Bucharest, September 3rd 2014 - How to Web, the most important event dedicated to innovation, entrepreneurship and technology in South Eastern Europe, reaches its 5th edition this year and will take place on November 20 and 21 in Bucharest. Having a new format, this year"s conference will bring world renowned technology professionals in front of an estimated audience of more than 1000 persons. Moreover, the best 32 startups in the region will compete for the 20.000 USD cash prizes offered at the 3rd edition of Startup Spotlight, competition and orientation program for early stage technology teams.
As its main theme states it, the 2014 edition of How to Web represents a milestone in the evolution of the conference and marks a new beginning by proposing a more complex format. The event will bring into discussion themes such as tech entrepreneurship, building products with disruptive potential at global level, industry trends, investments, or gaming and will add new topics dedicated to specific categories of the audience.
Remarkable personalities in the technology industry worldwide will take the stage at How to Web 2014 to share their know-how and valuable insights. Among the speakers that have confirmed the attendance to the event so far there are: Paul Papadimitriou, innovation strategist, expert of the emerging digital revolution and its transformative effect on businesses and keynote speaker at the biggest digital events in the world; Chris Chabot, Head of International Developer Relations Twitter, where he enables companies and developers to redefine the future by creating meaningful connections between people through technology and driving change through innovation; or Florian Meissner, Co-Founder and CEO EyeEm, the premier community and marketplace for the photographer inside all of us, having more than 10 million users, that has raised funds of 6 million USD to date.
The 3rd edition of Startup Spotlight, competition and orientation program for the best 32 early stage tech startups in the CEE, will also take place in between November 19 and November 22. During the 4 days of the program, the finalist teams will attend workshops and mentoring sessions, will meet investors and representatives of early stage investment funds and some of the most appreciated acceleration programs worldwide, and will compete for the awards with a total value of 20.000 USD offered by IXIA, main partner of the program.
The results of the previous edition stand as a guarantee for the quality of the program and its impact in terms of accelerating the development of the competing startups. 32 teams from 8 countries in the region attended the previous edition of Startup Spotlight 2013 and had access to dedicated workshops and mentoring sessions, as well as to accelerator presentations and panels with investors. Moreover, they got the chance to meet 1 to 1 with representatives of the most appreciated European accelerator programs such as TechStars, Seedcamp, Oxygen and Wayra (UK), Rockstart (The Netherlands), Eleven and LauncHub (Bulgaria), Startup Bootcamp (present in multiple European countries), TechPeaks (Italy), Startup Wise Guys and Startup Highway (Estonia), or Hub:raum (Poland).
35% of the competing teams closed a deal after the end of the program in the form of an initial investment, a new partnership or a strategic partner that agreed to further support their scaling efforts. Early stage startups that build innovative tech products with disruptive potential are invited to apply online for attending Startup Spotlight by completing the registration form available online at http://startupspotlight.co/getready/
How to Web 2014 will take place on November 20 and 21 at Crystal Palace Ballrooms and will bring together more than 1000 attendees from Central and Eastern Europe and well-known professionals on the global technology scene. The tickets to the event will be available soon on the website http://2014.howtoweb.co/newbeginnings/, with a starting price of 59 EUR.
The 3rd edition of Startup Spotlight, competition and orientation program for CEE early stage startups, will be organized in parallel. Between November 19 and 22, the 32 finalists will attend an accelerated development program and will meet investors, experienced mentors, as well as representatives of early stage investment funds and international acceleration programs. Startup Spotlight applications are now open and registrations are available online at http://startupspotlight.co/getready/