Upstream festival 2023

KEY FACTS

Upstream provided access to capital, new markets, and talent for entrepreneurs who want to scale their business. Through a plethora of events, carefully curated and focusing on individual topics with a common goal: providing the founders of our regions' fastest growing and most innovative startups and scale-ups with better access to talent, markets and capital.

• 3 days
• +75 exhibitors
• 20 speakers
• +2000 visitors

"Big shoutout to Lars Crama & team for pulling off a fantastic Upstream Festival again this year. Personally joined during Capital Day with 4impact and had many inspiring conversations with passionate founders during the day and in the evening at the Co-Financing Our Future | CoFoF investor dinner in BlueCity (010). Keep up the great work!"– Victor Straatman, Entrepreneur & EIR at 4impact Capital

Access to Capital

• €12 billion in assets under management.

• 522 connections made between investors and startups.

• Investment stage breakdown: Pre-seed (26.8%), Seed (31.7%), Series A-D (41.5%).

"To accelerate the transition to a circular economy, we need sustainable factories, and for that, we need innovative entrepreneurs, investors, and financiers who are willing to collaborate and invest in the future."– Lindy Hensen, Co-Founder of Tekkoo and PeelPioneers

Access to MARKETs

• 1120 serendipity meetings between corporates and startups and scale-ups.

• 23 exhibitors: AWS, KPN, KPMG, Microsoft, PwC, Rabobank, S&T, Saint-Gobain, Superscript, and others.

"I'm excited to take part in Upstream Festival, as it offers a great opportunity to connect with fellow investors and entrepreneurs and engage in meaningful discussions about the current startup landscape in and around Rotterdam."– Nienke Roef, Investor, Graduate Entrepreneur

Access to TALENT

• +700 new job connections made.

• +20 scale-ups on the floor.

• +300 attendees.

• +40 MBAs attended.

• Dutch talent (77.3%), international talent (22.7%).

• Education breakdown: High school (35%), Hogeschool (26%), MBA (20%), Bachelor (14%), Master/WO (5%).

"Upstream Festival 2023, what a blast! Fully energized by the countless conversations with entrepreneurs and enablers, inspiring speakers during the fireside chats, and superconnecting with an impressive line-up of pitches and Superconnectors!"— Marjolein Boer, Founder of Maritime Sisters

Marketing Metrics

• +81K page views of upstreamfestival.com.

• +17K page views of the ticket page.

• 54% of attendees were active on an event platform.

• +2.9 million social media impressions.

"Last Thursday I joined the Upstream Festival on behalf of Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics in a session on smart and sustainable healthy cities, organized by City of Rotterdam. Upstream session gave evidence that we need more diversity across cultures, seniority and backgrounds to bring the best ideas for redesigning our cities into a healthy place to live, work and learn. Only together we can create a more sustainable future."– Marcel van Oosterhout, Deputy Executive Director at Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics

PARTNERS

Gemeente Rotterdam, Delft Creating History, Gemeente Schiedam, Gemeente Zoetermeer, ICOS Capital, KPN, Payhawk, Netherlands Enterprise Agency, Superscript, Rabobank, Techleap.nl, Up!, Startups Magazine, Change Inc., MT/Sprout.

"Seeing how this event has grown in a few years is truly amazing. From a small online edition to a regional event across four cities (with almost 50 side events!), including our beloved Rotterdam. So many connections, so many new business ideas, so many new collaborations. From finding co-founders and investors to getting corporate and governmental support, it shows me again how important resilient ecosystems are. Rotterdam is one of them, and Upstream Festival is its demonstration; Not created for profit, but built up from the ground by many collaborators and partners to make a true impact."— Hans Scheffer, Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO at Helloprint

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