On May 12-13, we’re going to host this year’s edition of the EU-Startups Summit in beautiful Barcelona. Alongside inspiring talks, unbeatable networking opportunities and insightful discussions, we also have the very exciting in-person return of our annual Pitch Competition! The deadline to apply is the 16th of March!
Like every year, our goal here is to find and showcase Europe’s very best seed and pre-seed startups out there. For this year’s pitch competition, we expect a total of up to 1,500 applications and the 15 finalists pitch on the main stage at our EU-Startups Summit. An incredible prize package worth €90k is up for grabs, so make sure you apply now! If you’re not in, you can’t win. You can apply here!
The Prize Package:
The Prize Package for the winning startup will be worth around €90K in total. It includes the following benefits:
- €50K investment proposal by APX (after a quick due diligence process). APX is Europe’s leading earliest-stage VC, backed by Axel Springer and Porsche, and supports and partners with the most ambitious pre-seed startups from Europe and beyond – often as their first investor.
- $10K in Freshworks credits, across Freshworks business software products, including CRM, LiveChat, support, marketing automation, ITSM, and HRMS.
- €8.5K in credits for an explainer video maker account of simpleshow.
- 1 year of Pipedrive (Sales CRM) – professional package of Pipedrive for 10 team members (value: ~€6K).
- 1 year Outgrow essentials plan for up to 20 users (total value: ~$6.5k). Outgrow helps you create calcs, quizzes, chatbots (etc.) to acquire, qualify & engage leads.
- 3 year CLUB membership and an exhibition table at the EU-Startups Summit 2023, including 3 event tickets (total package value: ~€5K)
- €3K in credits for the cloud communications platform Vonage, which allows startups to integrate voice, video and messaging into their applications.
- 1 year Guru Plan for SEMrush worth €2.2K, which gives you access to their SEO and online visibility management SaaS platform.
The Jury:
The selected teams will get a lot of valuable feedback from a jury of well-known venture capital investors. This year’s judging panel includes Lina Chong (Target Global), Volker Hirsch (Amadeus Capital Partners), Dr. Aline Vedder (Lakestar), Henric Hungerhoff (APX).
In addition, we’ll have many more VC firms, business angels and startup accelerators among our attendees. We also have a great networking app with AI-powered functionalities to help you to find the right contacts.
How to apply:
If you’d like to pitch your startup with a 3-minute-presentation in front of a large and interested audience of investors, startup enthusiasts, media people and an expert jury, you can now apply here! The application deadline is on March 16!
Precondition: Your startup should be in pre-seed or seed stage, not older than 2 ½ years, should have raised no venture capital yet (or less than €500K) and has to be based in Europe (EU plus UK, Norway, Switzerland, etc.).
Timings & Tickets: The EU-Startups Summit will take place on May 12-13 in beautiful Barcelona. Aside from the pitch competition, there will be many more highlights, which we are now announcing on a weekly basis. Tickets are available here.
Our Event Sponsors
Silicon Castles is a Tech Company Builder and Strategic Business Accelerator for technology, intellectual property and licensing businesses, located in Salzburg, Austria. The focus is on European Diamonds: technology startups with a unique business idea, scalable technology and outstanding intellectual property. Silicon Castles also organizes the Startup Executive Academy (SEA), an international Go-to-Market program for founders and executives of early-stage startups, taking place annually since 2017.
Unleashed, by the Purina Accelerator Lab, is the first and only accelerator programme in Europe dedicated exclusively to pet-tech. Their goal is to shape the future of pet care by supporting disruptive pet startups with technologies in advanced nutrition, sustainability, health and digital solutions that enrich the lives of pets and the people who love them. Over the last 2 years, Unleashed had accelerated 12 pet startups, facilitated >350 founders in the Unleashed community and welcomed over 1000 subscribers to the Unleashed pet tech newsletter.
Webex offers industry leading solutions in video conferencing, team collaboration, calling, contact centre and devices, and is trusted by 95% of the Fortune 500. With Webex, businesses can simplify communication, inspire innovation, and empower people to engage with each other anywhere on any device – giving businesses the ultimate edge. Because, when businesses enable employees to bring their best selves to work, everyone wins.
Freshworks is the leader of cloud-based customer and employee software including CRM, livechat, support, marketing automation, ITSM, & HRMS. Products are simple to set up, cost-effective & equipped with powerful automation. Through the Freshworks for Startups program the EU-Startups community can gain access to up to $10k credits on essential tools & products for your Startup. You also get access to Freshworks’ community of VCs, Investors, Mentors, & Customers. Claim your benefits here.
ACCIÓ – Catalonia Trade & Investment is the Catalan Government’s agency that works to attract foreign investment to Catalonia, promoting the region as attractive, innovative and competitive business location for startups. Check out their offerings and the Catalonia Startup Directory.
