Access to Innovation
Access to Capital
Access to Talent
Access to Market
Access to Knowledge
Startup Fest
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
Background
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, 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.
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, water, energy, high tech and logistics. 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
