Rotterdam, 9 May 2023 – Rotterdam will host Upstream Festival 2023 from May 23-25, providing a diverse range of activities tailored to meet the requirements of growing businesses, including access to talent, corporate buyers, and capital. The three-day event will feature Capital Wednesday on May 24th, where the House of Capital will welcome top national and international investors, covering seed capital, Series A/B, private equity, subsidies, and grants. This unique occasion presents an excellent opportunity for start-ups and scaleups to connect with over 20 investors, equivalent to over €12 billion in managed assets.
Big names, big chances, growing companies
Upstream is an annual international event, creating a European hub that brings together innovators, changemakers, and investors. Lars Crama, one of the Upstream initiators, emphasizes the House of Capital at Upstream 2023 as an excellent platform to engage with the ecosystem, discuss business propositions in a friendly environment, and what is more important, it gives you an opportunity to pitch your business to multiple investors during one event.
Investors for every growth stage
A wide range of investment scopes and stages is represented. ICOS Capital, which is focused on climate-tech and innovations to accelerate sustainability: “We’d love to meet carbon technology companies and food tech companies in the scale-up phase with proven technology and launching customers”, says ICOS managing director Nityen Lal. Another investor, Graduate Entrepreneur, aims to provide funding for young tech companies . “We provide not only capital and network for pre-seed and seed funding, but also hands-on support for those who are changing the world”, says its venture capital investor Auke van den Hout.
Pan-European network
Apart from the local Dutch investors, Upstream offers opportunities to meet European companies such as SeedBlink, a fast-growing pan-European network and tech-powered investing platform: “At SeedBlink we would love to meet ambitious technology start and scaleups with a validated business model and some existing traction seeking for funding in their Seed/Late-Seed/Series A round”, says Head of Investment Management, Eric Bartha.
Learn how to do business from indigenous people
In addition to the investors present at the event, the festival includes a variety of growth and learning opportunities, fun and creative activities such as Fireside chats, with stories from inspiring founders, growth experts, and guests such as BCorp’s Maria Correa and famous photographer Jimmy Nelson, who will explain what indigenous people can teach us about our priorities in life and business. The British adventurer is famous for his book ‘Before They Pass Away’, for which he traveled around the world for three years, photographing 35 indigenous tribes. “I will discuss the lessons indigenous people can teach us about the journey of life and connection we all long for”, says Nelson.
Furthermore, expert roundtables will cover urgent and important topics such as ‘raising capital in sustainability’ and ‘the changing role of the scale-up CFO’ , while matchmaking events include a Pizza Workshop hosted by Arches Capital, Money Meets Ideas by Rabobank, StartupRoulette by GoldenEggCheck, Investor House by Builders Studio, and Pitch4Capital by StartDock.
About Upstream
Upstream is the annual festival connecting international changemakers driving the transition to a digital, carbon-neutral, circular and inclusive new economy. Entrepreneurs, investors and bold companies are invited to share, connect and create meaningful innovations for sustainable growth. This year’s event will take place from 23-25 May 2023, with 2000+ attendees, 70+ exhibitors attending 40+ curated events across the city, with Poppodium Annabel, a dynamic venue in the heart of Rotterdam, as the heart of the festival. There will be a range of formats offered, varying from keynote speeches and panel discussions to workshops, hackathons and networking events. In three days, startups, scale-ups and students can explore the latest innovations, build new connections and learn from the leading experts and thinkers in the field. For more information see upstreamfestival.com.
