Each year, sTARTUp Day brings together 4000 attendees to celebrate entrepreneurship in the smart city of Tartu. The three-day festival combines an inspiring stage program, vibrant side events, a bustling expo area, a pitching battle, and excellent networking opportunities. In 2023, more than 300 startups and 200 investors attended the event.
The 7th edition of the festival takes place on March 15-17, 2023.
Connecting investors and startups
The first festival day on 15th March is reserved for side events, including Investor Day, an exclusive meetup where investors can share experiences, learn from each other, and create meaningful contacts. This year’s keynote speaker is Dominnique Karetsos, CEO and Co-Founder of Healthy Pleasure Group, who will discuss investments into sexual health and wellness technology, a multibillion-euro industry poised for the next big breakthrough.
On March 16-17, the festival buzz is centred around the main venue at the University of Tartu Sports Hall, where entrepreneurs and experts will be sharing insights and experiences on two stages. This year, the program tracks cover HealthTech, FemTech, SexTech, Digital Fashion, AI, and EdTech, as well as entrepreneurial skills and founder psychology. Speakers include Martin Villig, Timmu Tõke, Taizo Son, Adam Beaumont, and many others.
One of the most anticipated moments of the festival is announcing the winners of the sTARTUp Pitching Competition. This year, the 40 top teams on stage will be competing for a prize pool worth €500k, including investments by EstBAN, Cocoon Ventures and Baltic Sandbox Ventures.
Each year, organizers put special effort into connecting attending investors with relevant startups. Attendees can use the Brella app to contact each other and set up meetings in the festival meeting area. Additionally, they can soak in the unique sTARTUp Day atmosphere and let it lead to serendipitous encounters, for example, at the sTARTUp Night networking event. This year, sTARTUp Night is powered by the Tartu 2024 foundation, ahead of Tartu, bearing the title of the European Capital of Culture in 2024.
For more information on sTARTUp Day 2023, visit startupday.ee
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