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Upstream festival 2021

The second Upstream Festival, held September 20-24, 2021, brought together changemakers through a hybrid format.

KEY FACTS

Driven by the community, it featured a programme curated by more than 51 co-creation partners, offering 38 events with over 30 speakers. The focus was on promoting the transition to the Next Economy, providing founders of innovative startups and scale-ups with better access to talent, markets, and capital.

"Back from the first day at Upstream Festival! Made me think of Slush. Vibrant, great setting, and inspiring to me as a first-time startup founder."– Rob in 't Zand, Founder at Health-Thing
aftermovie and photosDownload Impact Report 2021
PRESS RELEASE UPSTREAM 2021Press release events not to miss

Access to Capital

• €32+ billion in assets under management.

• 300+ founders, 90+ investors from 14 cities and 7 countries.

• 181 curated investor meetings.

• 52% of startups at Series A and above, who collectively raised €230M+ in funding.

• 90+ investors focusing on funding startup ventures across all stages.

• 52% international investors. Country breakdown: Netherlands (47.8%), UK (17.4%), Germany (13%), Norway (6.5%), France (6.5%), USA (4.3%).

"I was delighted to be invited to a signature PHX experience at Stadshaven Brouwerij. Great discussions with leading international & local VCs, alongside the leading minds in tech from within the #Netherlands."– Chingiskhan Kazakhstan, Co-Founder at Bondi

Access to MARKETs

• 167 curated startup meetings.

• 20 matches created on site.

• 8 corporates, 8 countries, 11 partners involved in creating opportunities.

• Facilitated direct connections to international markets.

• 25 startups participated in curated market access matchmaking events.

"What an amazing week at Upstream Festival! Five full days of inspiration around Tech, Talent, Growth, Capital and many more topics at Rotterdam’s newest venue Stadshaven Brouwerij -what a cool spot."– Hans Scheffer, Founder and CEO at Helloprint

Access to TALENT

• 893 scale-up and startup jobs promoted via HackYourCareer.com.

• 14 universities and colleges represented (TU Delft, InHolland, Hogeschool Rotterdam, Erasmus University, Leiden University, Saxion University, VU Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Albeda, Turing College, Avans Breda, Tilburg University, IT Campus Rotterdam, Rotterdam Business School).

• 25 scale-ups at career fair, leading to 415 new connections with job seekers.

• 9 co-creation partners hosting 10 sessions reaching 376 students on site.

"I was reflecting with someone yesterday that it's reminding me of an exciting tipping point moment in Boston from maybe 10 years ago. The tech/investor/startup community in Rotterdam region is still intimate enough that people really know and want to help each other, and a connection is only ever an ask away."– Melissa Ablett-Jordaan, Vice President at CIC

Marketing Metrics

• 43% international online viewer audience.

• Visitor demographics: Startup/Scale-up Founder (28%), Students (21%), Government (11%), Startup/Scale-up Employee (10%), Other (8%), Investor (7%), Self-Employed (7%), Academia (3%), Corporate (5%).

• 24 publications in various media (Emerce, InnovationQuarter, Schiedam24, Siliconcanals, Greenevents, MT/Sprout, Utrecht Business, De Ondernemer, Baaz, Mijn ZZP, Foodclicks, NPT, Dutch IT Channel, Landenwater, Vastgoedmarkt.nl, Aftersalesmagazine, BNR Nieuwsradio, NU.nl)

PARTNERS

Up!Rotterdam and partners including &Flux, 42Workspace, Aexus, Amsterdam Trade & Innovate, Arches Capital, BlueCity010, CIC, City of Delft, City of Rotterdam, City of Schiedam, College Life World, CVN, Deloitte, Dutch Basecamp, Dutch Chambre of Commerce, EBZH, EIT, EIT InnoEnergy, ECE, Erasmus Enterprise, Future Mobility Park, Golden Egg, Graduate Entrepreneur, Healthy Funding, Holland Instrumentation, ICOS Capital, InnovationQuarter, Investor Ready, iTanks, Klever, KPN, Laatbloeien, Lefthoek, Microlab, Mobility Lab, NLGroeit, NPEX, Philips Innovation Award, PHX, Port of Rotterdam, PortXL, Rabobank, RDM, Rotterdam Expat Centre, Rotterdam Partners, RSM Erasmus, RVO, Talents United, Techleap.nl, Turing College, Venture Cafe, Yes!Delft.