In a world full of relationships like startup ecosystems, attending events is fundamental in order to build connections with professionals.
That’s why we want to show you 7 great events that can help you to make your brand known and meet investors.
If you are a beginner, this is the best way to improve your knowledge and learn many things from industry leaders.
Most of this events take place in wonderful cities, so it’s a chance to travel and to unwind for a couple of days.
- EU – Startups Summit
- Launch Festival
- Startup Fest
- WebSummit
- SLUSH
- The Next Web Conference
- Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
EU – Startups Summit
The Eu-Startups Summit is the greatest event in Europe for startuppers. It was established in 2014 by an online magazine – eu-startups.com – and in these years has visited three cities.
The first event was in Munich, then they moved to Berlin and in the last two events the setting was in Barcelona.
The main topic of the Summit is to connect startuppers from all over Europe, especially those dealing with technology.
So, if you are an European tech entrepreneur and you are searching for someone who can help you, this event is perfect.
With more than 1,200 exhibitors, the 2019 edition hosted some of the greatest tech entrepreneurs in Europe, like Kaidi Ruusalepp and Avi Meir.
Launch Festival
Launch Festival is another great event for entrepreneurs and innovators.
Organized by the angel investor and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, in the past used to be in San Francisco, while from 2018 it has been set in Sidney.
As Calacanis said, the mission of Launch Festival is to support founders and inspire innovations.
The Festival helps them to find accelerators and investors, and giving them business education.
During this event there are a lot of initiatives, like a two-day course for startups with product in market before A Series. And also there is a one-day course for angel investors or those who want to be.
Moreover, you can find a two-day tactical talk on how to grow your company and raise money for founders.
Startup Fest
The Startup Fest is one of the biggest events in North America, and probably the biggest in Canada.
It takes place in Montreal, usually in July, and connects many entrepreneurs from all over the world.
The goal of the organizers is to create an environment that encourages people to look away from their screens and make real-time connections.
In the festival there are more than 30 tents, ranging from themed sectors, to demo spaces, pitch competitions and geographic divisions.
This organization allows to generate good relations in an informal atmosphere; also because you can discuss with speakers face-to-face in the tents, instead of listening to them on a stage.
WebSummit
It could seem a little bit different than the other events in this article, but if you are a tech startupper, you cannot miss WebSummit.
When it started, the Summit was set in Dublin, but in 2016 it moved permanently to Lisbon, where it is organized every November.
It has great reviews. For example, Forbes considers it as “the best technology conference on the planet“; and The Atlantic says that WebSummit is “where the future goes to be born“.
In these years WebSummit has reached more than 11,000 CEO of companies and more than 70,000 attendees from 170 countries.
SLUSH
SLUSH is probably the most important event for startups in East Asia.
Starting from a 300-person assembly in Helsinki, SLUSH moved to Tokyo in 2015, reaching 6000 attendees in 2019.
The intention is to create a global startup event in a unique way that is open to everybody, even to those who are simply curious about startup.
The main goal is to facilitate founder-investor meetings and to build a world-wide startup community while inspiring others to have an enterpreneurial mindset.
Usually organised in February, it is divided into many stages.
In the Main Stage you can listen to stories of startup’s founders and entrepreneurs; Dialogue Stage is where you can learn professional skills and do something in your own style; in Slush Café you can participate in a session of Q&A with speakers; in Pitch Stage you can find something to grow up.
The Next Web Conference
The Next Web Conference is a reference for every startupper.
It started in Amsterdam in 2006 and the goal was to bring insight and meaning to the world of technology.
This startup event has the intent of informing people through remarkable stories and insights.
During the years the conference became more and more important and many media talked about it.
For example, CNBC defined it as “the most intimate technlogy festival on the planet“.
And Vice said that it is “both terrifyngly interesting and interestingly terrifying“.
Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is one of the most complete events in the world for startuppers. It is set in Las Vegas and it usually takes place in January.
From 1967 this event calls more than a hundred thousand participants and it covers every technology sector; it ranges from digital marketing to 3D printing and robotics.
In the last event there were more than 4.400 exhibiting companies and 250 conference sessions, distributed over the 4 days of the event.
With 11 official venues, CES spans more than 2.9 million net square feet of exhibit space and features 33 product categories and 24 Marketplaces.
It’s the house of costumer technology innovation and the most influential tech event on the planet.
There is also a stage dedicated specifically for startuppers and it is called Eureka Park.
If you are searching for investors, you can find them in this park. You can also meet other successful startuppers sharing their stories.
Since 2012, startups at Eureka Park raised 1.5 billion dollars in funds.
At least it is in Las Vegas, a city that you have to visit once in your life.
