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Upstream festival 2020

The first Upstream Festival happened in 2020. Due to the worldwide circumstances, we had to take it online. Nonetheless it was a success and marked the beginning of wonderful things to come.

KEY FACTS

The Upstream Festival took place from September 21-25, 2020, featuring 120+ speakers, 35 co-creators, 10 partners, and 46 sessions focused on next economy topics including circular economy, smart digital, smart energy, and social inclusivity.

"Very impressive event, great host, useful insights how VC’s operate and think." – Florus Wilming, Founder of Onboard
watch the aftermovie
download impact report 2020
PRESS RELEASE UPSTREAM 2020

Access to Capital

• €7.7+ billion in assets under management by 32 participating investors from top European investment funds, including Atomico, Project A, Target Global, Notion VC, DN Capital, Breega, SpeedInvest, Newion, Expon Capital, INKEF, Keen Venture Partners, and Karma Ventures.

• 66 curated investor meetings.

• 32% of founders seeking €2M+ investment.

• Investment breakdown: Up to €500K (46.6%), Up to €2M (20.7%), Up to €5M (13.8%), Up to €10M (13.8%), €15M+ (5.2%).

"Excellent! Following up with all three startups."– Private Investor

Access to MARKETs

• 19 new collaborations and 4 deals made during Upstream, including StoredEnergy with Bierfabriek, UBIRCH GmbH with KPN, Deep Branch and Bergen Carbon Solutions AS with City of Rotterdam.

• 91 curated corporate-startup meetings.

• 90 network partners involved, consisting of 47 co-creators, 35 corporates, and 10 partners.

"The quality of guests were exceptional and I have started conversations with a number of them already."– Richard Hardiman, CEO RanMarine

Access to TALENT

• 10,423 students reached through Upstream.

• 185+ scale-up jobs promoted in Rotterdam via HackYourCareer.com.

• 40% of students international.

• Partnerships with universities and colleges: Utrecht University, Leiden University, Erasmus University, TU Delft, Haagse Hogeschool, Albeda College, Hogeschool Rotterdam.

At Upstream you find people who maybe think alike, maybe think differently. Interact with them, get new ideas, get inspired and create a movement together."– Michiel Muller, CEO Picnic

Marketing Metrics

• Featured in 18 magazines, including Emerce, Silicon Canals, ICT Magazine, Vogue, Elle, High Profile Events, Fonk, Uitzinnig.nl, OneWorld, Pebble MAGAZINE, InZaken.eu, Groene Groeiers, Life Sciences & Health 010, Uitagenda Rotterdam, Sustainable Brands, LBB Online, reaching 39.7 million readers.

• 2,860 online shares and 88,200 estimated coverage views.

• 130K+ social media impressions across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

• 1,936 registrants and 3,300 views.

"Upstream provided me with a unique insight into the different actors within our economy and the fundamental role of students in shaping the evolution of our ecosystem."– Aakanksha Pasumarty, RSM Student

PARTNERS

Upstream FEstival 2020 was brought to you by Up!Rotterdam and partners including City of Rotterdam, City of Delft, City of Schiedam, City of The Hague, Innovation Quarter, Rabobank, Rockboost, KPN, Port of Rotterdam, College Life Work, 42WorkSpace, Blue City, Buccaneer Delft, Builders Startup Studio, Clean Tech Delta, CVN, Drift, Dutch Innovation Park, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus Tech Community, FunX Media, Golden Egg Check, Horti Heroes, Innovation Bridge Europe, IT Campus Rotterdam, Klever, LaatBloeien, MRDH, NL AI Coalition, Netherlands Enterprise Agency, nlgroeit, Noorderwind, Philips Innovation Award, PHX, Rdamse Nieuwe, RDM Rotterdam, Rotterdam Partners, Symbid, TechGrounds, Tekdelta, The Next Women, Thrive Institute, TU Delft, Unknown Group, Venture Café, Voor Goed Rotterdam Impact Agency, WorldStartup, Yes!Delft.

"Winning the Rotterdam Unlocked Challenge during Upstream and launching a pilot project shows that with our Circular Energy Storage we have a great product to boost the circular economy and make the energy transition affordable." – Benjamin Neeteson, Stored Energy