Back in 2012 I’d been to enough tech startup conferences in Europe over the previous few years to work out which ones appeared to be most significant. Europe being the disjointed bunch of countries that it is has too many to mention. That ended up being a post about events in 2013.
Now, with 2014 already here, I figured plenty of readers would like an update. So here it is. A huge thanks to Heisenberg Media for helping me put this together. Thanks also to Conferize for their crowd-sourced list of European Tech Events in 2014 which you can find here. That is not our list, it’s theirs, but it’s pretty good. We also recommend the listing over at Lanyrd.
But, simply being listed below does NOT imply that any of these events are endorsed by or ‘partnered’ with TechCrunch, other than TechCrunch branded ones of course. This is a purely editorial list, based on our experience in Europe, the list is designed to help the European tech scene grow and get more organised. Simple.
Why is it important to do this? In the first instance, Europe is a bit of a mess. Every single country seems to have its own major conference on tech startups. And so we need a single overview of what’s going on.
But the main reason is that it’s easier for those of us in the media (hello!) to cover your company if we get to meet you at an event. And it helps if that event does not clash with another. So if we produce a list of the bigger events, the events organisers will – like several planes emerging from above the clouds and realising they are about to crash into each other – HOPEFULLY not clash with each other. It’s also MUCH easier for investors to move between conferences where there are startups to check out and entrepreneurs to meet. It’s also easier for startups to take their show on the road and present to investors or the media if the events DON’T CLASH. See? Everyone wins!
The reason the list below also includes some major events in the US and a few outside Europe is that – especially in the US – TechCrunch Staff will not be around in Europe at those times. For instance, if you want TechCrunch staff to be more likely to turn up at a conference event, don’t schedule it during our Disrupt events in San Francisco or New York or Europe. OK? Simple.
I have not included events in Asia as this is more about U.S./European event traffic. And we HAVE included some in the Middle East and Africa, as they are “near” Europe.
In this listing you will (mostly) not find developer events or hackathons or meet ups. We’d prefer to concentrate on events where startups get pitched and where investors gather. Although all of the events are good some are genuinely ‘Recommended’, or ‘Interesting’. Some are more off the beaten track than others and deserve a mention.
Here’s the list pertaining to the 2014 dates. Some events either haven’t updated their sites yet, or there’s simply no information a 2014 event yet. As they update their information, and I get told, I will update this post.
Please leave your feedback in the comments, and we will take them into consideration. Thanks!
However, this is our (well, my) editorial pick.
JANUARY
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Week 1
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Week 2
CES, Las Vegas, Nevada, January 7-10
Week 3
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Week 4
Hyberlin, Berlin, Germany, January 18 Demo (public), January 19 founders (invite only)
SIGNIFICANT: DLD, Munich, Germany, January 19-21 – Invited / Ticketed
WEF / Davos, Switzerland, January 22-25 – Invite Only (often featuring big tech giants and startups)
FEBRUARY
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Week 6
SIGNIFICANT: MIDEM, Cannes, France, February 1-4 – Midem Lab is a track for music startups
SIGNIFICANT: Seedcamp Week London (+ Sometimes SeedSummit at the same time), London, UK, February 3, Invite only
LIFT, Geneva, Switzerland, February 5-7
Week 7
SIGNIFICANT: The Crunchies – San Francisco, California, February 10, The Annual TechCrunch Awards – Very recommended!
Finovate – London, UK, February 11-12 – Good for Financial / banking tech startups
TechChill Baltics – February 13. Good event for Baltic startups.
Netexplo.org, Paris, France, TBA
Decoded Fashion Tech, NY Fashion Week, New York, New York, TBA
Startup Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey, TBA
Week 8
London Fashion Week, London, UK, February 14-18 (big for Fashion tech startups)
Social Media Week (Multiple global cities), February 17-21
Week 9
SIGNIFICANT: Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain, February 24-27
4 Years From NowFebruary 24-27, Barcelona, Spain
MARCH
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Week 9
SIGNIFICANT: London Web Summit, London, UK, TBA
Week 10
MENA ICT Forum – Dead Sea, Jordan, TBA
Week 10-11
CeBit, Hannover, Germany, March 10-14 – Trying hard to include startups more, though not a major focus and too B2B.
SIGNIFICANT: SXSW Interactive, Austin, Texas, March 7-16
Week 12
F.ounders NYC, New York, New York, TBA – Invite Only
Go Youth Conference – 16-17 March, “an event aiming to promote entrepreneurship and creativity” among young people, tech oriented
The Guardian Changing Media Summit, London, UK, March 18-19
FutureEverything Festival, Manchester, UK, March 27-April 1 – Digital culture, innovation
SIGNIFICANT: ArabNet, Beirut, Lebanon, TBA
GDC SF, San Francisco, California, March 17-21,
EU Digital Agenda Assembly, Athens, Greece, March 18-20
Scaling Startups – 26 & 27 March 2014 – London, UK
Economist Technology Frontiers 2014 (London, UK) 27 Mar
NACUE Startup Career Launchpad – London, March 28
APRIL
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Week 14
DEMO U.S., San Francisco, California, April 3
Week 15
FailCon Europe, London, UK, April 8
MiPCube, Cannes, France, April 7-10 (part of MipTV, good for tech startups around TV/entertainment/video)
LOGIN.LT, Vilnius, Lithuania, April 10-11 – Big Baltic states Conference, in English
Webexpo.net, Prague, Czech Republic, April 11-12
Week 17
Startup Day, Stockholm, Sweden – April 26 – general startup pitches but majority tech and growing bigger each year
Railsberry, Krakow, Poland, TBA – Recommended for European Rails developers
SIGNIFICANT: The Next Web, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, April 24-25
World Economic Forum on Europe, MENA and Eurasia (Istanbul, Turkey) – 27-29 Apr
Latitude 59, Tallinn, Estonia, April 28-29 – Baltics startups pitching & speakers
SIGNIFICANT:
Disrupt NYC, New York, TBA – Very Recommended
MAY
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Week 19
DigiTalk, Sofia, Bulgaria, May 2014
NEXT Berlin, Berlin, Germany, May 5-6 – Some startups, mostly corporates and digital marketing
Heureka, Berlin, Germany, May 6 – Startups & focused on Berlin’s ecosystem
London Big Data Week events, (crowd-sourced), London – May 5-11
Berlin Web Week, Berlin, Germany, May 6-7 – Range of events
Week 20
Engage Invest Exploit 2014, Edinburgh, Scotland, May 8
CapitalOnStage, Berlin, Germany, TBA
Decoded Fashion Tech, London, UK, May 10-14
Bacon, London, UK, May 16-17 – developer conference liked by starters.
Google Zeitgeist UK (London, UK) – 18-20 May (TBC)
Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France, May 14-25 – Good for media startups
Week 21
Shift Split – Split, Croatia, TBA
Net Prophet, Cape Town, South Africa – TBA
Thinking Digital, Newcastle, UK, May 20-22 – Interesting
Forum SPB, St. Petersburg, Russia, May 22-24
Week 22
The D Conference, Rancho Palos Verdes, California, TBA
Digital Shoreditch – London, UK A SXSW style event, last week of May
JUNE
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Week 23
Startup Village – Created by Skolkovo, 2-3 Jun 2014
Kinnernet Europe, Avallon, France – June 5-8 – Israelis hanging out with Euros & others.
DEMO Europe – June 4-5, Moscow, Russia,
Red Innova, Madrid, Spain, TBA – Spanish / LATAM event
Startup 2.0, Bilbao, Spain, IS THIS STILL GOING?
PivotEast, Nairobi, Kenya, TBA, East Africa’s main mobile apps / startup pitch competition for investors
Spain Startup and Investor Summit – Madrid, Spain, TBA – In English
Week 24
SIGNIFICANT: Le Web London, London, UK, June 9-10
>Midnight Pitch Fest, Oulu, Finland, June 12-13
FoundersForum.eu, TBA – Invite Only
Startup Island, Hvar, Croatia, TBA
EU Commission Digital Agenda Assembly – TBA
Week 25
Cannes Lions 15-21 June 2014, Cannes, France – Relevant for tech companies driven by advertising, big players attend
Startup Summit, Prague – TBA (21 June in 2013)
Venturesummit.eu – Kiev, Ukraine, TBA
SIGNIFICANT: Bitspiration, Krakow, Poland, TBA
WPP Stream, Cannes, France, June 17 – Invite only
Cannes Lions, Cannes, June 15-21 – Good for media/advertising startups
ICT Spring Europe, Luxembourg, TBA
Week 26
MLove Berlin, Berlin, Germany (closer to Halle, Germany), June 25-27 – Interesting
Founders Forum Menorca Tech Talk, Menorca, Spain, TBA
D-Conf, Milan, Italy, TBA
NOAH, San Francisco, California, TBA – Interesting for late-stage startups
JULY
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Week 27
Tech Open Air Berlin – Berlin, Germany, July 4-5
Week 28
DLD Women, Munich, Germany, TBA
Tech4Africa Nairobi – Nairobi, Kenya, TBA
AUGUST
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Week 32
Young Rewired State, UK, August 4-10
Week 33
GDC Europe, Cologne, Germany, August 11 – 13 – Useful for social games developers/startups
Week 34
Rock, Paper, Startups – Rijeka, Croatia – TBA (18-19 July in 2013)
MediaEvolution.se, Malmo, Sweden, TBA – Media/Tech overlap conf.
Turing Tech Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland, TBA – Interesting
Week 35 – 36
Burning Man, Black Rock, Nevada, August 25 – Sep 1 – Lots of tech entrepreneurs now attend
SEPTEMBER
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Week 36
Hack Cyprus/ – Cyprus, TBA
DConstruct, Brighton, UK, TBA – “technology and culture”
IFA, Berlin, Germany, September 5 – 10 – Europe’s main consumer tech/gadget show
SIGNIFICANT: CTIA, Las Vegas, Nevada, September 9-11
Digital Derry, Northern Ireland, TBA
Week 37
SIGNIFICANT: TechCrunch Disrupt SF, San Francisco, California, TBA – Very Recommended (September 7-11, 2013)
Pirate Summit, Cologne, Germany, TBA (1st or 2nd week of September most likely) – Fun, startup event, junkyard atmosphere, good vibe
Campus Party London, London, UK, TBA – Big huge Hackathon and speakers
Startup Lisboa Demo day, Lisboa, Portugal, TBA
Week 38
Kinnernet, Israel – Invite only, mainly Israeli in focus, with some outside guests
DM Ex Co, Cologne, Germany, September 10-11 – Advertising startups / Germany
TechCrunch Italy, Rome, Italy, TBA
Investors AllStars, London, UK, TBA. Not a conference but an interesting gathering of European VCs and founders.
Overtheair.org, London, UK, TBA – Interesting for mobile startups
Week 39
MindTheProduct, London, UK, TBA
TechBBQ.dk, Copenhagen, Denmark, TBA
OCTOBER
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Week 40
The Next Web New York, New York, New York, TBA
SIGNIFICANT: Webrazzi Summit, Istanbul, Turkey, TBA. Usually 1st week of October – Recommended to download Turkey
TED Global, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 5-10
SIGNIFICANT: White Bull Summit, Barcelona, Spain, TBA – Oct. 6th-8th (2014) – Recommended, esp. for growth or mid-stage firms
Decoded Fashion Tech – Milan Oct 22 2014
MindTrek, Tampere, Finland, TBA
Spain Startup And Investor Summit – Madrid, Spain, TBA
Tech4Africa – Johannesburg, South Africa, TBA
Week 41
Ennovation, Poznan, Poland, TBA
WHU’s Idea-lab.org, Vallendar, Germany, campus of WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany,TBA
Week 42
IDCEE (Investor Day CEE), Kiev, Ukraine, October 16-17
Wired UK 14, London, UK, October 16-17
GigaOM Structure:Europe, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, TBA
Week 43
DLD Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel, TBA – Recommended
Venturecamp.mindthebridge.org, Milan, Italy, TBA
Week 44
TECHCRUNCH DISRUPT EUROPE AND HACKATHON TBA DATE OR WEEK NOT YET SET
SIGNIFICANT: Pioneers Festival, Vienna, Austria, TBA – Recommended as a broad conference on science, tech and innovation
Dublin Web Summit and F.ounders, Dublin, Ireland, TBA
Stream Global 2014 (Marathon, Greece) 23-26 Oct
NOVEMBER
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Week 44
HowToWeb, Bucharest, Romania, TBA – Recommended to download Eastern Europe
Week 45
zz9
Explorers Conference, Lisbon, Portugal, TBA
Webit, Istanbul, Turkey, TBA – Recommend, Large trade show and exhibition featuring broadly on digital marketing, commerce and startups, in Turkey and Southern and Central Europe
Silicon Valley Comes to the UK – Nov 6-8 featuring veterans from the Valley touring London and Cambridge
Silicon Valley Comes to Oxford – Featuring veterans from the Valley at the Said Business School – (24-25 November in 2013)
Codebits – Portugal, TBA, Large hackathon style conference, not startup oriented but a pool for talent
Week 46
Noah Conference, London, UK, November 12-13 – Recommended for later stage startups, broadly European but heavily German and Israeli
Apps World, London, UK November 12-13
Global Entrepreneurship Week in Belarus – (Nov 18-21 in 2013) – Minsk, Belarus – Features startups
Slovakia Startup Awards – (22 Nov 2013)
Rise Up Summit – Cairo, Egypt – Recommended a as a major event for tech in the Middle East (Was 24-25 Nov 2013)
Global Entrepreneurship Week (various global events like Internet Week Europe)
SIME, Stockholm, Sweden, TBA
Monaco Media Forum, Monaco, TBA
SVC2UK, London, UK, TBA – Recommended
Slush, Helsinki, Finland, TBA – Recommended as the main Nordics/Scandinavia event
Startup Conference Next – Sofia, Bulgaria (November 30th 2013)
DECEMBER
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Week 49
SIME Miami – 3-4 December
Stretch, Budapest – December 5-6 – leadership and management conference for tech comps
SIGNIFICANT: Europe Venture Summit – Kiev, (December 4-5 in 2013) – Recommended
TechCrunch Moscow 2014, Moscow, Russia, TBA
LeWeb, Paris, France, TBA – Recommended, big tech event in Europe for some time
API Days, Paris, France, TBA
Week 50
Empty
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