Sofia Esteves

Silicon Valley, India, The Netherlands, Berlin and Paris: these are the destinations of the upcoming Missions for startups/scaleups and ecosystem builders! Applications open on F6S until 17 September. Don’t miss it!

 

Are you a startup/scaleup based in Europe looking to expand your business and explore new markets?

Are you an ecosystem builder, i.e. startup mentor, incubator or accelerator representative, investor, serial entrepreneur interested in discovering new startup ecosystems?

Soft-Landing is back with multiple Missions for startups and ecosystem builders. Deadline to apply: 17 September 2018 

 

Missions for Startups and Scaleups

Soft-Landing supports startups and scaleups in the discovery of new ecosystems and business development with a 1-week Mission at a particular destination ecosystem and up to one month soft-landing support.

• Get access and connect with the destination ecosystem network
• Gain knowledge of the ecosystem’s establishment conditions, incentives, tax and legislation
• Receive mentorship on market establishment and scaleup
• Participate in local events and conferences
• Take part in a Startup Europe initiative – participation is free of charge
• Get access to tailored support, office space and other facilities (in the European ecosystems you can extend the 1-week Mission for up to 1 month)

 

OPEN CALLS TO STARTUPS AND SCALEUPS

> Zoetermeer, the Netherlands (15-19 October 2018)
> Berlin, Germany (22-26 October 2018)
> Paris, France (5-9 November 2018)
> Silicon Valley (12-16 November 2018)

Find out all further details, including the eligibility criteria and the preliminary agenda of each Mission.

APPLY NOW: www.f6s.com/slsa/apply

 

Missions for Ecosystem Builders

Soft-Landing gives ecosystem builders the opportunity to dive in an intensive & immersive 3-5 day Mission in another startup ecosystem, to explore it and meet with other key leaders, building bridges between them.

• Gain deep knowledge of other startup ecosystems
• Learn the processes required to scale there
• Find out about the available resources for startups
• Build long-lasting relationships with local startup ecosystem leaders that support scaling
• Provide better advice to your local startups/scaleups on scaling destinations
• Break knowledge barriers and misconceptions about the foreign ecosystems
• Take part in a Startup Europe initiative – participation is free of charge and you can benefit from partial travel and accommodation expenses reimbursement

 

OPEN CALLS TO ECOSYSTEM BUILDERS

> Zoetermeer, the Netherlands (17-19 October 2018)
> Berlin, Germany (22-24 October 2018)
> Paris, France (5-7 November 2018)
> Silicon Valley (12-16 November 2018)
> India (November 2018 – TBC)

Find out further details, including the eligibility criteria and the preliminary agenda of each Mission.

APPLY NOW: www.f6s.com/slb/apply

 

Previous Missions – what’s it like

1. The very first Mission landed in Berlin and gathered a diversified delegation of ecosystem builders who got to explore the Berlin startup hub with support from our local partner GTEC. Take a look!
2. The first Mission for startups was custom made to Fintechs and took place in the Netherlands in April. The group of entrepreneurs mingled with ecosystem builders and met key players in Zoetermeer, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, in a programme organised by Crosspring.
3. In Paris, each startup had one-on-one mentoring sessions with top mentors. Apart from exploring La French Tech with support from IMT Starter – the French Soft-Landing partner, the startups and ecosystem builders got free access to VivaTech! Check it out.
4. Soft-Landing and GTEC organised a second Mission in Berlin before the Summer. The group had great talks and discussions about the Berlin startup ecosystem and also went to Tech Open Air! Meet the delegation.
5. Startup Division organised in June the Vilnius Blockchain Week under the Soft-Landing and Startup Lighthouse projects. Startups and ecosystem leaders got to meet blockchain rockstars from all over the world and understand what’s hot about the Lithuanian startup ecosystem. The week culminated with the first edition of the Startup Europe Block Forum. Check all the details and useful links.

 

Keep track of the SoftLanders

We’re growing a community of promising startups and high-level ecosystem leaders.

Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook for fresh news about the #SoftLandingEU Missions.

Startup Lighthouse is opening up applications for two mini intensive acceleration programmes that help startups scale-up: DDW Berlin on Industrial IoT (10-13 September) & DDW Lisbon on Analytics (16-18 October).

Preliminary agendas of the Deep Dive Weeks are up on the website (http://startuplighthouse.eu/) and promise busy days, plenty of 1-on-1s with potential clients and immersion into the local communities. Know promising European startups innovating in manufacturing, IoT, analytics, machine learning, data science?

The deadline is 31 July – apply now on F6S! Travel costs are reimbursed. Check all details below.

 

Deep Dive in Berlin  |  10-13 September

DDW Berlin – Industrial IoT: Berlin needs no introduction: the German capital records more than 40 thousand startups, and IoT is one of the key verticals. Over the past few years, over 50 corporate accelerators and other special programmes, such as Lufthansa, Metro, SAP, IBM, Viessmann, Volkswagen, Daimler and Bosch, have moved their innovation hubs to Berlin. The DDW becomes a gateway to the German industry giants and the Mittelstand (+3 million SMEs making up the fabric of the economy) looking to stay competitive through innovation and startup collaboration.

The Berlin DDW will be an action-packed program with real benefits for startups and scale-ups, including:

• Two-way Pitching: Corporates pitch startups on specific collaboration options
• Matchmaking with multipliers & corporate partners
• Industry specific Workshops
• Access to the local IoT ecosystem

DDW Berlin is delivered by Daniel Moreno and the etventure Startup Hub team, experts in company  building and corporate innovation. Here’s a preliminary agenda of #DDWBerlin.

Apply to DDW Berlin by 31 July on F6S: www.f6s.com/ddwberlin/apply

 

Deep Dive in Lisbon  |  16-18 October

DDW Lisbon – Analytics: Sunny Lisbon is home to an emerging startup ecosystem steadily rising in popularity after becoming the first European Capital of Entrepreneurship in 2015 and then the new home of Web Summit in 2016. This is enabled by growing portfolio of successful companies (analytics examples: Feedzai, OutSystems, Attentive) and network of support through accelerator funding, tech incubators and newly refurbished coworking spaces popping up all over the city. Lisbon is overflowing with talent, with a strong emphasis on tech, analytics and data, being the home to Lisbon Data Science Academy and Universidade de Lisboa, number 11 for Engineering and top 50 for Computer Science in Best Global University rankings.

The highlights for DDW Lisbon include:

• Corporate innovation session with Accenture
• Among Investors: Curated 1-on-1s & pitching competition
• Workshops by Startup Lisboa, Beta-i & SRS on doing business in Portugal
• Quality networking: Coworking space tour & “A Night in the Brewery” by MUSA

DDW Lisbon is delivered by Tim Brown and the FastTrack VC team, empowering disruptive startups with seed investment, execution expertise and market experience. Here’s a preliminary agenda of #DDWLisbon.

Apply to DDW Lisbon by 31 July on F6S: www.f6s.com/ddwlisbon/apply

 

What’s the cost?

Participation in the programme is 100% free of charge thanks to Startup Europe and travel expenses are reimbursable up to 500€. Startups are welcome to bring 2 team members to the Deep Dive Weeks.

Selection criteria

• Market-readiness: Must have at least functional MVP, ideally already with recurring revenue in one market.
• Fit with Deep Dive Week: Must be relevant to the topic / vertical of the Deep Dive Week being applied to.
• English proficiency: Must be able to communicate well in English, including pitching and Q&A.
• Validation: Raised 50-250k€ and/or has significant revenue / growth.
• Scalable: Strong technological component, scalable internationally.
• Relevant Traction: Significant number of users, growth of revenue or strong commercial agreements.
• Ambition: Looking to raise for a Round A+ (1 million €) or equivalent.
• Location: Priority given to startups from Germany, Ireland, Baltics and Portugal.
• Team: Balanced with both business and technical demonstrated competencies.

These criteria are indicative – high potential startups are always considered! If you have a question – drop us a message.

Previous Deep Dive Weeks

• We’ve brought travel tech and aviation startups from all over Europe to meet some of the industry super stars in Dublin. Take a look at the programme offered by DCU Ryan Academy.
• After Dublin, we were in Lithuania for a full week talking blockchain! Check out the programme organised by Startup Division and the startups we supported.

About Startup Lighthouse

Startup Lighthouse mini acceleration programmes provide a combination of sector-specific “softlanding”, acceleration and internationalization. The Deep Dive Weeks provide support and guidance from local ecosystem leaders and gives know-how & access to ecosystem resources. A Scaling Manager identifies each startup the needs and ambitions before the DDW, facilitating contacts during and after the week. Deep Dive Weeks are most beneficial for startups that are ready to scale.