Editor’s note: This is a sponsored article, which means it’s independently written by our editorial team but financially supported by another organisation, in this case, Startup Olé. If you would like to learn more about sponsored posts on tech.eu, read this and contact us if you’re interested in partnering with us.
The spring conference season is upon us, and we have an excellent recommendation of an event that gathers an impressive group of entrepreneurs and investors in a warm and inspiring location.
Enter Startup Olé 2019 — a conference that will take place in Salamanca (Spain) on March 26–28. The organisers expect to see more than 30,000 attendees from 120 countries this year, including over 850 startups, scaleups, and spin-offs; 500 speakers; 250 corporates and investors with a combined investment portfolio of over €50 billion.
The mission of Startup Olé is to connect entrepreneurs from startups of all sizes and types with investors, corporates, public institutions, embassies, accelerators, universities, and media. The event is supported by the European Commission-Startup Europe, the Central American Integration System (SICA), the Ibero-American Secretary (SEGIB), Salamanca City Council, and the University of Salamanca. More than 300 volunteers from the university help every year to make the event unforgettable for the participants.
“The 2019 edition brings important innovations such as the support of verticals like blockchain, mobility, auto-tech, and shared economy,” the organisers stated. “We will also celebrate a forum of entrepreneurial women and the other novelty will be the organization of exclusive activities for investors, corporates, public administrations, embassies, accelerators, universities, etc., in which they will be able to develop common strategies to support the entrepreneurship and the generation of wealth and employment.”
Unlike many other events of a similar size in Europe, Startup Ole is completely free to attend, so don't miss your chance to participate and get your tickets today.
Speakers
This year, Startup Ole has prepared an exciting line-up of speakers representing startups, the public sector, VCs, and much more. Here are a few highlights to give you a taste of who will be coming to speak on stage.
Isidro Laso, Head of Startups Europe Sector at the European Commission. An entrepreneur and engineer turned a commissioner, Isidro's goal is to share views on policy measures to strengthen the environment for web entrepreneurs in Europe; to learn new ways of policy making better adapted to an era of extremely rapid change that characterise the web startups; and to access international knowledge and best practices related to policies for web startups.
Emily Bogen is the policy coordinator at European Startup Network, a project that unifies national startup associations across the EU. Emily has researched, drafted, and presented a number of policy papers to the highest levels of the EC leadership and has made a significant contribution in empowering the European startup ecosystems.
Antonio Gomez, new venture lead at Johnson & Johnson, is a medicinal chemist by training with experience in IT applied to science and in the management of open innovation for the pharmaceutical industry.
Startup pitches
Same as last year, Startup Ole 2019 will host a pitch competition for startups with a wide range of prizes and awards. Not all of them have been announced yet, but we can already say that they will include €2,000 worth of accounting and payroll services for a year by KPMG - Impulsa.
With the application deadline on March 5, startups only have a week to sign up for a chance to participate in the event, so don't take too long to fill that form out.
Exciting numbers
In addition to everything mentioned above, Startup Ole is the conference where a new report by tech.eu will be unveiled. Entitled “Building, Growing, Connecting: the European Tech Investment Landscape in 2018 and Beyond,” the report looks at the main tech trends across Europe that manifested last year and provides data for informed decision-making for the ecosystem players. The report will be available as a free download in our shop.
“As this report is released, the European Tech community assembles for Startup Olé in Salamanca at a unique time for Europe,” wrote Natalie Novick, research lead at tech.eu. “The 2019 edition meets on the eve of Brexit, but as you will see in this report, the enthusiasm in Europe’s tech community has not dimmed. Over the past year, the impending exit of the UK from the EU has failed to distract the continent’s builders, innovators and creators from attracting greater investment and interest than ever before. While many in political circles considered the potential upheaval Brexit might have on the European startup ecosystem, founders and entrepreneurs continued largely unperturbed. The proof, however, is in the numbers, with early investment trends from the last year continuing to find a continent full of promise and growth.”
Get your tickets to Startup Olé today — and see you in Salamanca!
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