Pirate Summit, the largest series of competitions designed for and by startups, stopped off in Luxembourg on 8 June 2016 at Carré Rotondes. This event, developed with local actors, sought to show the rest of Europe the dynamic Luxembourgish ecosystem.
Pirate Summit, the essential event for startups
Initially a one-off event in Cologne in 2010, the Pirate Summit quickly increased its visibility and now organises a tour of major European cities lasting several months, in order to connect entrepreneurs and local investors during networking evenings. At these events, the focus is on early-stage startups that are seeking to raise their first funds.
At the end of this tour and after the best startups are selected in each town, the team will go to Germany in September for the final competition. In Cologne, the main event is a big open-air competition of pitches from the best startups of the year.
Till Orhmann, co-founder of Pirate Summit, explains:
We bring together the best startups and potential investors.
The atmosphere is quirky as the event takes place in a disused funfair. Till Orhmann adds: ‘An entrepreneur is like a pirate: he or she must take risks, hunt for treasure and get through the good and bad parts of the adventure!’
An important step for the local ecosystem.
It wasn’t the first time Luxembourg hosted the Pirate Summit: the event had already dropped anchor in the Grand Duchy during the ICT spring last year. Thanks to the efforts of nyuko and Luxinnovation as local partners, the event has grown this year. Hosted at the Carré Rotondes, this summit has permanently put Luxembourg on the map of European countries that count in terms of entrepreneurship. The event is in keeping with the common intention of actors in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem to showcase local startups and their potential internationally.
Martin Guérin, CEO of nyuko, explains further: ‘It’s important to show that although the country is small, it has a wide-ranging influence and potential. It’s a key concept for startups in Luxembourg that want to go international.’
I see that the startup ecosystem is growing in Luxembourg, and I want that to continue so that I can come back to an even larger audience next year!
adds Till Orhmann.
A melting pot of startups
The event on 8 June was brought to life by the startups and the audience who were eager to watch the competition. After the local partners introduced themselves and the Pirate Summit was presented by its co-founder Till Orhmann (who came to Luxembourg especially for the occasion) the event was followed by a round table, pitches from the nine startups selected and a networking session. The project founders had three minutes to convince the jury. Several sectors were represented: health, 3D, finance, robotics, etc. The jury, made up of experts from the local ecosystem, gave its verdict at the end of the event: LuxAi convinced the jury with its functional robot, which helps to create a social interaction with children suffering from autism. OrgaMime also won a ticket to the final competition in Germany: this startup demystifies intestinal mechanisms by means of a smart chip.
Find the pictures of the event Pirate Summit Luxembourg here. (copyright Silicon Luxembourg)
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