Tag: investors
Hundreds of hand-picked startups will compete for the big prize in...
Within less than a week, Sofia will host the biggest startup event in the world - the Founders Games, part of the agenda of Webit.Festival Europe 2019. Our team chose the top 200 among 4000 candidates from all over the world. They will all be able to compete for the big prize - an investment of up to €200 000.
But the price is just a small part of the opportunities the startups get with their participation in the festival. They will not only be able to present their work to 10 000 Webit visitors, but also impress over 500 potential investors.
The event strengthens the role of Sofia as a Digital Capital - a title that Forbes gave the city in 2016 after Webit.Festival. This year 27 of the major European cities are competing to host Webit. The winner will be announced during this year’s event on 14th and 15th of May.
In the latest edition of the Founders Games you can see a total of 9 startups coming to Sofia from the Silicon Valley. This is another indication that over the years Webit has succeeded in establishing itself and Bulgaria as a technological destination. Even companies that are created in the world’s center of investment are inclined to travel thousands of kilometers to be part of the event.
Webit provides its startups with event tickets, exhibition spaces and an unprecedented opportunity to show their business to top audiences.
Through the years, Founders Games became an investment platform for matchmaking hand-picked early-stage/post seed stage startups and Round A scaleups with investors, corporates and media.
Webit was among the first in the world (11 years ago) to start connecting the startup and the enterprise worlds. We were the first to provide grants (over €1 million yearly) to selected startups.
A total of 65% of all startups participating in the Founders Games through the years receive the necessary funding up to 6 month after Webit. At the same time the mortality rate is just 30%, compared to an average of 95% failures in the startup sector.
“I am proud of the fact that we are changing the image of Sofia and Bulgaria all over the world. So far, 9 Silicon Valley based startups (and 4000 from around the world) have applied for the Founders Games”, said the executive chairman of Webit.Foundation dr. Plamen Russev.
Webit.Foundation is more than just speaking, more than just judging. We wish to provide startups with the best tools to help them sell their idea with the encouragement and guidelines provided by our speakers.
Here you can see a full list of the confirmed speakers at Webit.Festival, while here you can get all the information you need about the tickets for the event.
Join the world’s biggest Startup Challenge – Founders Games
We believe that only by supporting the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and empowering the women in business and politics - we may improve the state of well-being globally.
Thus for the past 10 years Webit.Foundation is providing millions of Euros in grants to startups and innovators.
... and investors don't have to hide their badges to protect themselves from the wannabee millionaires' meaningless pitches :) ... but the opposite - the investors visit Webit's startups expo with top selected startups as they don't want to miss even a single opportunity to meet with the best European founders at Webit and invest!
We select and present 1500 of the best European startups out of over 4000 applications!
When was the last time you have pitched in front of such audience of investors, global business leaders and media from 111 countries?
... and investors don't have to hide their badges to protect themselves from the wannabee millionaires' meaningless pitches :) ... but the opposite - the investors visit Webit's startups expo with top selected startups as they don't want to miss even a single opportunity to meet with the best European founders at Webit and invest!
Investor/Enterprise leader?
Should you want to join the Webit's Founders Games sponsors and partners and have first access to the most innovative European companies in areas such as AI, Mobility, Health, Energy, Blockchain, Automation, Fintech... to name a few - contact Aniela Ruseva by fill in this form and the Webit team shall contact you shortly.
… a picture tells a thousand stories! Webit.Festival Europe 2018 was...
10'000 people from 111 countries visited the Webit City
Don't miss the 2019 edition. Book your ticket now
Webit.Festival Europe 2018 in numbers:
- 10'000+ ATTENDEES (7200 Webit.Festival participants and 3000 Webit.X visitors) - 231 EXHIBITORS - 422 SPEAKERS - 110 HOURS of conference agenda & amazing content - 75% C-level (executive) ATTENDANCE - 111 VISITING COUNTRIES - 150 of THE BEST EUROPEAN STARTUPS AND SCALEUPS - 1000+ POLICY MAKERS The European Tech, Digital Economy and Policy event for 2018 was a huge success!
The Innovate! Summit and the Plenary Session, chaired by the European Commissioner for Digital Agenda and Society Mariya Gabriel, hosted some of the worlds digital, tech and policy leaders gathered to re:Invent Europe's Future.
The Webit City has welcomed 10'000 global leaders and they all requested a residency :)
Here are just 5 quotes out of over 1000 interviews with the Webit City residents: "Unparalleled global business and policy networking at its highest level!" "The most amazing business event with a festival experience" "We basically do business here" "This is the only event where top EU policy makers and global business leaders exchange thoughts and share valuable discussions" “We got more investors visiting our expo booth compared to any other event we have been to”
200+ exhibitors at over 20'000 sq.m Webit City expo & business networking area
From global tech, health, fintech, cybersecurity, mobility, blockchain, entertainment, AI, cloud leaders to smart jet fighters - they all were at Webit.Festival Europe 2018 represented by their global or EMEA HQs. Also hosted national pavilions.
12 independent summits and over 50 meetups
421 speakers have created over 110 hours of conference agenda & amazing content within 12 independent summits.
Founders Games winner of 200'000 EUR cheque is BIOO from Portugal.
Cities 4.0 Summit, Digital Entertainment and Media Summit, Money Summit and Blockchain Summit
Webit Night Urban Summit
The Global Webit Awards Ceremony and The Chairman' Dinner by Dr. Russev
The World Famous Webit Party, powered by Playboy, Fashion TV and Dorcel
Webit.X - gathering and inspiring 3000 young future leaders
Missed the 2018 edition? Don’t miss the 2019! Book your ticket now at super earlybird rate
Webit Festival again will give 200 000 euro seed investment for...
Do you like playing games and winning? Founders games is about business though!
Founders games is a unique chance for a startup to win 200 000 euro seed investment. Webit Foundation receives thousands of applications for each Founders Games contest around the world at all Webit events in Europe, Asia, MIddle East…
Startups apply and if approved at first and second stage, they receive the opportunity to exhibit for free at a Startup village and pitch on one of the stages at Webit Festival.
Then after two days of live pitches the jury selects 5 among all pitching startups, that are around 200 normally. And these 5 go on the big stage and participate in the ceremony of Founders Games, where in front of our Final jury - a group of successful entrepreneurs, credible investors and inspiring business angels, they prove why their business is the one that should receive 200 000 euro seed investment.
The stirring competition at Webit Festival 2016 was won by AdGuard, a software for any device, blocking annoying ads, online tracking and protecting computer from malware. Check out the other finalists here.
At Webit Foundation we see great ideas appear every day. But we also know how hard it is to make someone believe and invest in your idea.
We also believe that it’s not only about investment but it’s more about real business opportunities that enterprises may provide because they need you. They need to innovate through collaboration with startups and this is what we do for them. We are not a startup event - they are so many and we are not - we have never been such. As international media call us, Webit is - the most friendly for startups ENTERPRISE event!
And we know it works - we have been called “crazy“ 7 years ago when we started to mix “white shirts” and T-shirt guys and girls that drink beer during the events. And yes, we were enough crazy to prove the case and now already it's a world well known mechanism for not only events but also for exchange of innovations.
Your company is eligible if you’re active in the following disciplines: Advertising, Biotech, Digital Commerce, Digital Entertainment, eLearning, Fintech, Games, Hardware, Health, Infrastructure, Money, Non-Profit, Social & dating, Travel, Xaas, Energy Efficiency, Space, Mobility, IoE.
If not among these maybe you tell us rising new category? Please share!
The 5 major milestones defining the finalists and the winner are: Team capacity, Project Scalability, Business approach, Marketing approach, Uniqueness of the idea.
If you get selected just book your stay in Sofia - digital capital of the new markets and it will be three days of fun in the city called among top 10 cities to live in Europe!
Every year the Webit Global series of events gathers one of the largest global communities of people inspired by technology and driving digital transformation in business and in the society. Uniting speakers, attendees, exhibitors and participants, we create a platform for dialogue between policy makers, enterprise and entrepreneurs.
Apply here and show us you’re the best! We bet you can!
***
About Webit.Festival 2017:
Webit.Festival is the European edition of the Webit Series of events, which will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria, 25-27 April, 2017. The festival consists of several parallel conferences and events, workshops, roundtables and exhibitions, startup village with selected from around the world startups.
The event is under the patronage of the Mayor of Sofia Mrs Yordanka Fandakova and supported by the European Commission. The agenda includes Tech Summit, Marketing and Innovation Summit, Developers Summit, Smart Cities Summit, New Economy Leader's Summit, Startup Village, Pitch stage and number of workshops and round table discussions, Night Urban Summit with 60 + meetups on different topics that will gather people to network by interest and explore Night Sofia! The agenda for the founders includes conferences, meetings with investors, academy for startups and special stage for them to pitch their companies in front of a jury of investors, journalists and leaders of Fortune 500 companies. Webit.Festival is the most influential event on the tech and digital industry in the region.
For all this information and even more, visit our website www.webit.bg .
Investors squad visiting sofia in April @WEBIT.FEST’16
FOUNDERS meet FUNDERS at WEBIT.FEST’16
This year WEBIT.FESTIVAL welcomes startups from more than 40 countries, pre-seed and post-seed and startups with series A and B of investments. All of them come to Sofia to take the challenge of Founders Games 2016.
Before we ring the bell of WEBIT.FESTIVAL on April 19th, you can still apply here by April 5th to join the competing startups at Founders Games’16.
Every idea is a million dollar-idea, depending on your targets, ambitions and mostly - hard work. Starbucks is just a coffee shop, Uber - just another way to travel in the city, Airbnb rents your mattress for a couple of nights, Amazon was an online book store, Spotify - another radio service, Facebook - an university messaging network, Twitter - a wall for 140 letters… Everything is just an idea, before you grow it to a successful business. Some great examples of the "fixed and growth mindsets" theory you can find in this piece of Brain Pickings and the article of Salman Khan The Learning Myth: Why I'll Never Tell My Son He's Smart . The difference between the two mindset concepts gives the organic meaning of an entrepreneur's mind state.
See the list of investors joining the Investors Day in Sofia Tech Park:
- Brian Norton from Ridge Road Partners, a VC fund that invests in private and public companies across developing and developed markets globally.
- Matthias Ummenhofer, Founding Partner of Mojo Capital manages the European Digital Opportunities Fund that integrates investments in European Venture Capital funds, secondaries, co-investments and direct investments in startups.
- Runa Capital’s Dmitry Chikhachev and Alexander Vidiborsky join the festival on April 19th. The fund provides early-stage funding for cloud computing services, hosted services, virtualization tools, complex software, and IT solutions for fintech, education, healthcare, and public services. The company is now on the run to raise $200 million for Runa Capital II, focusing on investments in USA, the European Union, Israel and Eastern Europe.
- Cem Sertoglu from EarlyBird Investments, a venture capital firm that invests across multiple stages, ranging from early-stage to expansionary and growth stages with investment sizes between €200k and €20M. The fund manages around US$1 billion, as the firm is one of the largest European venture and growth capital investors and the largest outside of the UK, with offices in Berlin, Munich and Istanbul. The VC's Healthcare Tech Fund is oriented towards funding innovative medical technology companies, while the Earlybird Digital East Fund is focused on providing early stage equity capital to high-potential technology companies in Turkey and Central & Eastern Europe. The key interest areas of the fund are Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software and Tech-Enabled Services.
- Ondrej Bartos is co-founder and partner at Credo Ventures. He seeks entrepreneurs in Central and Eastern Europe who have a vision that extends beyond our regional borders to create global companies.Credo’s team of investors focuses on early stage companies in CEE across the information technology, internet, mobile and healthcare markets. In April 2015, Credo’s second fund, Credo Stage 2, was founded while raising €34M in the first closing.
- Paul Dowling Co-founder & CEO of Dreamstake and Co-founder of HoxTech Angels, who is working with the 1,000 plus early-stage startups on the platform to obtain funding from VCs and angel investors.
- Gleb Davidyuk Managing Partner of iTech Capital, with a portfolio of equity injections up to US$10 million per deal in IT companies operating in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and USA. The average deal size is US$5 million.
- Maciek Sadowski Founder & CEO of Startup Hub Poland. He manages StartVenture@Poland - a seed fund for technological projects at the early stages of development, which invests up to €50K in one round. The fund operates in strategic partnership with Giza Polish Ventures – a Polish-Israeli venture capital fund.
- Bartek Gola Managing Partner, SpeedUp Group, which includes a number of venture funds investing in enterprises in an early stage of development (seed, pre-revenue, early growth). Depending on individual needs, potential for growth and project maturity, SpeedUp invests from $30K up to $2M.
- Alexander Turkot Founder and Managing Partner of Maxfield Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in global seed, early and growth stage technology companies. Maxfield Capital is currently considering investment opportunities in Europe, USA and Israel.
- Marcin Hejka is a vice president at Intel Capital and managing director for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Intel Corporation. He is responsible for leading Intel Capital’s investment activity in the region, which also encompasses Russia. Intel Capital has invested nearly US$11.6 billion in over 1,400 companies in 57 countries. The VC fund has 26 offices around the world. Countries include Belgium, Brazil, China, India,Germany, Ireland, Japan, Israel, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, UK, USA.
STARTUPS @WEBIT.FEST 2016 – Claim you Free Expo Table + Free...
Sofia Tech Park, 19-20th of April
Founders Games is WEBIT's programme for startups. The application is open till 31st of March and the opportunity is limited to 200 startups in 3 stages - early stage, post seed and growth and shall provide them an expo table and opportunity to pitch on stage.
How you may join and receive a free pass:
We are always happy to welcome quality startups, who challenge the global environment and, who are not afraid to compete.
Fill your APPLICATIONS at the following link by end of March:
Startups, accelerators and investors could send their request and questions to: yanita@eacad.eu
Our partners network is full of opportunities, so go ahead and check below the list of accelerating programmes, investment funds, mentoring and co-working resources available at WEBIT.FEST 2016.
Startupbootcamp is a global network of industry-focused startup accelerators that provides investment and mentorship services. With programs in Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Eindhoven, Istanbul, London, Barcelona and Singapore, since launching in 2010, Startupbootcamp has accelerated 241 startups of which 71% went on to receive funding.
The accelerator’s programs focus on many different verticals Smart Transportation & Energy, E-commerce, HighTechXL - Hardware Technology, FinTech - Financial Technology and Insurance, Internet of Things & Data, Digital Health.
Hub:raum Krakow offers startups with outstanding business ideas from CEE a comprehensive package of support which includes seed-funding, co-working space, mentoring and access to Deutsche Telekom assets, such as customer bases, technical service and workspace facilities.
This year hub:raum organizes two initiative: ChallengeUp! and WARP – you can see details below.
The verticals that fit within include: INTERNET OF THINGS, CYBER SECURITY, HEALTH CLOUD BASED BUSINESS SOLUTIONS, CUSTOMER ANALYTICS & BIG DATA, MOBILE PAYMENT & COMMERCE TV, VIDEO & MULTI SCREEN TELECOMMUNICATION & CONNECTIVITY.
At the moment you can apply to two programmes:
Challenge Up! - Internet of Things Accelerator with Intel and Cisco (2nd edition)
hub:raum Kraków WARP – 5th edition
ClujHUB coworking space and Startup Transilvania 
The Romanian ecosystem is vibrant place for founders these days with a few strategic startup hubs, the country’s map is getting more and more attractive for investors. Cluj-Napoca, the capital of Transilvania is the symbol of Romanian entrepreneurship spirit, strategically positioned close to five capitals in CEE: Belgrade, Budapest, Sofia, Kiev and Bucharest. The acceleration programmes provide mentoring, work-space and financing of young entrepreneurs.
betahaus | Sofia is a part of an international network with hubs in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and soon in Zurich, Lisbon and Barcelona. The first coworking space in Bulgaria is a fav place for shared work space and exciting networking events for freelancers and startup teams in Sofia - capital of Bulgaria and host city of WEBIT.FESTIVAL.
The Bulgarian information technology industry is one of the fastest growing industries in this country. According to European Information Technology Observatory (EITO), the Bulgarian IT industry has been enjoying at a two-digit rate, and there are no signs that this growth will slow down anytime soon. In addition to this, Bulgaria has the second fastest broadband in the world after South Korea. Bulgaria outcompetes other EU member states by offering the best of both worlds and offers low cost opportunities for both companies and individuals. Bulgaria’s flat tax rate of 10% is undoubtedly exceptional from a EU perspective. The country’s strategic location is a huge benefit for startups with global ambitions. Sofia is just an hour away by flight to Istanbul, Bucharest, two hours from Berlin, Paris and Barcelona, three hours to London and four to Dubai.
There are direct flight to Middle East through Dubai Airports, comfortable transfers to some of the busiest airports in the world - Ataturk in Istanbul and Dubai International Airport, Doha - where you can basically choose a flight to every part of Asia and Africa.
If you’re not convinced yet, that Bulgaria is the hottest place for building your company, come to WEBIT.FEST on 19th and 20th of April to see for yourself!
*The startup party is set for 20th of April’s night in betahaus | Sofia.
Innovation Nest is a seed/VC fund based in Krakow, which invests in early to Series A stage B2B technology companies with global focus. The investment range is from $25k up to $1M in startups across Europe and in collaboration with funds and angles from Europe and the US.
The recently launched acceleration program named Growth!, based at the newly opened Campus Warsaw main goal was to accelerate startups from Central Eastern Europe that sell their products to business customers and already generate revenue. If you are looking for fundraising from Innovation Nest, the right time will be: “between Seed and Series A funding, is one of the most tricky stages of startups’ growth. It seems things are going in the right direction, but in order to grow as expected, the founding team needs to move to another level – start scaling things that work and abandon things that don’t.”
Metavallon Greece is a model social enterprise that empowers and accelerates startups at the very early stages (€22.000 in pre-seed funding) in 4 month program.Through its three-stage program (Τhe Lab, The Accelerator, The Hub), Metavallon seeks to motivate talented individuals, expose them to experienced entrepreneurs, experts and investors, and provide them with the necessary resources to start their own high impact businesses. Its mission is to uplift the endeavors of active entrepreneurial spirits around the world and generate a powerful venturing movement in Greece and beyond.
Verticals of the startups include Fintech, B2B & Enterprise, Big Data & Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality, Internet of Things, SaaS & Cloud services, Telecommunications & Mobile, Energy & Cleantech, Health & Biotech, Science.
H-Farm is an accelerator that does Seed and Early Stage Venture Investments. It is an innovative platform set up in 2005 to help young entrepreneurs launch new initiatives and support the digitalisation of Italian companies. "H-FARM Investment" is the division dedicated to the startup investments through three complementary ways:
H-CAMP: Acceleration Program dedicated to Digital startups that operates in the “Made In Italy” sectors with a focus on B2B solutions where H-FARM has a word-class network. Each selected startup receives an investment in terms of Services (mentorship, workshops, tech partners, business network, demo day) and Cash.
H-FARM Venture Fund provides direct and indirect investments in early-stage Italian startups (on the fields of SaaS, consumer internet, and B2B services) and in early-stage European startups with global ambitions in the fields of SaaS and consumer internet.
WEBIT.FESTIVAL 2016 welcomes Maurizio Rossi, co-founder of H-FARM Ventures. Join his Investor Talk (webit.bg)
BuildIT Hardware is a young, Estonian accelerator focusing only on the business of building, selling, and investing in hardware
The accelerating program is a new 3 month long based in Estonia’s Tartu Science Park, plus a 1 month Seedcamp-style investor “roadshow” in the U.S., China and UK. Startups can apply from anywhere, though there is particular emphasis on Eastern Europe and Russia. Teams must have at least 2 members and preferably have (or be close to) a working prototype. In return for entering the program, Buildit invests €15,000 for 5-10% equity.
WHub.HK connects talent with startups and entrepreneurs with co-founders. As a profile-driven platform that showcases the team behind the startup, WHub lets startups share their company mission, products and current job openings. If you would like to get a job at a Hong Kong-based startup, Whub can help.
Startup founders could receive support to get into top accelerators and to raise millions of dollars in seed funding. Startup Next Hong Kong is a Techstars Community Program and is run in a collaboration with W Hub.
Application Deadline for 2016’s program is 22nd of March.
They has invested in companies such as Twitter, Tumblr, Flipboard, Quest Software, Jagex, Hootsuite.
Insight Venture Partners is active globally with portfolio-company investments in 65 countries on six continents.
At this year’s WEBIT.FESTIVAL you could meet Elodie Dupuy, who is Vice President at Insight Venture Partners based in NY. She pursues high growth internet , new media and SaaS companies in non-US markets, specifically Europe and Latin America. Investors Talks Day at WEBIT.FEST could be found at webit.bg.
Runa Capital is a global technology-focused venture capital
firm. It provides early-stage funding for cloud computing services, hosted services, virtualization tools, complex software, and IT solutions for fintech, education, healthcare, and public services. Runa Capital’s first fund, Runa Capital I, began with a $30 million initial commitment and reached $135 million by 2012. The company is now aiming to raise $200 million for Runa Capital II, focusing on investments in USA, European Union, Israel and Eastern Europe.
Most recently the firm opened offices in San Francisco's SOMA district with plans on doing more investment in North America, as well as to better support the existing investments it has already made in US companies.
Dmitry Chikhachev Co-founder and Managing Partner of the fund joins the speakers lineup at WEBIT.FEST this April. You can meet him during the Investors Talks (webit.bg).
EarlyBird is an international venture capital firm that invests across multiple stages, ranging from early-stage to expansionary and growth stages with investment sizes between €200k and €20M.
It manages around US$1 billion, as the firm is one of the largest European venture and growth capital investors and the largest outside of the UK, with offices in Berlin, Munich and Istanbul.
Earlybird looks for investment opportunities with European DNA but global ambitions. The Health Tech Fund is oriented towards funding innovative medical technology companies, while the Earlybird Digital East Fund is focused on providing early stage equity capital to high-potential technology companies in Turkey and Central & Eastern Europe. The key interest areas of the fund are Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software and Tech-Enabled Services.
Cem Sertoglu is an entrepreneur and venture capital investor, focused on technology ventures in Turkey and CEE. You are welcome to meet him at WEBIT.FEST 2016, during the Investors Talks (webit.bg).
Techstars METRO Accelerator opened its doors in October of 2015 and announced the first class of startups taking part in its programme. International teams from five countries moved into the offices of German Tech Entrepreneurship Center in Berlin. For three months, they benefited from the focused support of mentors as well as financial support to expand their business model internationally. The program supports Digital Transformation in restaurants, hotels and catering companies. The first class, consisting of eleven international startup teams, presented at Demo Day in Berlin on the 28th of January, 2016.
Each company participating is battling for up to €120,000 in investment capital and access to METRO’s resources, relationships, sales force, and a streamlined business development process to pour rocket-fuel on your innovative idea.
Rob Johnson is a serial entrepreneur and investor. He is currently the Managing Director for Techstars in Berlin, Germany. Rob is also joining the Investors talks at WEBIT.FESTIVAL, so you can meet him in person.
Credo Ventures seeks entrepreneurs in Central and Eastern Europe who have a vision that extends beyond our regional borders to create global companies. Credo’s team of investors focuses on early stage companies in CEE across the information technology, internet, mobile and healthcare markets. The inaugural fund, Credo Stage 1, has raised €18M. In April 2015, Credo’s second fund, Credo Stage 2, was founded while raising €34M in the first closing. Founded in 2009, Credo Ventures is based in Prague, Czech Republic.
Ondrej Bartos is co-founder and partner at Credo Ventures, as well speaker at WEBIT.FEST 2016. Join the Investors Talks (webit.bg).
SpeedUP Group is a leading group of venture funds, investing in enterprises in an early stage of development (seed, pre-revenue, early growth). Areas of our interest include enterprises and entrepreneurs in Central and Eastern Europe, who want to conquer the global market by utilizing their self-developed solutions. Depending on individual needs, potential for growth and project maturity, SpeedUp invests from $30K up to $2M.
To get into their scanning, your company should be from areas such as: consumer internet, hardware, Software, Mobile, Digital ICT, Life Science, Health Care, Clean Tech, e-Commerce, IoT, MarTech, FinTech.
Bartek Gola is the CEO & Managing Partner at SpeedUp Venture Capital Group. He is also joining the Investors talks at WEBIT.FESTIVAL’16, where you can meet and talk to him.
The Hub.hu is a new generation co-working environment that gives startups, enterpreneurs, freelancers, digital nomads, creatives, techies and micro-businesses the opportunity to work and collaborate in a creative, community focused atmosphere. In one of the most beautiful cities of Europe - Budapest, the startup culture of Hungary is emerging and vibrant. The success stories of Hungarian companies, such as Ustream, Prezi and LogMeIn are a big inspiration to the young local entrepreneurs and helped to attract investors attention.
iTech Capital was established in 2011 in Riga and today’s portfolio is comprised of equity injections up to US$10 million per deal in IT companies operating in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and USA. The Average deal size is US$5 million.
iTech global investment strategy lies in the following sectors:
- Online advertising technologies: online marketing platforms and tools for website promotion, context advertising and real-time bidding
- TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunications): software, software-on-demand solution providers, e-gaming and e-entertainment, IT outsourcing
- E-commerce, e-processing and e-banking, FinTech, BigData & Processing, OnlineTravel
- New Media: infoweb portals, social networks, e-advertising channels
At WEBIT.FEST’16 you could meet Gleb Davidyuk, who is Managing Partner of iTech Capital.
Speedinvest is an early stage seed and Series A fund based in Vienna, Austria. With funds of approx. EUR 100M and offices in Vienna and Silicon Valley it targets early stage companies out of Central Europe in the internet and mobile sector. Speedinvest is the biggest VC fund ever raised in Austria, as the fund is raised from more than 100 entrepreneurs and private investors.
Specifically, they aim to build a bridge between Europe and Silicon Valley. Their US team works as outsourced strategic and biz dev operations for their investments, with the goal of accelerating growth and maximizing valuation.
WEBIT.FESTIVAL 2016 welcomes Stefan Klestil, who is partner at Speedinvest. Stefan is responsible for FinTech investments across EMEA. Join his Investor Talk (webit.bg)
Seedinvest is an equity crowdfunding platform that connects startups with investors online. SeedInvest has focused on building liquidity in the platform by attracting high-net-worth individuals, family offices and venture capital firms. Currently the platform partners with Angel Investing website Gust.
Notable funding rounds on SeedInvest have included Atlas Wearables ($1.4M raised), Snapcard ($1.5M raised), Virtuix ($3M raised), Vengo Labs ($2M raised) and Knightscope($1.5M raised).
SeedInvest founders Ryan Feit and James Han were involved in consultation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in the United States Congress for the passing of the JOBS Act.
Ryan Feit is the CEO and Co-Founder of SeedInvest. Ryan was instrumental in the passage of the 2012 JOBS Act, which changed 80-year-old U.S. securities laws to make it possible for entrepreneurs to raise capital over the Internet. He is joining the stage of WEBIT.FEST 2016, as part of the Investors Talks Day (webit.bg).
Startupbootcamp is a global network of industry-focused startup accelerators that provides investment and mentorship services. With programs in Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Eindhoven, Istanbul, London, Barcelona and Singapore, since launching in 2010, Startupbootcamp has accelerated 241 startups of which 71% went on to receive funding.
The accelerator’s programs focus on many different verticals Smart Transportation & Energy, E-commerce, HighTechXL - Hardware Technology, FinTech - Financial Technology and Insurance, Internet of Things & Data, Digital Health.
Hub:raum Krakow offers startups with outstanding business ideas from CEE a comprehensive package of support which includes seed-funding, co-working space, mentoring and access to Deutsche Telekom assets, such as customer bases, technical service and workspace facilities.
This year hub:raum organizes two initiative: ChallengeUp! and WARP – you can see details below.
The verticals that fit within include: INTERNET OF THINGS, CYBER SECURITY, HEALTH CLOUD BASED BUSINESS SOLUTIONS, CUSTOMER ANALYTICS & BIG DATA, MOBILE PAYMENT & COMMERCE TV, VIDEO & MULTI SCREEN TELECOMMUNICATION & CONNECTIVITY.
At the moment you can apply to two programmes:
Challenge Up! - Internet of Things Accelerator with Intel and Cisco (2nd edition)
hub:raum Kraków WARP – 5th edition
ClujHUB coworking space and Startup Transilvania
The Romanian ecosystem is vibrant place for founders these days with a few strategic startup hubs, the country’s map is getting more and more attractive for investors. Cluj-Napoca, the capital of Transilvania is the symbol of Romanian entrepreneurship spirit, strategically positioned close to five capitals in CEE: Belgrade, Budapest, Sofia, Kiev and Bucharest. The acceleration programmes provide mentoring, work-space and financing of young entrepreneurs.
Seedcamp invests smart capital into pre-seed and seed stage startups. In 2014, they announced a €20million Seed fund, which enables investments up to €200,000 into rounds between €300,000 and €2M. As of September 2015, Seedcamp has a portfolio of 192 companies and is backed by over 30 institutional Venture Capital firms and angel investors. Participating VCs and advisors in Seedcamp's launch included Index Ventures, Atomico Investments, Atlas Venture, Balderton Capital, TAG, Forsyth Group and Brown Rudnick. The fund focuses on providing investment for startups looking to scale globally, rather than focusing on the initial hurdle of getting up-and-running.
Startup Poland is a grassroots organization created by Polish startup founders with the goal to help build better conditions for Polish startups by influencing policy-makers, educators, academics and media. Warsaw is one of the largest startup hubs in the CEE region. This was why Google launched their third European Campus in Warsaw, following Madrid and previously London in 2012. Poland has a few startup centres apart from its capital city, including Cracow, Poznan and Gdansk. Startup Poland hopes to highlight all those cities. The purpose of the Foundation Startup Poland is to create better conditions for the development of start-ups in Poland with local or international founders.
betahaus | Sofia is a part of an international network with hubs in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and soon in Zurich, Lisbon and Barcelona. The first coworking space in Bulgaria is a fav place for shared work space and exciting networking events for freelancers and startup teams in Sofia - capital of Bulgaria and host city of WEBIT.FESTIVAL.
The Bulgarian information technology industry is one of the fastest growing industries in this country. According to European Information Technology Observatory (EITO), the Bulgarian IT industry has been enjoying at a two-digit rate, and there are no signs that this growth will slow down anytime soon. In addition to this, Bulgaria has the second fastest broadband in the world after South Korea. Bulgaria outcompetes other EU member states by offering the best of both worlds and offers low cost opportunities for both companies and individuals. Bulgaria’s flat tax rate of 10% is undoubtedly exceptional from a EU perspective. The country’s strategic location is a huge benefit for startups with global ambitions. Sofia is just an hour away by flight to Istanbul, Bucharest, two hours from Berlin, Paris and Barcelona, three hours to London and four to Dubai.
There are direct flight to Middle East through Dubai Airports, comfortable transfers to some of the busiest airports in the world - Ataturk in Istanbul and Dubai International Airport, Doha - where you can basically choose a flight to every part of Asia and Africa.
If you’re not convinced yet, that Bulgaria is the hottest place for building your company, come to WEBIT.FEST on 19th and 20th of April to see for yourself!
*The startup party is set for 20th of April’s night in betahaus | Sofia.
betahaus | Berlin
Berlin is one of the best cities for startup founders in Europe, and at the same time cheaper than many of its European counterparts. According to the statistics a new start-up is founded every 20 minutes in Berlin and the industry is set to produce 100,000 new jobs by 2020.
If you need a space to work and spend nice time, you can find betahaus|Berlin in Kreuzberg - the fav place of creative minds in the city! Feel free to use the wifi, work, and meet people. Last November, officially was launched the betahaus|Academy: speciality courses in the fields of business & marketing, web & design, and crafts & DIY. If you’re “too cool cool for school”, join it! Everyone says, Sofia is the little sister of Berlin. The wall is down and Berlin meets Sofia at WEBIT.FEST'16...
Techhub is the global community for tech entrepreneurs. They work with over 600 companies around the world to help them scale.
TechHub members can work, meet, collaborate, learn and have fun at any of our locations under our global membership. Its network enables members to work smarter, develop faster and increase their chances of startup success. It has programmes and spaces in London, Madrid, Warsaw, Riga, Bucharest, Bangalore and Swansea where we help startups go global.
Reaktor is a place for Warsaw-based startups and freelancer to work, collaborate and network. The Polish market of 40 million residents seems big enough to scale a business even if you’re not looking to expand outside of the country. However, the situation get a different picture and the globally oriented business rise up in Warsaw, elevating the city up as one of the European startup-friendly capitals.
Reaktor was created in 2011 by a number of local startup founders in cool old-fashioned house to be the place where people and ideas collide and where disruption is born. Overnight, the house became an epicenter of the Warsaw startup community.
Startup Hub Poland is a non-profit foundation, which aims to facilitate technological development in the CEE region and increase its global presence as a place where disruptive technologies appear. Their financing arm, StartVenture@Poland is a seed fund for technological projects at the early stages of development, which invests up to €50.000 in one round. The fund operates in strategic partnership with Giza Polish Ventures – a Polish-Israeli venture capital fund and supported by the National Centre for Research and Development of Poland (NCBR). Visa and legislation support is available for founders outside the European zone.
The verticals of investment include Biotechnology in agriculture, Food processing, Innovative food distribution channel, Using information technologies to support the management of animal farms and plant nurseries, Automatics and robotics in agriculture, Biotechnology and Medical Devices New Materials and Nanotechnology, Big data , Artificial intelligence, natural language processing, algorithms, Knowledge management, Internet of Things, Mobile technologies in industrial applications, Corporate mobility.
WEBIT.FESTIVAL 2016 welcomes founder & CEO of Startup Hub Poland, Maciej Sadowski. Join his Investor Talk (webit.bg)
Innovation Nest is a seed/VC fund based in Krakow, which invests in early to Series A stage B2B technology companies with global focus. The investment range is from $25k up to $1M in startups across Europe and in collaboration with funds and angles from Europe and the US.
The recently launched acceleration program named Growth!, based at the newly opened Campus Warsaw main goal was to accelerate startups from Central Eastern Europe that sell their products to business customers and already generate revenue. If you are looking for fundraising from Innovation Nest, the right time will be: “between Seed and Series A funding, is one of the most tricky stages of startups’ growth. It seems things are going in the right direction, but in order to grow as expected, the founding team needs to move to another level – start scaling things that work and abandon things that don’t.”
Starters Hub Istanbul is a unique platform based in Istanbul serving EMENA and CIS regions, providing startups with extensive know-how and network, multi-stage funding, hands-on mentorship and an inspiring workplace. The hub is the regional arm of Startupbootcamp’s accelerating program with no geographical or vertical limitations.
For 3 months, 10 selected startups are being provided with funding and incubation space along with intense mentoring. At the end of the program, the founders join Demo Day to pitch their product.
Metavallon Greece is a model social enterprise that empowers and accelerates startups at the very early stages (€22.000 in pre-seed funding) in 4 month program.Through its three-stage program (Τhe Lab, The Accelerator, The Hub), Metavallon seeks to motivate talented individuals, expose them to experienced entrepreneurs, experts and investors, and provide them with the necessary resources to start their own high impact businesses. Its mission is to uplift the endeavors of active entrepreneurial spirits around the world and generate a powerful venturing movement in Greece and beyond.
Verticals of the startups include Fintech, B2B & Enterprise, Big Data & Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality, Internet of Things, SaaS & Cloud services, Telecommunications & Mobile, Energy & Cleantech, Health & Biotech, Science.
H-Farm is an accelerator that does Seed and Early Stage Venture Investments. It is an innovative platform set up in 2005 to help young entrepreneurs launch new initiatives and support the digitalisation of Italian companies. "H-FARM Investment" is the division dedicated to the startup investments through three complementary ways:
H-CAMP: Acceleration Program dedicated to Digital startups that operates in the “Made In Italy” sectors with a focus on B2B solutions where H-FARM has a word-class network. Each selected startup receives an investment in terms of Services (mentorship, workshops, tech partners, business network, demo day) and Cash.
H-FARM Venture Fund provides direct and indirect investments in early-stage Italian startups (on the fields of SaaS, consumer internet, and B2B services) and in early-stage European startups with global ambitions in the fields of SaaS and consumer internet.
WEBIT.FESTIVAL 2016 welcomes Maurizio Rossi, co-founder of H-FARM Ventures. Join his Investor Talk (webit.bg)
BuildIT Hardware is a young, Estonian accelerator focusing only on the business of building, selling, and investing in hardware
The accelerating program is a new 3 month long based in Estonia’s Tartu Science Park, plus a 1 month Seedcamp-style investor “roadshow” in the U.S., China and UK. Startups can apply from anywhere, though there is particular emphasis on Eastern Europe and Russia. Teams must have at least 2 members and preferably have (or be close to) a working prototype. In return for entering the program, Buildit invests €15,000 for 5-10% equity.
WHub.HK connects talent with startups and entrepreneurs with co-founders. As a profile-driven platform that showcases the team behind the startup, WHub lets startups share their company mission, products and current job openings. If you would like to get a job at a Hong Kong-based startup, Whub can help.
Startup founders could receive support to get into top accelerators and to raise millions of dollars in seed funding. Startup Next Hong Kong is a Techstars Community Program and is run in a collaboration with W Hub.
Application Deadline for 2016’s program is 22nd of March.
Mojo Capital manages the European Digital Opportunities Fund that integrates investments in European Venture Capital funds, secondaries, co-investments and direct investments in startups focused on digital opportunities.
They has invested in companies such as Twitter, Tumblr, Flipboard, Quest Software, Jagex, Hootsuite.
Insight Venture Partners is active globally with portfolio-company investments in 65 countries on six continents.
At this year’s WEBIT.FESTIVAL you could meet Elodie Dupuy, who is Vice President at Insight Venture Partners based in NY. She pursues high growth internet , new media and SaaS companies in non-US markets, specifically Europe and Latin America. Investors Talks Day at WEBIT.FEST could be found at webit.bg.
Starburst Accelerator provides seed funding from the top business angels and venture capital firms dedicated to Aerospace, Defense and Security as well as access to the largest aerospace group stakeholders to get your first 1M$ contract. The accelerator program offers startups an opportunity to showcase their business to leading corporations in the aerospace, aviation and defense industries. American sponsors for the Starburst USA program so far include: Boeing, Panasonic Avionics, Millennium Space Systems, Raytheon and Booz Allen.
The program provides also access to office space located in the center of Paris and Los Angeles.
You can meet Starburst’s founder Francois Chopard at WEBIT.FESTIVAL’16.
Runa Capital is a global technology-focused venture capital
firm. It provides early-stage funding for cloud computing services, hosted services, virtualization tools, complex software, and IT solutions for fintech, education, healthcare, and public services. Runa Capital’s first fund, Runa Capital I, began with a $30 million initial commitment and reached $135 million by 2012. The company is now aiming to raise $200 million for Runa Capital II, focusing on investments in USA, European Union, Israel and Eastern Europe.
Most recently the firm opened offices in San Francisco's SOMA district with plans on doing more investment in North America, as well as to better support the existing investments it has already made in US companies.
Dmitry Chikhachev Co-founder and Managing Partner of the fund joins the speakers lineup at WEBIT.FEST this April. You can meet him during the Investors Talks (webit.bg).
Intel Capital is a division of Intel Corporation, set up to manage Corporate venture capital, global investment, mergers and acquisitions. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of hardware, software, and services companies targeting computing and smart devices, cloud, datacenter, security, the Internet of Things, wearable and robotic technologies and semiconductor manufacturing.
Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested nearly US$11.6 billion in over 1,400 companies in 57 countries. The VC fund has 26 offices around the world. Countries include Belgium, Brazil, China, India,Germany, Ireland, Japan, Israel, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, UK, USA.
Marcin Hejka is a vice president at Intel Capital and managing director for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Intel Corporation. He is responsible for leading Intel Capital's investment activity in the region, which also encompasses Russia.
You are welcome to meet him at WEBIT.FEST 2016, during the Investors Talks (webit.bg).
EarlyBird is an international venture capital firm that invests across multiple stages, ranging from early-stage to expansionary and growth stages with investment sizes between €200k and €20M.
It manages around US$1 billion, as the firm is one of the largest European venture and growth capital investors and the largest outside of the UK, with offices in Berlin, Munich and Istanbul.
Earlybird looks for investment opportunities with European DNA but global ambitions. The Health Tech Fund is oriented towards funding innovative medical technology companies, while the Earlybird Digital East Fund is focused on providing early stage equity capital to high-potential technology companies in Turkey and Central & Eastern Europe. The key interest areas of the fund are Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software and Tech-Enabled Services.
Cem Sertoglu is an entrepreneur and venture capital investor, focused on technology ventures in Turkey and CEE. You are welcome to meet him at WEBIT.FEST 2016, during the Investors Talks (webit.bg).
Techstars METRO Accelerator opened its doors in October of 2015 and announced the first class of startups taking part in its programme. International teams from five countries moved into the offices of German Tech Entrepreneurship Center in Berlin. For three months, they benefited from the focused support of mentors as well as financial support to expand their business model internationally. The program supports Digital Transformation in restaurants, hotels and catering companies. The first class, consisting of eleven international startup teams, presented at Demo Day in Berlin on the 28th of January, 2016.
Each company participating is battling for up to €120,000 in investment capital and access to METRO’s resources, relationships, sales force, and a streamlined business development process to pour rocket-fuel on your innovative idea.
Rob Johnson is a serial entrepreneur and investor. He is currently the Managing Director for Techstars in Berlin, Germany. Rob is also joining the Investors talks at WEBIT.FESTIVAL, so you can meet him in person.
Credo Ventures seeks entrepreneurs in Central and Eastern Europe who have a vision that extends beyond our regional borders to create global companies. Credo’s team of investors focuses on early stage companies in CEE across the information technology, internet, mobile and healthcare markets. The inaugural fund, Credo Stage 1, has raised €18M. In April 2015, Credo’s second fund, Credo Stage 2, was founded while raising €34M in the first closing. Founded in 2009, Credo Ventures is based in Prague, Czech Republic.
Ondrej Bartos is co-founder and partner at Credo Ventures, as well speaker at WEBIT.FEST 2016. Join the Investors Talks (webit.bg).
SpeedUP Group is a leading group of venture funds, investing in enterprises in an early stage of development (seed, pre-revenue, early growth). Areas of our interest include enterprises and entrepreneurs in Central and Eastern Europe, who want to conquer the global market by utilizing their self-developed solutions. Depending on individual needs, potential for growth and project maturity, SpeedUp invests from $30K up to $2M.
To get into their scanning, your company should be from areas such as: consumer internet, hardware, Software, Mobile, Digital ICT, Life Science, Health Care, Clean Tech, e-Commerce, IoT, MarTech, FinTech.
Bartek Gola is the CEO & Managing Partner at SpeedUp Venture Capital Group. He is also joining the Investors talks at WEBIT.FESTIVAL’16, where you can meet and talk to him.
The Hub.hu is a new generation co-working environment that gives startups, enterpreneurs, freelancers, digital nomads, creatives, techies and micro-businesses the opportunity to work and collaborate in a creative, community focused atmosphere. In one of the most beautiful cities of Europe - Budapest, the startup culture of Hungary is emerging and vibrant. The success stories of Hungarian companies, such as Ustream, Prezi and LogMeIn are a big inspiration to the young local entrepreneurs and helped to attract investors attention.
iTech Capital was established in 2011 in Riga and today’s portfolio is comprised of equity injections up to US$10 million per deal in IT companies operating in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and USA. The Average deal size is US$5 million.
iTech global investment strategy lies in the following sectors:
- Online advertising technologies: online marketing platforms and tools for website promotion, context advertising and real-time bidding
- TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunications): software, software-on-demand solution providers, e-gaming and e-entertainment, IT outsourcing
- E-commerce, e-processing and e-banking, FinTech, BigData & Processing, OnlineTravel
- New Media: infoweb portals, social networks, e-advertising channels
At WEBIT.FEST’16 you could meet Gleb Davidyuk, who is Managing Partner of iTech Capital.
Speedinvest is an early stage seed and Series A fund based in Vienna, Austria. With funds of approx. EUR 100M and offices in Vienna and Silicon Valley it targets early stage companies out of Central Europe in the internet and mobile sector. Speedinvest is the biggest VC fund ever raised in Austria, as the fund is raised from more than 100 entrepreneurs and private investors.
Specifically, they aim to build a bridge between Europe and Silicon Valley. Their US team works as outsourced strategic and biz dev operations for their investments, with the goal of accelerating growth and maximizing valuation.
WEBIT.FESTIVAL 2016 welcomes Stefan Klestil, who is partner at Speedinvest. Stefan is responsible for FinTech investments across EMEA. Join his Investor Talk (webit.bg)
Seedinvest is an equity crowdfunding platform that connects startups with investors online. SeedInvest has focused on building liquidity in the platform by attracting high-net-worth individuals, family offices and venture capital firms. Currently the platform partners with Angel Investing website Gust.
Notable funding rounds on SeedInvest have included Atlas Wearables ($1.4M raised), Snapcard ($1.5M raised), Virtuix ($3M raised), Vengo Labs ($2M raised) and Knightscope($1.5M raised).
SeedInvest founders Ryan Feit and James Han were involved in consultation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in the United States Congress for the passing of the JOBS Act.
Ryan Feit is the CEO and Co-Founder of SeedInvest. Ryan was instrumental in the passage of the 2012 JOBS Act, which changed 80-year-old U.S. securities laws to make it possible for entrepreneurs to raise capital over the Internet. He is joining the stage of WEBIT.FEST 2016, as part of the Investors Talks Day (webit.bg).