European Tech Events 2016
Evolving selection of tech startup conferences & pitch events in 2016 with focus on the European entrepreneur and investor community
Additions and comments welcome below. It is worth noting that attending events does not alone improve the chances for success.
My impressions in italic.
2016 :
DLD (Digital Life Design) #dld16
17(Sun) – 19 January 2016
Munich (MUC), Germany
Tickets $$$ & apply
Attendees ~1,000
Great for big name speakers
Mobile World Congress #mwc16
22(Mon) – 25 February 2016
Barcelona (BCN), Spain
Tickets $$$
Attendees ~85,000
Great for meeting everyone vaguely related to the mobile ecosystem
Start Summit 2016
17(Thu) – 19 March 2016
St Gallen near Zurich (ZRH, FDH), Switzerland
Tickets $
Attendees ~600
Great for meeting entrepreneurial students
Pioneers Festival
24(Tue) – 25 May 2016
Vienna (VIE), Austria
Tickets $$
Attendees ~2,500
Great for Central European as well as hardware startups
TNW The Next Web
26(Thu) – 27 May 2016
Amsterdam (AMS), Netherlands
Tickets $$
Attendees ~3,500
Great for meeting other entrepreneurs
HTGF Family Day
31(Tue) May – 01 June 2016
Bonn (CGN, FRA or DUS), Germany
Tickets $$ & invite only
Attendees 500+
Great for German startups
Heureka
07(Tue) June 2016
Berlin (TXL and SXF), Germany
Tickets $$ & apply
Attendees ~500
Great for Berlin startups
The Europas
14(Tue) June 2016
London (LON), United Kingdom
Tickets $$ & apply
Attendees ~750
Great for networking
TOA Tech Open Air
13(Wed)-15 July 2015
Berlin (TXL and SXF), Germany
Tickets $$
Attendees ~7,500
Great for less formal setup
Pirate Summit
06(Tue) – 07 September 2016
Cologne (CGN or DUS), Germany
Tickets $$
Attendees ~1,000
Great for German and Central European startups
SaaStock
22(Thu) September 2016
Dublin (DUB), Ireland
Tickets $$ (€399 Earlybird — €749 Latebooker)
Attendees ~700
Next
22(Thu)–23 September 2016
Hamburg (HAM), Germany
Tickets $$
Attendees >1,000
Great for meeting a wider group of digital people in Germany
Bits and Pretzels
25(Sun) – 27 September 2016
Munich (MUC), Germany
Tickets $$
Attendees ~3,600
Great for meeting Munich-area entrepreneurs and the Oktoberfest
WHU Idealab
07(Fri)-08 October 2016
Vallendar near Koblenz (FRA, DUS or CGN), Germany
Tickets $ & apply
Attendees ~400
Great for meeting entrepreneurial students
Websummit
07(Mon)-10 November 2016
Lisbon (LIS), Portugal
Tickets $$
Attendees ~50,000
Great for meeting as many startups and VCs in one place as possible
Slush
30(Wed) November-01 December 2016
Helsinki (HEL), Finland
Tickets $$
Attendees ~15,000
Great for meeting Nordic startups and international investors
Techcrunch Disrupt Europe
03(Sat)-06 December 2016
London (LON), United Kingdom
Tickets $$
Attendees tbc
Great for meeting European investors and “launching” your startup on stage
For reference, from 2015:
DLD (Digital Life Design) #dld15
18(Sun)-20 January 2015
Munich (MUC), Germany
Tickets $$$ & apply
Attendees ~1,000
Great for big name speakers
hy! demo
Last in Berlin, January, 2014
Seedcamp London
02(Mon)-05 February 2015
London (LON), United Kingdom
Great for meeting interesting founders and investors
Finovate Europe
10(Tue)-11 February 2015
London (LON), United Kingdom
Tickets $$$
Attendees ~1,000
Great for fintech & non-stop pitching
Startup Europe Summit
12(Thu)–13 February 2015
Berlin (TXL and SXF), Germany
Tickets free & apply
Attendees tbc
Great for meeting politicians.
Techstars London (demo day)
20(Fri) February 2015
London (LON), United Kingdom
Great for meeting interesting founders and investors
Mobile World Congress #mwc15
02(Mon)–05 March 2015
Barcelona (BCN), Spain
Tickets $$$
Attendees ~85,000
Great for meeting everyone vaguely related to the mobile ecosystem
StartupCamp Berlin #scb15
13(Fri)–14 March 2015
Berlin (TXL and SXF), Germany
Tickets $
Attendees ~1,000
Great for mingling with Berlin entrepreneurs
Unternehmertag Tegernsee
19(Thu)–20 March 2015
Tegernsee, 2 hrs from Munich (near MUC), Germany
Tickets tbc & apply
Attendees tbc
Great for meeting other investors
Start Summit 2015
17(Fri)-18 April 2015
St Gallen near Zurich (ZRH, FDH), Switzerland
Tickets $
Attendees ~600
Great for meeting entrepreneurial students
TNW The Next Web
23(Thu)–24 April 2015
Amsterdam (AMS), Netherlands
Tickets $$
Attendees ~3,500
Great for meeting other entrepreneurs
Exec I/O Fintech
29(Wed) April 2015
Frankfurt (FRA), Germany
Tickets $$ & apply
Attendees ~100
Great for fintech
Heureka
05(Tue) May 2015
Berlin (TXL and SXF), Germany
Tickets $$ & apply
Attendees ~500
Great for German startups
ThingsCon
08(Fri)–09 May 2015
Berlin (TXL and SXF), Germany
Tickets $$ & apply
Attendees ~400
Great for hardware and Internet of Things
Seedcamp Berlin
11(Mon)-13 May 2015
Berlin (TXL and SXF), Germany
Great for meeting interesting founders and investors
Arctic15
26(Tue)–27 May 2015
Helsinki (HEL), Finland
Tickets $$
Attendees ~800
Great for Nordic startups
Pioneers Festival
28(Thu)–29 May 2015
Vienna (VIE), Austria
Tickets $$
Attendees ~2,500
Great for Central European as well as hardware startups
Noah Berlin #noah15
09(Tue)-10 June 2015
Berlin (TXL and SXF), Germany
Tickets $$$ & apply
Attendees ~1,600
Great for Germans and later stage companies
The Europas
16(Tue) June 2015
London (LON), United Kingdom
Tickets $$ & apply
Attendees ~750
Great for networking
Founders Forum (London)
17(Wed)-19 June 2015
London (LON), United Kingdom
Tickets free but need to be invited
Attendees ~150
Great for networking with other successful CEOs
HTGF Family Day
23(Tue)-24 June 2015
Bonn (CGN, FRA or DUS), Germany
Tickets $$ & invite only
Attendees 500+
Great for German startups
Thanks to whoever created this useful Google doc.
TOA Tech Open Air
15(Wed)-17 July 2015
Berlin (TXL and SXF), Germany
Tickets $$
Attendees tbc
Great for less formal setup
Pirate Summit
02(Wed)–03 September 2015
Cologne (CGN or DUS), Germany
Tickets $$
Attendees ~1,000
Great for German and Central European startups
Next
24(Thu)–25 September 2015
Hamburg (HAM), Germany
Tickets $$
Attendees >1,000
Great for meeting a wider group of digital people in Germany
Bits and Pretzels
27(Sun)-29 September 2015
Munich (MUC), Germany
Tickets $$
Attendees ~3,600
Great for meeting Munich-area entrepreneurs and the Oktoberfest
WHU Idealab
08(Thu)-09 October 2015
Vallendar near Koblenz (FRA, DUS or CGN), Germany
Tickets $ & apply
Attendees ~400
Great for meeting entrepreneurial students
Websummit
03(Tue)-05 November 2015
Dublin (DUB), Ireland
Tickets $$
Attendees ~20,000
Great for meeting as many startups and VCs in one place as possible
Slush
11(Wed)-12 November 2015
Helsinki (HEL), Finland
Tickets $$
Attendees ~10,000
Great for meeting Nordic startups and international investors
Noah London #noah15
12(Thu)-13 November 2015
London (LON), United Kingdom
Tickets $$$ & apply
Attendees tbc
Great for Germans and later stage companies
Techcrunch Disrupt Europe
07(Mon)-08 December 2015
London (LON), United Kingdom
Tickets $$
Attendees tbc
Great for meeting European investors and “launching” your startup on stage
Leweb (Paris)
Last in Paris, December, 2014; no event planned in 2015.
Some good points by Mark Suster on launching your product at a conference here.
Additions and thoughts are welcome!
