Early-Stage Founder & Investor Event
Building an early-stage startup means finding the right people at the right moment. Investors who understand where you are. Founders who are facing similarchallenges. Partners who can open doors. People who can help turn the next conversation into tangible progress.Upstream Festival brings early-stage founders, pre-seed and seed investors, corporatepartners and startup ecosystem leaders together in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.If you are raising capital, looking for strategic opportunities, investing in the next generation of startups or simply want to meet ambitious founders building across Europe, Upstream is designed to make those connections easier.
Looking for an early-stage startup event inthe Netherlands?
The Netherlands has a highly connected startup ecosystem, but finding the right investor, partner or founder can still take time.
Upstream creates a focused environment where early-stage startups and investors can meetdirectly.
The festival is built around the conversations that help founders move forward:finding potential investors, meeting future customers and partners, learning from other founders and connecting with people who understand what it takes to build a company.
Rather than leaving every useful encounter to chance, Upstream combines curated connections with the freedom to meet people throughout the festival.
For founders, that means more opportunities to meet people relevant to the stage they are at now.
For investors, it means concentrated access to ambitious startups and the people behind them.
For pre-seed and seed-stage founders
Early-stage fundraising is about much more than sending pitch decks.
Investors need to understand the problem you are solving, the market you are entering,the strength of your team and the potential of the company you are building.Founders also need to understand which investors genuinely fit their stage,sector and ambitions.
Meeting in person creates room for those conversations.
Upstream isparticularly relevant for pre-seed and seed-stage startups looking forcapital, strategic partnerships, feedback, customers, introductions andconnections within the Dutch and European startup ecosystem.
Whether you are preparing for your first funding round, actively fundraising or buildingthe relationships that may matter during your next round, Upstream gives you a place to meet investors and peers outside the limitations of a cold email or online introduction.
Meet pre-seed and seed investors
Finding capital starts with finding the right investor.
Upstream brings together venture capital funds, angel investors, corporate venture teams, impact investors, family offices and other investors interested indiscovering early-stage companies.
Founders can connect with investors through dedicated speed dates, introductions and meetings alongside the conversations happening naturally throughout thefestival.
This gives both sides the opportunity to move beyond a profile or pitch deck.
Founders can learn what an investor is looking for, where their company may fit and what questions they need to answer as they prepare for fundraising.
Investors can meet the founders themselves, explore new technologies and business models,and discover companies they may otherwise never encounter.
Startup networking with a purpose
The value of a startup event depends on who you meet.
Upstream is built around creating relevant connections between founders, investors,corporates and the wider startup ecosystem.
Some conversations lead to funding. Others lead to a customer introduction, astrategic partner, feedback on a business model or a founder who has already experienced the challenge you are facing.
That mixmatters at the early stage.
Building acompany comes with questions that change quickly: how to fund the next phase,how to reach the right market, how to build the team, how to find product-market fit and how to decide what deserves your attention.
Being surrounded by people dealing with those same questions gives founders access toknowledge and perspectives that are difficult to find alone.
More than investor meetings
Investor access is an important part of Upstream, but the festival is designed aroundthe wider founder journey.
Throughout Upstream, founders can take part in talks, workshops, startup pitches, foundergatherings, side events and curated meetings.
There is space to learn from experienced founders and investors, exchange experiences with peers, explore partnerships and have the unplanned conversations that canbecome unexpectedly valuable.
The result is an event where a founder can spend one part of the day discussing a fundinground, another learning from someone who has scaled before, and another meetinga potential customer or partner.
That combination of capital, knowledge and opportunity is at the heart of Upstream.
An investor event built around early-stagefounders
For investors, early-stage investing is ultimately about people as much ascompanies.
Meeting founders in person provides context that is difficult to capture in a deck. How do they think? How deeply do they understand the problem? How do they respondto difficult questions? What drives them to build this particular company?
Upstream gives investors access to early-stage founders from the Netherlands and beyond in an environment designed to encourage genuine interaction.
Investors can discover companies, schedule meetings, join conversations with other investors and become part of a broader founder-focused startup community.
For venturecapital funds and angel investors actively looking for pre-seed and seed opportunities, Upstream provides a concentrated opportunity to build relationships with emerging founders.
Early-stage startups across industries
Innovation rarely fits into a single category.
Upstream welcomes early-stage startups from across industries while creating additional focus around three sectors where strong innovation ecosystems are developing:
Climate & Energy
Meet founders and investors working across climate tech, clean energy, energy transition, decarbonization, storage, circularity and related technologies.
Health & Wellbeing
Connect with startups, investors and partners working across health tech, digitalhealth, medtech, biotech, diagnostics, preventive health and wellbeing.
Port & Maritime
Discover founders building technologies for ports, shipping, logistics, smart infrastructure, automation, supply chains and maritime innovation.
The tracks provide additional industry relevance while keeping the wider festival open to promising founders and technologies from other sectors.
Why attend a startup event in Rotterdam?
Rotterdam has developed into an important meeting point for entrepreneurship, technologyand industry in the Netherlands.
Its startup ecosystem sits alongside major sectors including energy, maritime, logistics,healthcare and the creative industries, while the wider Dutch ecosystem provides access to investors, universities, corporates, accelerators andinternational markets.
For early-stage founders, this creates opportunities to build relationships beyondtheir immediate network.
Upstream brings that ecosystem together in Rotterdam while welcoming founders and investors from across the Netherlands and internationally.
You do not need to be based in Rotterdam to become part of it.
What early-stage founders can find at Upstream
Access to investors
Meet investors interested in discovering pre-seed and seed-stage companies and start conversations around current or future funding rounds.
Curated meetings
Use dedicated matchmaking and speed dates to identify investors, corporate partners and other attendees relevant to your company.
Founder connections
Meet other entrepreneurs who understand the realities of building an early-stage companyand exchange experiences, knowledge and introductions.
Strategic partners
Connect with corporates, ecosystem organizations and potential customers who may help you validate, pilot or commercialize your solution.
Founder-focused content
Join talks,workshops and conversations addressing the decisions, opportunities and challenges involved in building and growing a startup.
A wider startup community
Connect with founders, investors and ecosystem partners from across the Netherlands and beyond.
Proven founder-investor connections
Upstream is built to create connections rather than simply put people in the same room.
At Upstream Festival 2026, 296 investor speed dates took place and 2,850 connections were made across the festival week. Participants came from 26 countries, and the main festival maintained a 3:1 startup-to-investor ratio.
These numbers reflect what Upstream is designed to do: create enough focus for relevant meetings while maintaining the wider community that makes unexpected connections possible.
Who should attend?
Early-stage founders
Upstream is especially relevant if you are building a pre-seed or seed-stage startup and want to meet investors, partners, potential customers or other founders.
Investors
Venturecapital funds, angels, corporate investors, family offices and other investors can discover early-stage startups and build relationships with founders.
Corporate partners
Organizations looking for startup technologies, innovation partnerships, pilots and collaboration can meet curated founders across Upstream's community.
Startup ecosystem organizations
Accelerators,incubators, universities, public organizations and other ecosystem partners canconnect their communities with founders, investors and opportunities across the Netherlands and Europe.
Frequently asked questions
What is Upstream Festival?
Upstream Festival is a founder-focused startup and investor event in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It brings early-stage startups together with investors, corporatepartners, fellow founders and organizations from across the startup ecosystem.
Is Upstream for early-stage startups?
Yes.Upstream has a particular focus on early-stage companies, including pre-seedand seed startups looking for capital and growth opportunities.
Can I meet investors at Upstream Festival?
Yes.Investor-founder connections are a central part of Upstream. Founders can meet investors through speed dates, scheduled meetings, introductions and networking throughout the festival.
What types of investors attend Upstream?
The Upstream community includes venture capital funds, angel investors, corporate venture teams, impact investors, family offices and other investors interested in startups and innovation.
Do I need to be fundraising to attend as a founder?
No.Fundraising is an important reason founders attend, but Upstream is also relevant if you are looking for customers, corporate partners, peer connections, market knowledge or relationships that may become important later.
Is Upstream only for Dutch startups?
No.Upstream takes place in the Netherlands and has strong connections to the Dutch startup ecosystem, while welcoming founders and investors from other countries as well.
Is Upstream only for startups in the three industry tracks?
No. Climate& Energy, Health & Wellbeing and Port & Maritime receive additional focus, while Upstream continues to welcome innovative startups from other industries.
Where is Upstream Festival?
Upstream Festival takes place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Is Upstream relevant for pre-seed investors?
Yes.Upstream is designed around early-stage entrepreneurship and attracts investors looking for startups at pre-seed, seed and other early stages.
Is Upstream a networking event?
Networking is an important part of Upstream, but the festival combines it with curated investor meetings, speed dates, startup pitches, workshops, founder gatherings and other opportunities designed to help startups move forward.
Find the people who can move your startupforward
Early-stage companies grow through a series of decisions, introductions and opportunities.
The right investor matters. So does the right customer, partner, mentor or fellowfounder.
Upstreambrings those people together.
Joinearly-stage founders and investors in Rotterdam and create the conversations that can shape what comes next.