On April 20-21, 2023, we will be welcoming you again to our annual EU-Startups Summit in Barcelona! This year, the event will be bigger and better than ever before and we’ll have lots of exciting speakers, panel discussions, networking activities, pitch competitions and much more. The EU-Startups Summit will gather over 2,000 founders, startup enthusiasts and investors for two days of networking, inspiration and learning!
The EU-Startups Summit is a space for different players in the startup ecosystem to come together, share ideas and explore the trends that are shaping the future of society and tech development. That’s why, this year, we’ve put together a very special Panel Discussion that’ll dive into the circular economy and creating sustainable businesses, featuring leading Euroepan voices, entrepreneurs, and investors in this space.
The circular economy is regarded as a critical part of creating a greener Europe and achieving climate goals. The circular economy rests on three principles: eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials and the regeneration of nature. It aims to encourage a culture of sharing and reusing by making products last longer and also saving consumers money at the same time.
Throughout the continent, the rotation to a circular economy is well underway and it’s exciting to see. Startups are fueling the transition, coming up with fresh innovations and new approaches, and are also embarking on exciting collaborations with corporate players and public sector bodies. Alongside this, we are seeing the growth of sustainability initiatives being embedded into businesses and impact investments are firmly on the agenda.
Our Circular Economy and Sustainable Businesses Panel Discussion will explore the possibilities for the circular economy, what’s fueling its development, and, open up a fascinating discussion about sustainability, impact and successful scaling. Joining us for this conversation will be Namrata Sandhu, the Co-Founder and CEO of Vaayu, Rob Casseedy, the CEO of Wallapop, Jamie Crummie, the Co-Founder of Too Good To Go and Sacha Michaud, the Co-Founder of Glovo!
Namrata Sandhu is the CEO and Co-Founder of Vaayu. With nearly two decades of experience in sustainability, Namrata has unmatched insight into the unique and complex challenges within the retail sector. Her early career experience was founded by time spent working at the United Nations and KPMG, embedding sustainability into corporate strategy, before roles at Arcadia and as Head of Sustainability at the leading global retailer, Zalando.
Based in Berlin, Vaayu is the world’s first automated carbon software empowering retailers to calculate and cut emissions in real time. It does this by leveraging proprietary AI and machine learning technology to gather insights from production, sales and logistics to provide retailers with granular insights into their entire supply chain using its proprietary database of more than 600,000 data points. Founded in 2020, the startup has raised over $13 million and works with brands like Wunderman Thompson Commerce, Klarna, Vinted, Ace & Tate and Shop Apotheke.
Rob Cassedy is the CEO of Wallapop – one of the fastest-growing circular economy platforms in Europe. A seasoned expert in international expansion, Rob has been a leading force in Wallapop’s success. Prior to his role as CEO, he worked for twelve years at eBay, becoming Managing Director of eBay-kleinanzeigen.
Based in Barcelona, Wallapop offers a unique marketplace of reused products that encourages a more humane, circular consumption model. With a presence in Spain, Italy and Portugal, Wallapop currently connects a community of 15 million people a month – users who collectively create around 100 million listings annually. Via the online platform, it’s possible to buy and sell products from all categories of consumer goods easily, quickly and securely. Founded in 2013, the company has gotten 2023 off to a flying start, picking up a whopping €81 million this January.
Now the co-founder of globally successful Too Good To Go, Jamie Crummie began his career training as a lawyer. Since building the unicorn company, Jamie has been named an Obama Leader in 2023, Sustainability Entrepreneur of the Year at the GB Entrepreneur Awards 2022, a Trailblazing Activist in Forbes’ 50 Next class of 2021, One Young World’s Entrepreneur of the Year in August 2020, and, one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in Europe in February 2019.
Born in Copenhagen, Too Good To Go has become the world’s largest marketplace for surplus food, empowering everyone to fight food waste together. The app lets consumers buy unsold food from restaurants and retailers so that it doesn’t go to waste. Founded in 2016, Too Good To Go is now active in 17 countries. The market-leading app has 72 million users and 180k food businesses signed up, who have rescued over 190 million bags of food collectively.
Sacha Michaud is a serial entrepreneur leveraging decades of experience in the online sector and creating successful companies. He founded LatinRed in 1997, one of the largest providers of internet services in Spanish, and then sold it to StarMedia two years later. He then went on to launch Inlander, Binarria and Transword. After 9 years leading the Betfair Iberia team, at the end of 2014, he joined up with Oscar Pierre to create Glovo.
Founded in 2015, Glovo has become one of Europe’s most popular names in the delivery market, keeping us stocked up not just food from our favourite restaurants, but also the essential items from supermarkets and pharmacies. In April 2021, Glovo raised an impressive €450 million and has been a member of the unicorn club since 2019.
This Circular Economy and Sustainable Businesses Panel Discussion is set to be one of the most popular parts of our jam-packed agenda. Featuring these influential and inspirational speakers, it’ll bring up fascinating insights and plenty of food for thought about the future of business, society and sustainability. Make sure you don’t miss out.
Secure your ticket as soon as possible and add this very special event to your calendar in 2023! To learn more about the event, and the other wonderful speakers taking part, check out our dedicated event page, and enjoy the video below, which will give you some insights into what’s to come.
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.
Vanta is the easy way to achieve compliance certifications such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, and more. Over 4000 fast-growing companies trust Vanta to automate their security monitoring and get ready for compliance audits in weeks instead of months. Simply connect your tools to Vanta, fix the gaps on your customised dashboard, and then work with a Vanta-trained auditor to complete your certification. And for a limited time, EU-Startups readers and attendees of the EU-Startups Summit will get $1,000 off Vanta. Just go to vanta.com/eustartups to get started.
EPAM is the foremost global digital transformation services provider – leading the industry in digital and physical product development and digital platform engineering services. Through its innovative strategy; integrated advisory, consulting, and design capabilities; and unique ‘Engineering DNA,’ EPAM’s globally deployed hybrid teams help make the future real for clients and communities around the world by powering better enterprise, education and health platforms that connect people, optimize experiences, and improve people’s lives.
Airwallex is a global payments and financial platform for modern businesses. It removes the unnecessary friction and cost inherent in the traditional financial system to help entrepreneurs achieve their global ambitions. Leading companies around the world trust Airwallex to manage everything from payments, treasury, and spend to embedded finance — all in one single platform. With an international footprint across the Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America, Airwallex connects entrepreneurs, business builders and creators with opportunities in every corner of the world, and empowers them to grow without borders.
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.