest was the thing I called the “real programme” in my talk: the conversations in the breaks. At the tables. In front of the stages. The conversation that starts over coffee and still isn’t finished at dinner. That’s exactly what happened and you can’t plan it. You can only make sure it’s allowed to happen.

Thank you to the whole team at mittwald, who put so much care and attention to detail into creating a place where exactly that was possible. You proved my talk, whether you meant to or not. ;)

And to everyone still wondering whether to go to an event like this, mine or anyone else’s: stop wondering and grab your ticket. The community that shows up for these events is the community that keeps them alive. Especially now, when things are anything but easy for so many events that are made with real heart.

Outdoor evening scene at the Head in the Cloud event in Espelkamp. A large open-sided tent strung with warm fairy lights shelters a casual chill-out area with wooden bar furniture, folding chairs and a parasol. Small groups of attendees sit and stand around, chatting and having drinks, with a dusk sky and trees in the background.