Call for Applications now open for European companies in Games and VR content looking for equity investment!

Deadline for submissions is March 20_th 2016

VR & Games Investment Booster as part of the 2016 edition of the International Games Week Berlin on April 20_th, 2016 (9am – 1pm).

10 early stage companies in video games and VR content will be invited to present their investment opportunity to a panel of 12 to 15 high level international equity investors (business angels, venture capital funds) with track records in the ICT and gaming industry.

The contest is open to console, mobile, social, casual, and online game & VR companies with no restriction on genre, platform, or distribution method. Middle-ware, publishing and distribution companies are also eligible.

Time action

09:00 Doors

09:30 Welcome & Keynotes

10:00 Panel: Investment in Games

10:30 Pitching Session #1

11:30 Break

11:40 Pitching Session #2

12:30 Wrap-Up and Feedback

13:00 END

Silicon Valley is waiting for the next generation of EU Unicorns
Top 15 scaleups to be selected for the 2016 SEC2SV 

SEC2SV 2016 SCALEUPS CALL OPEN 
 – sec2sv.com -

San Francisco, February 29th 2016 — The time is now. Today Mind the Bridge, in partnership with the European Commission and Startup Europe, announces the opening of the call for the next generation of EU Unicorns to be selected for the second annual SEC2SV (Startup Europe Comes to Silicon Valley), a weeklong mission that brings together the most promising EU scaleups, corporates, investors, and policy makers in September 2016 in Silicon Valley.

The aim of SEC2SV is to welcome the next class of leading European scaleups, i.e. mature startups ready to take off and exploit the opportunities offered by Silicon Valley and the US market. Interested companies from all over Europe should apply via the f6s scaleup form, open for one and a half months starting from today, after which a committee of leading US and European investors will select only 15 companies admitted to participate in SEC2SV 2016.

Interested scaleups must meet the following minimum eligibility requirements:

• be a European Union-based company
• have an average annualized growth in employees or turnover greater than 20% per annum over a three-year period (with more than 10 employees at the beginning of the 3 year period)
• desire to expand to the U.S. market or already have a presence there.
• be innovative

The selection will be curated with the support of several Silicon Valley-based partner organizations.

In 2015, 14 European companies representing 9 countries were selected to participate in the SEC2SV mission. Cumulatively, these businesses generated more than $60 million in revenue and had over 1,000 employees. Among them were German high-growth companies Shopgate and Entrade, the UK’s Relaeyes and Versarien, Spain’s Job and Talent, Mosaicoon from Italy, France’s TVTY, among many more.

“SEC2SV brought together amazing scaleups and gave a unique glimpse into the near future. I was honored to be part of this group and I can’t wait to see the next!” commented Andrea Anderheggen, founder and CEO of Shopgate (after an exit with Sofort to Klarna) who participated in the 2015 cohort.

“The words of support and gratitude of Andrea and other CEOs have been our best reward” said Marco Marinucci, Mind the Bridge CEO “That’s why we accepted with enthusiasm the opportunity to replicate SEC2SV week this year and possibly to make it even better”.

During SEC2SV 2016, scaleups will have the opportunity to present at European Innovation Day (the opening conference, with 60+ speakers and 800+ attendees) and participate in a tailored program involving mentoring, networking, and meetings with key stakeholders – a dedicated 3-day Scaleup Summit that will involve in-depth roundtables with 30+ Silicon Valley experts on the topics of growth, talent, legal, funding, M&A, policy, and communications. The SEC2SV participants will also be invited to exclusive receptions (EU consulates in San Francisco), and meetings at Silicon Valley institutions (Apple, Airbnb, Andreessen and Horowitz, Silicon Valley Bank, Squire Patton Boggs, to mention some names from 2015 edition).

In 2015, key SEC2SV participants included Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Gunther Oettinger, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Partner Tim Draper,  Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship Julie Hanna, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Chairman Larry Sonsini, UK Chief Technology Officer Liam Maxwell, among others.

About Mind the Bridge
Mind the Bridge is a global organization dedicated to promoting and supporting successful entrepreneurial ecosystems across the world. Through its flagship entrepreneurship education programs, as well as its global matching events, it has facilitated the bridging of the gap from global startup ecosystems to its home in Silicon Valley. In 2014, Mind the Bridge was selected by the European Commission to lead the Startup Europe Partnership, and today the company supports a diverse range of activities spanning three continents.
mindthebridge.com | @mindthebridge

About Startup Europe Partnership 
Established by the European Commission in January 2014 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, SEP is the first pan-European platform dedicated to transforming European startups into scaleups by linking them with global corporations. By participating in the SEP program, global companies can help this process via business partnerships and strategic and venture corporate investments, providing them with access to the best technologies and talents through procurement of services or products, corporate acquisition or “acqui-hiring”. SEP is led by Mind the Bridge Foundation, a global organization based in Europe and United States, with the support of Nesta (the UK’s innovation foundation), Factory (an acceleration program and campus for tech companies of any stage, originating from Berlin), and Bisite Accelerator (Madrid/Salamanca). SEP is a Startup Europe initiative. Partners include Telefónica, Orange, BBVA (Founding), and Telecom Italia, Unipol Group, Microsoft and Enel (SEP Corporate Member), with the institutional support of the European Investment Fund/ European Investment Bank Group, London Stock Exchange Group, Cambridge University, IE Business School and Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society.
http://startupeuropepartnership.eu  | @sep_eu

Startup Europe Partnership/Mind the Bridge Foundation
Serena Orizi – PR and Communication


Julianne Funk – Marketing and Communications

The CROSS BORDER MENTORSHIP WEEK is an incredible opportunity for high potential startups coming from the five WELCOME Project´s ecosystems to boost their business, gather advices and suggestions while growing their network.

This April, from the 11^th to the 15^th, WELCOME is offering 16 top early stage startups an amazing opportunity with the best mentors in the field of hardware and traveltech.

Over the course of one intensive week, these startups from 4 countries will gather in Dublin for a 1 week immersion programme. They will be running 2 separate calls this event:

1. Hardware: All startups operating in the hardware space are welcome to apply: from wearable to 3D Printing, from IoT to digital manufacturing and much more… If your startup mixes hardware & innovation, apply now!
2. TravelTech: You might be building a social platform that helps users pick a restaurant with their friends, a seat pricing algorithm that increases an airline’s profitability, an augmented reality app that raises a visitor’s enjoyment of a city, a network analysis tool that introduces conference attendees to each other, or any one of a million other innovations. If your startup is in the TravelTech space, apply now!

During the week startups will have the chance to learn from their fellow startups in a logic of cross contamination with talents operating in the same sector from a different environment; work with the key players of the Hardware or Traveltech industry; pitch their project to Irish investors and visit some of the big corporates that have their EU headquarter in Dublin.

The week will be characterized by one to one sessions with the experts of different fields and topics; workshops with renowned speakers; corporates visits; keynotes on general topics and pitching sessions.

WELCOME will be selecting 8 startups through each call to take part in the programme. 4 startups will be selected from each WELCOME ecosystem (Berlin, Dublin, Milan and Madrid/Salamanca) to work together for 1 intensive week designed to grow your network and boost your startup.

An international valuation committee will select winning startups taking into account:

• Value Proposition: pains and needs solved by the company, market opportunity, technology and competitive advantages.
• Management Team: Strong founding team with complementary skills. Proved track record and relevant past experiences are considered a plus.
• Stage: minimum viable product/public beta with first metrics is the ideal stage to attend the mentorship week. Traction showed by first figures will be considered

So don´t miss your chance and apply now!

Participation is free of charge, all costs are covered by the WELCOME Project plus each startup will be reimbursed up to €600 for travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses.

• Startups: will get access to an exclusive week of hands on mentoring approach and support from recognised experts in the field of interest; furhtermore they will benefit from cross contamination and suggestions from other fellow startups taking part in the activity and from the Dublin vibrant startups and corporations ecosystem

• Mentors: will benefit from the contact with high potential startups expecially smart founding teams and innovative product/service solutions

Hardware https://www.f6s.com/crossbordermentorshipweek-hardware

TravelTech https://www.f6s.com/crossbordermentorship-traveltech

Barcelona, February 23rd -EBAN announces today, at the Mobile World Congress’ 4YFN event, a partnership with Mind the Bridge, the leader of the Startup Europe Partnership (SEP). Both SEP and EBAN are devoted to supporting the growth of Europe’s most promising companies, recognising the deficit of scale-ups across the continent. In an effort to build a more unified start-up ecosystem in Europe to help new companies transition from start-ups to scale-ups, new corporate members of Startup Europe Partnership will now automatically gain inclusion to EBAN’s e-Xcelerator and vice versa.

SEP is the open innovation platform launched by the European Commission, managed by Mind the Bridge. SEP’s goal is to initiate qualified connections (“matching”) between top European scale-ups and medium and large corporations with the goal of fostering commercial and strategic partnerships. Startup Europe via Mind the Bridge has also established connections with Silicon Valley, facilitating further opportunities for growth for its elite club of startups. In Europe, corporate partners meet startups at exclusive matching events, access SEP’s extensive database, promote their corporate initiatives, and benchmark with other leading companies.

EBAN is the pan-European representative of the early-stage investor community. The EBAN e-Xcelerator gathers Europe’s top accelerators, corporates and business angels at small, sector-specific events where investors and corporates can meet vetted start-ups in the sectors that truly interest them. The e-Xcelerator is a platform for building strategic relationships and offers corporates the chance to co-invest with business angels and other investors. EBAN’s e-Xcelerator thus aims to facilitate and focus the investing process for the benefit of both start-ups and investors alike.

The partnership outlines several areas for closer collaboration, including:

• The integration of EBAN’s e-Xcelerator program into Startup Europe Partnership (SEP) platform.
• The opportunity for e-Xcelerator corporate members to join Startup Europe Partnership (SEP).
• EBAN to host a SEP Matching Event in May during its annual Conference (Porto, May 26-27).
• EBAN’s continued involvement in SEP Investors Forum, including vetting the most promising start-ups for the Startup Europe Partnership (SEP) matching platform.
• EBAN’s ongoing support of the SEC2SV (Startup Europe Comes to Silicon Valley), a week of activities that brings together EU startups, corporates and member state representatives under one EU flag to meet with Silicon Valley stakeholders (Sep 26-30).
• Education support from Mind the Bridge for EBAN companies, sharing knowledge and expertise on innovation, entrepreneurship and the US market.

In comment to the partnership, Alberto Onetti, President of Mind the Bridge and SEP Coordinator expressed: “We don’t need new initiatives to scale-up the European startup ecosystem. We need to put together the ones that are already in place and are working well. We have been working with EBAN for a while and are thrilled to expand our partnership and share with EBAN our expertise in open innovation and bridging start-ups to corporates.”

Candace Johnson, President of EBAN stated: “We are very pleased about partnering with Mind the Bridge and Startup Europe Partnership (SEP) as working together with corporations is a major point of our strategy to provide the “Missing Link” for start-ups to corporates. Startup Europe Partnership (SEP) is by far the best platform to bring startups and corporates together and turn open innovation into reality.”

The necessary cooperation between corporations, start-ups and scale-ups was also addressed at the “Conference on the digital transformation of European industry and enterprises” on February 16th. At this conference European Commissioners Bieńkowska, Moedas, Oettinger, and Vice-President Katainen called for renewed and ambitious efforts for promoting and fostering entrepreneurship, open innovation and investments that will support the digital transition of the European economy based on collaborative innovation. EU Commissioner Elżbieta Bienkowska noted: “All the power of the fourth industrial revolution lies in innovation and collaborative business models”.

The EBAN-SEP partnership means that Europe’s high potential start-ups now have a greater chance of accessing corporations who may be key to helping them leap and achieve sustainable growth. Corporations will also benefit from access to innovative start-ups and scale-ups as well as capitalizing on a broad network of experienced investors and mentors.

Corporates interested to exploit their open innovation strategy through SEP and EBAN should contact EBAN Members of the Board of Directors, Peter E. Braun and Aleksandar Cabrilo (EBAN) or Antonio De Mitri (SEP).

EBAN
Eban is the pan-European representative for the early stage investor community, gathering 170 member organisations in 59 countries today. Established in 1999 by a group of pioneer angel networks in Europe with the collaboration of the European Commission and EURADA, EBAN represents a sector estimated to invest 7.5 billion euros a years and playing a vital role in Europe’s future, notably in the funding of SMEs. EBAN fuels Europe’s growth through the creation of wealth and jobs.
http://www.eban.org | @eban_org

Mind the Bridge
Mind the Bridge is a global organization dedicated to promoting and supporting successful entrepreneurial ecosystems across the world. Through its flagship entrepreneurship education programs, as well as its global matching events, it has facilitated the bridging of the gap from global startup ecosystems to its home in Silicon Valley. In 2014, Mind the Bridge was selected by the European Commission to lead the Startup Europe Partnership, and today the company supports a diverse range of activities spanning three continents.
mindthebridge.com  | @mindthebridge

About Startup Europe Partnership
Established by the European Commission in January 2014 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, SEP is the first pan-European platform dedicated to transforming European startups into scaleups by linking them with global corporations. By participating in the SEP program, global companies can help this process via business partnerships and strategic and venture corporate investments, providing them with access to the best technologies and talents through procurement of services or products, corporate acquisition or “acqui-hiring”. SEP is led by Mind the Bridge Foundation, a global organization based in Europe and United States, with the support of Nesta (the UK’s innovation foundation), Factory (an acceleration program and campus for tech companies of any stage, originating from Berlin), and Bisite Accelerator (Madrid/Salamanca). SEP is a Startup Europe initiative. Partners include Telefónica, Orange, BBVA (Founding), and Telecom Italia, Unipol Group, Microsoft and Enel (SEP Corporate Member), with the institutional support of the European Investment Fund/ European Investment Bank Group, London Stock Exchange Group, Cambridge University, IE Business School and Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society. For more info: http://startupeuropepartnership.eu  | @sep_eu

For further information:

EBAN
Peter E. Braun

Aleksandar Cabrilo

Startup Europe Partnership/Mind the Bridge Foundation
Serena Orizi – PR and Communication
(+39) 3204205558

Julianne Funk – Marketing and Communications
(+44) 07464769066

Startup Europe and ePlus are happy to announce the results of the 2^nd Round of Micro-Grants! With over 65 applications received from amazing 22 countries, micro-grants definitely went international!

Our most sincere congratulations go to the 20 winners listed in the table below.

Winners will receive Micro-Grant covering travel and accommodation expenses up to 1.000€ (media production expenses might be reimbursed up to 15% of the total expenses).

The next round of Micro-Grants will be announced in April 2016! Check the ePlus website for news!

After the success of the 2015 edition of the EU-XCEL Acceleration Program (under the Startup Europe initiative), with more than 600 applicants and 250 participants, we want to invite you to the second edition, which is open until February 27th.

EU-XCEL (euxcel.eu) is a start-up incubation programme funded by the European Commission.

The registration period for the 2nd edition is opened until next February the 27th for young entrepreneurs. Check all details as well as the terms and conditions of participation in EU-XCEL in http://euxcel.eu/whyapply. We will select around 300 young Europeans to create their start-ups with people from other European countries.

The programme includes:

•  A training week in one of the organizing countries (Germany, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Poland) with the expenses (flights, hotel, breakfast and lunch) covered by the project.

•  Four months of incubation with the help of our mentors.

•  Access to specialized investors.

•  A final challenge among the best teams participating in the 2016 edition, with prizes for the best start-ups and access to seed capital investors.

Please find further information in our webpage http://euxcel.eu/,

Social networks (https://www.facebook.com/EUXCEL @EUXCEL  https://www.linkedin.com/company/euxcel)

And the following videos:

Start Up is often considered as a first step on a road to great business career. Many young entrepreneurs claim that innovative idea and their zeal alone can grant them success. Reality, however, is a lot more complicated, and even though the start-up is an important milestone on a road to fame and profits, there is still lot to be done before embarking on that journey. Most pertinent question here would be: what do I need to do to start my own company? The answer can be found on Business Acceleration Days”, a training organized by DotConnect and Microsoft Poland.

Business Acceleration Days is a two days training for Microsoft Imagine Cup participants who qualified for the next round. It will be carried out by technological and business mentors, who will aid partakers in planning their business and forging their ideas into market success. The main goal of this training is to prepare the teams for the next stage of the contest and to ensure that, they will be scrutinized by four teams of judges. Its second, but equally important aim is to provide young innovators with knowledge and skills required for their further development, both professional and business. The competition is divided into three categories: Games, Innovation and World Citizenship. In its current stage, each of them have thirty teams that fared best so far, summing up for ninety squads total.

The event will be held between 20^th and 21^st February, in the Microsoft Poland headquarters on AlejeJerozolimskiestreet 196A, Warsaw. The partners include META Zernike Ventures,STARTUP EUROPE-TWIST and Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP).

DotConnect is a company, which mission is to support young talented people from IT and technological industries. As a business accelerator, it helps to fund various interesting projects, as well as providing their creators with knowledge and essential supplies to accomplish them.

We are cooperating with many lead companies to find interesting projects and support them, both financially and by delivering the necessary know-how. Figuratively speaking, running your own company resembles connecting the dots to make an image. By organizing events such as Business Acceleration Days, DotConnect helps the young teams to connect those dots in order to create a business masterpiece out of them.

Says Marcin Franc, founder of DotConnect.

 In case of any questions please contact

Stanisław Stasiewicz

694 424 093

For your convenience we have added the event agenda:

Day 1 20.02.2016

1. Registration [8:00-9:00]
2. Introduction (Marcin Franc) [9:00-9:30]
3. Business modeling (Marcin Franc) [9:30-10:40]
4. Inspiring and despairing fu**ups (multiple speakers) [11:00-12:40]
5. TARAN factor (Marcin Franc) [13:20-15:00]
6. Smart money (Piotr Sławski) [15:20-17:00]
7. Ask me anything (multiple speakers) [17:20-19:00]
8. Investment pitches (Record) [20:00-24:00]

Day 2 21.02.2016

1. Registration [9:00-10:00]
2. Hands-on evaluations [10:00-16:00]
3. Investment pitches (Live) [selected teams] [10:00-16:00]
4. TOP 10 announcement [17:30-18:00]