SEW partners up with F6S making an even cooler Startup Europe Week!
We are excited to announce that F6S, the world’s largest tech founder and startup community, has joined SEW as a partner to help strengthen the coordination of SEW events on a global scale
In 2017, SEW saw hundreds of events spread over 40+ countries, with the participation of 280+ co-organisers. Now in its 3rd edition, SEW continues to grow exponentially, with more and more people joining this powerful grassroots movement for entrepreneurs.
To manage this growth, we have partnered with F6S, another young team passionate about entrepreneurship. As the world’s largest tech founder and startup community, they have 2.35 million profiles, including over 890,000 startups and 15,000 partners.
F6S will help us streamline operations by centralising all SEW events on one platform, and offer 24/7 online support for co-organisers.
- Efficiency: All SEW events will be set-up and streamlined on the F6S platform, making it easier for co-organisers to plan and promote multiple events, and for attendees to find out what’s going on in their local area
- Support: F6S will provide 24/7 support to SEW co-organisers and attendees
- Insights: F6S will help collect and structure event information for reporting purposes
- Awareness: F6S will help SEW co-organizers individually promote their events by sending out targeted newsletters (F6S has a combined number of over 1,000,000 entrepreneurs and investors in Europe)
Keep an eye out for more news and updates on #SEW18 – this year will be our biggest yet!
Follow SEW on social media:
Twitter: @startupeuw
Facebook: @startupeuropeweek
LinkedIn: Startup Europe Week
#SEW18
Startup Europe Week 2018 opens registration for co-organisers
Startup Europe Week is the largest multi-event of its kind for startups in Europe and the third edition will be held 5th-9th March 2018. Its goal is to inform entrepreneurs of the support and resources available at a city and regional level.
Startup Europe Week, promoted by the European Commission and Startup Europe, aims to showcase the support available to entrepreneurs on a city and regional level. Regional diversity and local policy making still play a big role in shaping European startups, from helping entrepreneurs to incorporate a company, to providing grants or taxes breaks. For this reason, taking a local perspective is crucial to supporting entrepreneurs and startups in Europe.
In 2017, #SEW17 saw over 280 co-organisers organize hundreds of events in over 40 countries across Europe. The week was launched in Brussels with the Vice President of the European Commission, and as a grassroots movement achieved over 18 million impressions on social media and more than 100 thousand participants across all events.
In 2018, #SEW18 will be held between 5th-9th March and will expand to other global continents. Registration is now open for individuals to apply to co-organise a single event or multiple events in their local city or region.
A typical event aims to:
- Inform local entrepreneurs of the support available: via meetups, talks and workshops
- Connect all players in the local startup ecosystem: network between city and regional governments, accelerators, incubators, investors, corporates, media, universities and entrepreneurs
- Showcase what other regions in Europe are doing: to see what can be leveraged locally
To apply to become a #SEW18 co-organiser, please fill in this form, by December 29th: https://tinyurl.com/ycgmxwps
Further information about what it’s like to be a co-organiser on the Startup Europe Week website.
Follow SEW on social media:
Twitter: @startupeuw
Facebook: @startupeuropeweek
#SEW18
Congratulations #SEW17 co-organisers! The second ‘Startup Europe Week’ (6th-10th February) is a success!
The second Startup Europe Week (6th– 10th February) is over, having had the participation of +280 co-organisers spread across 40+ countries! Congratulations, #SEW17 co-organisers!
What is SEW?
Startup Europe Week (SEW) is an initiative which aims to support entrepreneurs and startups at a local and regional level. The initiative is run by a small independent international team, and has the support of the European Commission.
So why focus on local regions? Regional diversity and local policy making still play a big role in shaping European startups. From helping entrepreneurs to incorporate a company, to providing grants or taxes breaks, European regions are key players. For this reason, Startup Europe Week events focus on showing entrepreneurs the support available to them in their local cities and regions.
Before the week started, hundreds of official leaflets and posters were designed by communications partner Hugin&Munin in Spain, printed and sent across +40 countries in Europe to each of the +280 co-organisers. Each city started preparing their spaces for their events:
#SEW17 was officially launched at 9am on 6th February in Brussels, at the Microsoft Innovation Center, with the participation of the Vice-President of the European Commission, Andrus Ansip. You can see the official #SEW17 storify for pictures and tweets.
Throughout the week #SEW17 saw a high level of diversity, with events spanning from introductory student workshops, to complex talks on robotics and AI. Each city organised events relevant to their local ecosystem, to show what support and resources were available in their local area. This year, the cities with the most events were London and Rome. If you would like to see some pictures, check out the official #SEW17 Facebook album!
Finally, the #SEW17 hashtag achieved over 18 million impressions on twitter during the campaign, which shows the truly grass roots movement behind this initiative.
The question is, are you ready for #SEW18? 5th -9th February 2018!
Press Contact
Charlotte Tucker,
Check out our visual story of #SEW17 launch in Brussels!
We created a visual story of what happened at the launch of #SEW17 in #Brussels last 6th February!
Startup Europe Week aims to help entrepreneurs and startups find out what support is available for them on a local, regional and European level.
The second ever Startup Europe Week (6th-10th February) was launched in Brussels on 6th February at the Microsoft Innovation Centre, with a host of brilliant speakers and people from the entrepreneur world.
To see the storify, go here: https://storify.com/startupeuw/sew17
You can pictures we took from the event, live streaming which we uploaded via Periscope, and other people’s tweets from the event (including quotes from the speakers!)
Thank you for everyone that came to the event, it was a brilliant way to kick off SEW17!
Interview with Peteris Zilgavis, Head of Startups and Innovation and at the EC.
By @SimonCocking interesting interview with Peteris Zilgalvis Head of Unit – Startups & Innovation, Digital Single Market, DG CONNECT, Co-Chair, FinTech Task Force, European Commission.
What is your background?
I’m a barrister, with my J.D. from University of Southern California, and a B.A. in political science from UCLA. I started addressing international law issues in several Latvian ministries (environment, foreign affairs) then moved to private law and then to the World Bank, the Council of Europe and finally the European Commission, working in areas of new technologies, policy and the law.
Is it a logical progression to what you do now?
Yes it is. The Digital Single Market and entrepreneurship in this area follow on my work on how policy and regulatory frameworks can adopt and adapt to innovative solutions rapidly while upholding principles of respect for the environment and our citizens’ interests.
What are you working on now? What are your plans for 2017?
Several important initiatives are implementing the European Commission Communication on the Startups and Scaleups Initiative (innovation procurement, regulatory sandboxes, Startup Europe and ICT standards), and Co-Chairing the European Commission’s Task Force on Financial Technology – FinTech.
What will you be talking about at RVS? / Why are you attending?
I’ll be talking about how Startup Europe aims at mission-based networking between Europe’s Startup ecosystems. We don’t have a single Silicon Valley dominating Europe but different cities that are strong in artificial intelligence, Deep Tech, gaming, FinTech, Insurtech etc. As policymakers, we also are conscious of needing to address societal challenges. The aim is to enable Europe’s entrepreneurs and tech to be part of the solution on the basis of an innovation and investment-friendly business climate.
It was a great year for me because I moved to the Startups and Innovation dossier, which I am very motivated by, but it was a year in which we saw that many voters in the World were dissatisfied with the status quo and were looking for answers. I believe that innovation and entrepreneurship can provide some of the opportunities that have been missing so I’m glad to be working with Europe’s startup communities to ensure that the next scaleups come from the EU and that jobs and growth are generated.
Which influencers and websites do you follow to keep up to date with the latest developments?
Too many to make a choice here (and to show favouritism). Always glad to hear about new sources of info.
How can people find out more about what you are working on?
The Startup Europe websites and social media, the European Commission websites and social media and my own Twitter account ( @PZilgalvis ).
Peteris Zilgalvis, J.D.
Head of Unit, Startups and Innovation
Digital Single Market Directorate
Directorate General Communications Networks, Content and Technology
Co-Chair, FinTech Task Force
European Commission
[email protected]
Anything else you’d like to add / we should have asked?
I’m looking forward to a great event in beautiful Riga, Latvia, where I’m always glad to be!
If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at or on Twitter: @SimonCocking
European Commission press release on launch of #SEW17!
Startup Europe Week brings together tech startups in 40 countries
For the second year, Startup Europe Week will bring together tech entrepreneurs in different cities all over Europe.
During this week, 200 events will take place in 40 countries across Europe, including countries such as Ukraine, Belarus and Azerbaijan in addition to the EU Member States. The aim is to inform startups about the available support and resources both at local, regional and EU level.
Startup Europe Week is a grassroots movement promoted by the European Commission’s Startup Europe initiative. It is part of the Commission’s efforts under the Digital Single Market and Single Market strategies to boost economic growth and create jobs by helping startups. Last year more than 15,000 startups took part in the first Startup Europe Week which reached over 4 million people on social media.
Vice-President Andrus Ansip said: “Europe is home to a vibrant startup scene, but some problems remain, such as linking tech hubs, communities and ecosystems. Bringing them closer together would help to unlock their potential, and offer them some scale to compete in the international marketplace. This is exactly the kind of area where Startup Europe Week can help, especially with the local and regional support networks that it can provide.” The Vice-President’s blog post on the Startup Europe Week is available online.
For more information:
Nathalie Vandystadt – Tel: Inga Höglund – Tel: +32 229 50698
Originally published on EC daily news bulletin
EC VP Ansip will launch Startup Europe Week in Brussels, 6th Feb
We are pleased to announce that Commissioner Ansip will launch Startup Europe Week in Brussels on 6th February, the first day of Startup Europe Week (6th- 10th February).
Startup Europe Week is an initiative implemented by SEW and promoted by the European Commission and Startup Europe.
Regional diversity and local policy making still play a big role in shaping European startups. From helping entrepreneurs to incorporate a company, to providing grants or taxes breaks, European regions are key players.
This is exactly why SEW activities focus on the support and initiatives for startups on a regional and city level, in hundreds of cities all over Europe.
#SEW17 will this year involve more than 40 countries, with over 280 co-organisers planning events.
These exciting events will be kicked off with a launch event in Brussels, with EC VP Andrus Ansip.
The event will take place as follows:
09.00 – 09:30 Registration
09.30 – 10.00 Opening and welcome.
Microsoft representative
Igor Tasic, Founder and CEO of Startup Europe Week
10:00 – 10:20 Fireside chat with Andrus Ansip, Vice President of the European Commission and Alex Barrera, Cofounder Tech.eu
10:20 – 11:00 Fireside chat with Adina Valean, Vice President of the European Parliament and Alex Barrera, Cofounder Tech.eu
11:00 – 11:30 Roundtable discution on the the importance to connect ecosystems across Europe: Karen Boers, Cofounder startups.be and Emilio Corchado, CEO Startup Ole
11:30 Live connection with three cities across Europe where Startup Europe Week event is happening simultaneously
12:15 Closing by Isidro Laso, Head of startups and scaleups, DG Connect, European Commission
12:30 Networking lunch
We would be delighted to have your participation at the event. Please sign up on the eventbrite.
To keep updated and find your closest event, follow Startup Europe Week on:
Twitter @startupeuw
Facebook @startupeuropeweek
Hashtag #SEW17