On the final day of the event, a panel of judges will select best startup teams for a 7-week all-expenses-paid business acceleration trip to Silicon Valley in California.
“This conference is not only a great chance to gather startups of our region in one place, to share their experiences, and gain knowledge from professional mentors, but Startup Monthly Vilnius also offers opportunities to develop a high-quality startups acceleration programme in our region by building the bridge to Silicon Valley,“ Startup Monthly Vilnius Managing Director Daumantas Dvilinskas says.
Experts from Silicon Valley, Europe, and Lithuania will be addressing and mentoring the participants. Highly experience mentors will help the teams to shape and crystallise new business ideas, and teach how to effectively present new ideas to potential investors.
„The aim of this event is to build the bridge between our region and other parts of the world. The planet is shrinking, and humans should become part of the global ecosystem. Whether we want it or not, Europe has already spent its fortunes. No spare money left. We cannot afford to make big mistakes anymore, yet we can still make the small ones, learn from them and move on.
“In view of this, we should invest in fresh and innovative small business ideas rather than in existing large scale businesses. Investment is like rocket fuel for a new business – it gets you very fast from point A to point B. But we must know where point B is; otherwise we may be at risk of losing large sums of money. In accelerator programmes experienced mentors help to point the rocket in the right direction“, - says Jon Bradford, one of Startup Monthly Vilnius advisors and founder of acceleration programmes The Difference Engine and Springboard.
The event's keynote address will be delivered by David Weekly, a mentor and investor from Silicon Valley who is also the founder of PBworks, SuperHappyDevHouse, Hacker Dojo and Mexican VC. The conference will also feature a speech by Greg Kidd, early investor in Twitter, founder at Anoni, adviser at Square and consultant at Promontory Financial Group.
Pitch training and workshops will be run by Angelika Blendstrup, the founder of the professional international business communications centre Blendstrup & Associates. The final list of mentors and speakers will be announced by 15 March.
The organisers of Startup Monthly Vilnius invite entrepreneurs with new ideas and commitment to get them off the ground. They also invite startups who are looking for additional resources or experts willing to come on board. The already established startups looking for mentorship and seed investments are also welcome to the conference. The event is also open to everybody interested in technologies, startups and business development trends.
Please be informed that the number of participant places is limited. 150 tickets are allocated for established or new teams, while another 350 places are for investors and independent visitors. Discounted Early Bird tickets are on sale until the 2 April. Ticket sales close 11 April.
Tickets: http://vilnius.startupmonthly.org/tickets.html
More info about the event: www.startupmonthly.lt
