Welcome back to the second part of our blog series about funding your own startup. The first article outlined 7 simple steps about how to bring your startup company to success. If you have not read it yet, we recommend you catch up on that because it contains important advices about the first steps of your business.
If you followed all of these steps (in your own tempo and style of course), you have founded your business and sold your first products/services by now. You might not have broken even yet, but it is important that you have now put in place a clear concept and an already operating company in your back when you want to proceed in the startup game.
Now is the time when you should join the startup community. As you may already know due to your (past) management positions – connecting with other business people in your industry is beneficial and can open valuable opportunities than marketing could ever do. Of course, not every startup operates in the same industry. But they have one thing in common – the willingness to innovate and bring valuable products/services into the market. You all want to make the world a better place because that is what your target groups demand.
Having the same vision and knowing how hard it can be for startups to succeed in the free economy, the startup community has a special sense of solidarity. How to become part of that unique group? Well, the places to join are the startup summits. In this article, we would like to introduce the top 5 worldwide startup summits you should visit in 2020.
1
Startup Summit Europe: EU-Startups Summit
As we are located in Germany, the European startup scene has a special place in our hearts. Several startup expos exist in almost all countries of Europe – especially the German community grows significantly. But there is only one expo that unites all countries: The EU-Startups Summit. On May 28-29 the annual summit will take place in sunny Barcelona. It represents the flagship event of the leading online publication EU-Startups.com and brings together entrepreneurs across different industries.
This year, they expect over 1500 startup founders, corporates, media people and investors. They will get the opportunity to connect during workshop events, panel discussions, keynotes and after-parties. There will also be a pitch competition with a price worth €7,500. Two successful founders are already announced as speakers for this year: Vasco Pedro (CEO of Unbabel) and Oscar Pierre (CEO of Glovo). Be quick to secure your ticket now!
2
Startup Summit USA: Startupgrind Silicon Valley
Coming from the EU to the heart of tech companies: Silicon Valley. Startupgrind is one of the most successful startup expos in the US and is presented in partnership with Google for Startups. Visitors from over 125 countries, 2 million entrepreneurs, and inspiring speakers – the global conference of Startupgrind has it all. Andrw Dudum (Founder of hims & hers), Scott Belsky (Chief Product Officer at Adobe) and Chris Urmson (Co-founder of Aurora) are only three of the speakers they already announced.
If you want to be inspired, meet the biggest leaders in the startup area and connect with potential investors, you should be fast to book your tickets. The startup summit takes place in February 11-12, 2020. However, we suggest visiting the expo only if your brand is already established. In all other cases, this expo might be somehow too big for you.
3
Startup Summit Canada: Startupfest Montreal
Staying in North America, the next upcoming startup summit is the Startupfest in Montreal. Known as “startup festival”, this expo puts special value on creating a unique experience that connects all participants on a deeper level – which is a perfect base for business relationships. Eight stages with inspiring speakers, special corporate innovation zones, mentor lounges, demo spaces and investor zones are especially designed for you – ambitious entrepreneurs that want to learn and grow together.
Prizes and investments are the expo’s core value. Accelerator/incubator programs are waiting in the Accelerator Lounge to meet innovative and outstanding startups. There will be more pitching opportunities than you can count and up to $1,000,000 in prizes and investments are available. If you want to give your best here – you should be ready to rumble in July 14-18 in Montreal.
4
Startup Summit Asia: Echelon Singapore
The Echelon summit in Singapore brings together the best startups, corporates and investors in the APAC region. In May 14-15, you get the chance to connect with investors, other startup founders and tech experts. Meet them at the exhibition zones, lounges or during facilitated business matching activities. There will be over 200 exhibiting companies hustling for investment and customers, so it will be easy for you to build strategic relationships. Or – if your company is ready for that – why don’t you exhibit yourself?
There will be 3 stages at Echelon: the founder stage, where top Asian founders share their origin stories, future strategies and advices, the future stage, where entrepreneurs discuss trends in 2020 and beyond and the corporate stage, on which leaders explain why every corporate needs to build their own innovation ecosystem.
The Echelon app directly connects participants and schedules meetings with conference speakers or exhibitors during the event. You can just lay back and appreciate the expo without minding organization. Yet don’t forget to reserve your ticket soon!
5
Startup Summit Australia: Startcon Sydney
If you are operating in the Australian area, StartCon in Sydney is the right startup summit for you. StartCon’s audience consists of SMEs, Founders/Entrepreneurs, Developers, Business & Marketing professionals and investors. Last year, 4000 attendees, more than 55 speakers, 160 exhibitors and around 750 startups connected and found strategic partnerships to succeed together in 2020.
Some of the encouraging speakers have been Camilla Cooke (Co-founder at Xinja), Daniel Gulati (Managing Director at Comcast Ventures) and Brenda Saveluc (Founder of Black Gold Legal). From digital influencers to VR pioneers and sustainable business – all speakers have their own area of expertise. Besides keynotes and panel discussions, you will get the chance to join the community of entrepreneurs during lunch and evening events.
If that is not enough, the most attractive thing is probably the chance to get $1 Million extra investment for your business. Startcon organizes several pitching rounds during these two days, where you can pitch your startup in five minutes. The best entrepreneurs will gain a life-changing win.
Concrete plans for this year are not announced yet, but we expect you will get your chance in November. Stay tuned for more news to come on their website!
These have been the top 5 startup summits 2020 – we hope that some of them are taking place in your area. As experts in hosting summits, we can only give you the advice to take the chance and raise your startup to a new level. You won’t regret it.
Of course we would also be happy to invite you to the Global Female Leaders summit 2020. The economic forum & network for female executives will take place in May 11-12 and we are looking forward to more than 50 world-class speakers, 300 selected participants, 30 engaging sessions and 30 hours of networking. See you there!
