Startup Fest Europe

Startup Fest Europe is a nation wide festival of events that help startups grow faster by bringing together founders, investors, business leaders and developers around specific themes (or verticals). These week long match making activities are a joint effort of startup hubs in the cities of Amsterdam, Arnhem, Delft, Brainport Eindhoven, Den Haag, Enschede, Leeuwarden, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Wageningen.

Our pitch
From 24-28 May 2016 The Netherlands will be the place where every startup in the world wants to be. It is a four day marathon of matchmaking between startups, investors, developers and corporates. Fourteen regional innovation hubs will host world class events on specialized topics.

Background
In the first half of 2016 The Netherlands holds the presidency of the European Union. Startup Fest Europe is a great way to show the world that the West Coast of Europe is a hot bed for startups and innovation. We will do this with inspirational speakers, mind blowing demos and a great opportunity to make deals, deals and deals.

The regional innovation hubs of the Netherlands will host world class events on specialized topics such as Agri & Food, Fin Tech, High Tech, Water Tech, Energy, Health Tech, Hard Science, Web / Mobile and Smart Cities.

It’s all about helping startups raise money, attract talent and connect with peers, founders, leading scientists, venture capitalists, corporates and policy makers. Read more in our FAQ.

Raise money
With the help of our partners we will invite top investors and business leaders from Silicon Valley and other parts of the world. We will connect them with the regional Tech Hub events that match their interest and portfolio.

Connect with corporates
Big companies know that disruption nowadays can come from everywhere. Through corporate venturing and “acq-hiring”, working with startups proves to be the new way forward. Startup Fest can act as the ultimate “date night” for startups and corporates.

Attract co-founders, creatives and developers
During Startup Fest we will welcome all international guests with open arms.
This will be the perfect excuse for international talent to discover The Netherlands, and perhaps stick around:
– fast laning at our renowned museums & modern cultural institutions;
– experience our diverse, explorative and open-minded culture
– participate in hackathons, LAN parties and so on;
– visit the epic dance party on the final day

Startup & Dance!
Imagine 10,000 startups, VCs, coders, corporates and students… dancing to the music of the best deejays in the world! This will be the ultimate celebration of the results at the end of this European Startup Festival.

About this initiative
Startup Fest was initiated by Startup Delta after consultations in early 2015 with leaders of the Dutch startup eco system. Constantijn van Oranje chaired these consultations and invited 75 leaders of the Dutch startup community to voice their views on how to create a true “West Coast of Europe” and bring international VCs and startups to the Netherlands.

The consulted leaders were virtually unanimous in their conclusion that the Dutch Startup Ecosystem would benefit greatly from organizing a European startup event. One that would be high in quality and would not only focus on the web, but also on the fields of expertise in which the Netherlands excels – such as food and agriculture, health, energy, high tech and water. An event that would facilitate world wide matchmaking between funds, startups, talent and centers of excellence. These ingredients are the core of Startup Fest 2016. If you are curious to read even more, then our FAQ is made especially for you.