Spanish accelerator Startup Olé is hosting its fourth annual event in Salamanca, Spain today with over 5,000 startups, entrepreneurs, universities, and media specialists in attendance.
Startup Olé has become a benchmark event for the international tech-entrepreneurial ecosystem, and its fourth edition is expected to be the biggest and most impactful ever.
With the continuous support of Startup Europe (European Commission), Startup Olé 2018 is showcasing startups and providing them with the right connections (Accelerators, Investors, Public Administrations, Policy-Makers, Universities, Talent, etc.).
Emilio Corchado
It is a forum where startups can share experiences and develop synergies so that they can grow together.
“We want to create synergies, selective networking and business opportunities,” said Startup Olé CEO Emilio Corchado.
From today until April 19, synergy, selective networking and business opportunities await over 452 Startups, 52 Accelerators, 40 Corporates, 276 Speakers and 50 Investors with a total investment portfolio of over €10 billion.
Speakers include:
- Isidro Laso: Head of the Startup Europe European Commission
- Pilar Troncoso: Blockchain Entrepreneur at NodalBlock
- Diego Rodríguez Roldán: Director of the Innovation Center, Deloitte
- José Manuel Rodríguez: Startup Business Development Manager at Amazon Web Services
- Gary Stewart, Director at Wayra UK
- And many, many more.
This week’s activities include a startup fair, pitching competitions, matchmaking with corporates, curated contact with mentors, and even an accelerators’ competition.
Sixty-four startups will be participating in the pitch competition, and it will be divided into eight verticals consisting of eight startups each, and each vertical will have a 60 minute slot.
The vertical categories include:
- Mobile Based | Deep Tech | Big Data
- Energy | Agro-Food Tech
- Health Tech
- Robotics | Aviation | Drones
- TravelTech – Tourism
- Ed Tech – Social
- Fintech
- Media
One startup per vertical will be selected for the Pitching Finals. The eight startups selected for the final pitch round will be announced on the evening of April 18.
Pitching Finals will take place on Thursday, April 19 from 12:00 to 13:00 at the Startup Olé Main Stage.
The goal for this year was “to reach higher figures than those of 2017 edition (over 400 Startups, 50 Accelerators, 40 Corporates, 200 Speakers and 60 Investors with a total investment portfolio of over €5 billion). We are working very hard to bring you a great event full of opportunities (matchmaking, startup fair, pitching competition, panel sessions, and above all lots of networking).”
Startups that partcipated in previous editions went on to receive great acclaim and funding.
In 2017 Beonprice, received a financing of €1.6 million by K-Fund (one of the most reputable venture capital funds in Spain) as a direct result of its participation.
Another startup, Canard Drones, received more than €1 million of investment after winning Startup Olé 2016.
“It is also possible to name Wayook, who was selected by Wayra in the first edition of Startup Olé and who subsequently received €650,000 of investment from Axon Partners,” said Corchado on El Pais.
