4 startups events in Europe you should attend

In Startup Scene by Sébastien FluryLeave a Comment

Summer is almost over (hum… I’ve not seen if the was a Summer season this year, except that the business stopped from mid-July to mid-August!). It’s now time again to participate to startup competitions and attend big events. Europe is lively and I think there isn’t any inferiority complex anymore toward the US. There are actually probably too many events you could participate as a startup entrepreneur. The key is to attend the right ones, the ones which can bring something to your startup!

You’ll find here a little selection of relevant startup events you should consider attending this Fall!

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Pioneers Festival (Vienna, October 29-30th 2014)

This 2-days festival (with an extra additional day before, for investors only) is gathering year after year a great panel of speakers and investors in the city. Pioneers is inviting super smart speakers like Fred Destin (former Atlas Ventures, now Accel in London), Neil Patel (Kissmetrics, etc.) or Dave McClure (500 startups). There will be several startup competitions, where you can earn EUR 50’000.-, pitch to the most famous accelerators (Y Combinator, TechStars), etc. The deadline to apply is September 1st, have a look now. If you are a startup, you can also have a ticket to a really reasonable price (EUR 301.-).

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The Summit (Dublin, November 4-6th 2014)

The Summit, formerly named Web Summit, is now gathering around 20’000 during 3 days. This is one of the biggest (the biggest?) startup event in the world… It’s just… huge! I’ve been there the last 2 editions and had the chance to meet famous people like Mark Suster. And this year there will be superstars like Peter Thiel (PayPal, Facebook, etc.) or Drew Houston (Dropbox). There’s also a startup competition (called Alpha) where you can apply before September 1st, get a free booth (if you buy one ticket) or even be able to pitch on stage to the audience (if selected). Go have a look on the website. And book your seat now, prices increases Tuesday 26th at midnight. If you’d like to have a ticket… let me know!

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NOAH Conference (London, 13-14th of November 2014)

This is probably one of the most effective startup event you should attend in Europe. NOAH conference gathers around 2’500 CEO or top notch investors during 2 days in the center of London. The conference is invitation-only. And if you have a look on the speakers and who is attending… you’d do everything you can to be invited ! There will be keynotes and panels on everything related to web and mobile startup business: analytics, social media, B2B, online payment, advertising, gaming, e-commerce, etc. From leading tech companies from around the world. No startup competition but… you can consider each meeting as a pitch competition (you’ll meet almost only people with decision power)! Ask an invitation here!

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LeWeb (Paris, 8-10th of December 2014)

This event is probably the oldest and most famous startup event in Europe. Founded by serial entrepreneur Loic Lemeur, it’s an effective opportunity to meet a lot of startup people from around the world. Tech and investment superstars like Fred Wilson, Jeff Clavier, Jeremia Owyang or Om Malik will hold keynotes or participate to panels. There’s also a startup competition (apply before October 5th here).

What a choice of big startup conferences in such a short time (6 weeks)! As well as you’re probably not finding directly customers in such big startup conferences (well, it depends!), you should consider joining at least one if you have global ambitions. Startup events are one of the most effective way to have a chat with top notch investors, that you probably won’t have the opportunity to meet here in Switzerland. That doesn’t mean they are not considering Swiss startups (there are even well-known investors based here in Switzerland, but (almost) nobody knows it!). Just that we lack a really relevant and big internet startup event. Who’d be ready to change that with me?