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About Upstream

CONNECTING STARTUPS, CAPITAL AND OPPORTUNITIES.

Upstream is where (pre)-seed startups find capital and opportunities. Whether you’re raising, investing, or looking to partner with the next generation of entrepreneurs, this community-driven festival is your gateway to capital, cutting-edge ideas, and meaningful connections. Save the date for Upstream Festival 2027: May 20,

Lisette Braakenburg van Backum
CEO / Head of Event
Shaping the festival for 6 yrs to connect ambitious founders with capital & peers. 10+ yrs building founder communities. Loves sports, singing & networking.
Robbin Hoogstraten
CCO / Head of Partnerships
12+ yrs empowering entrepreneurs to raise capital & scale. Bringing fundraising expertise to Upstream Festival. Startups are like BBQ: gather great people, build from scratch, watch it grow!
Christine Michaelis
CMO / Head of Marketing
15+ yrs experience working with startups and creating startup events across Europe. 20+ yrs experience in the communication industry. She loves exploring spirituality, meeting new people, and sports.
Kirra Pickering
Head of Program & People
Crafting 2026 content/connections for founders to learn & grow. 5 yrs scaling EU startups via programs, matchmaking, events. Loves gardening, books, travel. Aussie in Amsterdam.
Iryna Pranovich
Head of Data
Ex-data scientist, VC analyst, Product Lead; loves shaping PMF, GTM, models & connections. At Upstream since 2022, now supporting community. Runs, travels, concerts; intro/extrovert needing recharge.

WHAT IS UPSTREAM FESTIVAL?

Upstream Festival is a founder-focused startup festival, created to connect startups with the capital, knowledge, customers, partners, and ecosystem relationships that help them move forward. The festival brings together early-stage founders and investors from across Europe. Its role is to make the startup ecosystem easier to navigate by creating focused moments where the right people can meet, exchange ideas and build relationships that continue after the event.

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Upstream is built around one central mission: connecting startups, capital and opportunities. For founders, that means access to investors, peers, potential customers, strategic partners and practical knowledge. For investors, it means curated access to ambitious founders and early-stage deal flow.

The festival is organized by the Upstream team, bringing together experience in founder communities, partnerships, marketing, programming, data, and ecosystem building. Together, the team curates the festival program, investor connections, founder meetings, partner collaborations, and community moments that shape the Upstream experience.

UPSTREAM IN NUMBERS

At Upstream Festival 2026, the festival brought together more than 2,000 visitors across five days, with 23 side events, 26 countries represented, 41+ co-creation partners, and 2,850 connections made. The access-to-capital program included 296 investor speed dates and a 3:1 startup-to-investor ratio.

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Upstream 2027 will happen on May 20 in Rotterdam.

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Upstream Festival is run by the Upstream team and operated by Earlywave Ventures B.V. from Rotterdam.

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