Upstream festival 2024
From May 28 until May 29, 2024, the Rotterdam Metropolitan Region transformed again into the place where startups, scale-ups, investors, bold corporates, policymakers and students come together to make a positive impact on the world.
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.
- 2 days
- 3 stages
- 30 speakers
- 37 side events
- 47 exhibitors
- 2250+ unique visitors
- 1050 main event visitors (sold out)
- 1203 side event visitors
- 35+ partners
"Upstream Festival was a tremendous success. Inspiring to see a platform dedicated to nurturing the entrepreneurs of tomorrow."– Hicham Shatou, CEO of LeQuest
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%).
"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 MARKETs
• 1120 serendipity meetings between corporates and startups/scale-ups.
• 23 exhibitors: AWS, KPN, KPMG, Microsoft, PwC, Rabobank, S&T, Sait-Gobain, Superscript, and others.
"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 TALENT
• +700 new job connections made.
• +20 scale-ups on the floor.
• +300 attendees.
• +40 MBAs attended.
"What an amazing day at Upstream Festival Talent Day! Our team had an absolute blast as we rocked our standing booth, engaging with talented students and companies. The energy and enthusiasm were contagious! The event was a perfect blend of fun and networking, creating meaningful connections and lifelong memories. A big shout-out to the organizers for putting together such a fantastic event. We already counting down the days until next year's event!" – Micky Chen, CEO and Co-Founder of Minite.Works.
Marketing Metrics
• +2.9 million social media impressions.
• +81K page views of upstreamfestival.com.
• +17K page views of the ticket page.
• 54% of attendees active on an event platform.
• Visitor demographics: Startups 52.9%, Students 14.4%, Investors 12%, Ecosystem builders 8.4%, Public/NGO 5.3%, Corporate/SME 3.2%.
"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
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, 42Workspace, Arches Capital, B Lab Benelux, BlueCity, Builders, CIC, Dutch New Narrative Lab, Dutch Fresh Port, Dutch National Video Game Museum, Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship, Erasmus Enterprise, Faalverhaal Podcast, Graduate Entrepreneur, Handpicked Agencies, High Tech NL Robotics, Holland High Tech, HortiHeroes, IEEE Entrepreneurship, IEEE Robotics & Automation Society, Innovation Quarter, Interfas, Invest NL, iTanks, Ketelbinkie, KPMG Emerging Giants, Laatbloeien, Lumolabs, MKB Rotterdam Rijnmond, Merlin Software, Microlab Rotterdam, NL Startup Competition, No Dodos, Noorderwind, Odd.bot, Provincie Zuid-Holland, Retrieve, Rotterdam Partners, Rotterdam Square, Rotterdam Women in Tech, Rough Diamonds Inc., RVO, Scalebooster, Startup Academy Hogeschool Rotterdam, StartupRoulette, Stichting Doen, Stichting Ondernemersbelang, SuperConnectors, Tekkoo, The Awesome Foundation, The Sandbox, The Social Hub Rotterdam, Titaan, Up!Rotterdam, Voor Goed Agency, World Horti Center, World Startup, Yes!Delft, YoungCreators, & others.
"Day 2: Capital Wednesday was all about #investment in a very special sphere. From a very interactive workshop at the Buccaneer Delft to the Capital House we where could talk to very welcoming members and investors from leading Dutch and European funds. And last but not least, great networking activities." – Jaime Ascencio, Co-Founder & CEO at Reefy