Having brought some of our startups in-person to the TNW2021 conference in Amsterdam, we were once again reminded of how prolific and advantageous it is to network in person. With that in mind, and aiming to give every opportunity we can to the entrepreneurs that joined our programme, we decided to select 12 startups and take them with us to the largest tech conference in the world (more than 40k+ attendees, companies, and investors). Yes, you guessed it, we all met at Web Summit.
The companies got a STARTUP PASS, which allowed them to showcase their solutions in their dedicated booths. Also, three of them had the chance to pitch in front of investors and the whole tech community, showing why they deserve their place in the ecosystem. What a fantastic opportunity!
So which were the lucky startups, you ask? Bee Sage, from the AgriTech cohort, Nova Money, from the AI & ML cohort, Mowea, Vemini, TotalCtrl, TTM, Traken and MClimate, all from the Smart Cities & Sustainability programme round, and Fossa Systems, Needronix, Mavuno Technologies, and GreenEO, from the SpaceTech cohort. And let me tell you that they seized the opportunity.
Mavuno had the opportunity to pitch twice, once at the pitch stage in front of juries and another time at the showcase stage where the CEO, Johannes Röhrenbach, had to sell his solution in two minutes. Let me tell you that he did it very effectively in front of a bustling audience. BeeSage also had the chance to showcase its bee solution in a short time, and, even without the hive that normally stops everyone at the booth’s, Ru Wikmann, the CEO, was terrific. Charlotte Aschim, the CEO & Founder of TotalCtrl, also pitched her company to a panel of experts, brilliantly showing how the startup solution app is what the world needs to prevent food waste.
At the booths, the companies were always tied up, but we were thrilled to wait for them to finish their business talks and have a quick chat with us. For example, with TTM, MClimate, Fossa Systems, Greeneo, and Nova Money it was difficult to find the entire team because they were in meetings all the time. Nevertheless, we were of course happy with that. To illustrate, MClimate had a 3D video that stopped all visitors in the BETA exhibition area. How could they not, right?
Mowea, Traken, Vemini and Needronix had a booth on the last day of the summit and were really excited, super focused and effortlessly chatting with all interested players who stopped to learn more about them. This shows how much they are eager to do better in the business. In total, our group of startups reported over 300 investor/corporate/talent leads and meetings thanks to Web Summit, which we’re hoping will result in fruitful collaborations in the coming months. Overall, all happy faces throughout the whole conference and even with all the work we could catch time to take a group picture with some of the startups and the X-team!
Seeing our partners again was pretty exciting as well. We love to brainstorm and engage in person and get the opportunity to introduce our programme opportunities for corporates and investors. Also, we could attend some of the inspiring talks and masterclasses that Web Summit offered, and network with the tech ecosystem in several Web Summit side events around Lisbon. We couldn’t ask for better than that.
Let’s hope we will be all together again soon.
Huge thanks to Ricardo Lima, Web Summit Head of Startups, for the awesome and professional support in record time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments