#upstream2022
#upstream
2022
Make the network work for you


Meet the frontrunners of the next economy
In 2022 the Rotterdam Metropolitan area will again transform into the place where startups, scale-ups, investors, bold corporates, policy makers and students come together to make a positive impact in the world. Upstream provides access to capital, new markets and talent for entrepreneurs who want to scale their business.
This is where you meet, learn and connect through a plethora of events, carefully curated and focusing on individual topics with a common goal: enabling innovations that will drive the transition to the next economy. An economy that is digital, carbon neutral, circular and inclusive. Driven by you. The change-makers.
The main events of Upstream Festival take place at Bird Rotterdam. A three day programme, each with their own focus. All these events are accessible with a three day ticket (except the invite only events), see the schedule below. During the Upstream Festivals co-creators also organise city events spread all over the city. For these events individual registration is required. Below you will find an overview of the city events, each with their own registration link.
Main events
The main events will take place at BIRD Rotterdam, from 31 May 2022 till the 2nd of June 2022.
For these events three day passes can be bought via the button below. This pass only gives you acces to the main events at BIRD Rotterdam. City events require a seperate registration, see below.
House of Capital: Meet Your Investor
14:00 - 17:30
Meet with leading Dutch and European investors and get inspired during one of the fireside chats. You will find a range of investors spanning: Seed capital, Series A/B, Private Equity, Subsidies & Grants
Fireside Chats – Capital Day
14:30 - 17:30
Hear from industry experts as we interview them during short and snappy 12 minute fireside chats.
14.30 – Rien Kamman – Why (and how) I raised money from US VC.
15.00 – Matthijs Ingen-Housz – Common mistakes in venture deals.
15.30 – Laurens Groenendijk – Lessons learned on the board.
16:00 – Machtelt Groothuis – Unlocking growth through impact measurement.
16.30 – Marie Weijler – The opportunities are in deeptech.
17:00 – Ilan Goudsmit – How to prepare for challenging times in funding?
17:30 – Andre Kuipers – Galactic Entrepreneurship.
Scale-up VIP Roundtable with André Kuipers
16:00 - 17:30
On Capital Day the Dutch astronaut will share his unique perspective on various topics ranging from “galactic entrepreneurship” to deep tech innovation and sustainability.
Capital Day: Network drinks
17:30 - 18:30
Connect with the other attendees. Drinks are on us.
Career Fair: Find a Scaleup Job
14:00 - 17:30
Find a job that fits your ambition. Come check out the scale-up career fair where you will find the best entry-, medior- and senior level careers at fast-growing companies such as Sana, Helloprint, LessonUp, Equippo, Physee, Bondify, HousingAnywhere, MoreApp, SendCloud and many many more.
Fireside Chats – Talent Day
14:30 - 17:30
Hear from industry experts as we interview them during short and snappy fireside 12 minute fireside chats.
14.30 – Laura Di Santolo – Running your non-profit like a VC backed startup.
15.00 – Esther O’ Callaghan – How to recruit for Gen Z?
15.30 – Irene van Dullink – How to compete with big tech over talent?
16:00 – Marc-Peter Pijper – How to design for Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose?
16.30 – Jeroen Klerkx – Growing the team.
17.00 – Constantijn van Oranje – The opportunities in Dutch tech.
Unconference: how to attract and retain the best talent in the Greater Rotterdam Region
14:30 - 17:30
How do we attract and retain the best talent in the greater Rotterdam region? We invite anyone who wants to actively contribute to this discussion to join us for this unconference
Talent Day: Network drinks
17:30 - 18:30
Connect with the other attendees. Drinks are on us.
Kickoff International Talent Advisory Group
RVO
12:00 - 13:30
The Kickoff of the International Talent Advisory Group. A group of HR and Talent leaders companies in the Netherlands together with decisionmakers from the Rijksoverheid. Together they discuss developments and bottlenecks in the field of attracting, onboarding and retaining international talent.
Marketplace: Meet The Buyer
14:00 - 17:30
On behalf of the teams of KPN Liaison, we welcome you to the 23rd KPN Scaleup Afternoon Upstream Edition: Innovating for Future Growth. We will start the event with a plenary opening. After this, you’ll get the opportunity to speed date with KPN, and with other well-known corporates, and investors. Startups & scaleups can indicate with which of the companies they would like to speed date during the ticketing process.
Fireside Chats – Growth Day
14:30 - 17:30
Hear from industry experts as we interview them during short and snappy 12 minute fireside chats.
14.30 – Vivienne de Leeuw – Collaborating with startups and scale-ups.
15.30 – Djordy Seelmann – What I learned from making five acquisitions in two years.
16:00 – Bas van Abel – Scaling up your impact.
16.30 – Bas Boorsma – Opening up the city for innovation.
17.00 – Graciëlla van Vliet – Gearing up for international growth.
17:30 – Duncan Stutterheim – closing word.
Scale-up VIP Roundtable with Duncan Stutterheim
16:00 - 17:30
A small-scaled invite only roundtable exclusively for scale-up CEOs where you’ll have the chance to discuss the challenges that come with scaling your company in an informal peer-to-peer setting. This roundtable will be hosted by Duncan Stutterheim.
Known as co-founder of the legendary ID&T, Duncan is a successful Dutch entrepreneur who propelled his company to great heights, organising the leading electronic music festival in The Netherlands – Mysteryland and many other famous festivals like Thunderdome and Defqon.1.
After becoming The Netherlands’ largest organiser of dance events, and also a record label, catering company and media company, Duncan sold ID&T for the highest bid in dance music history – the embodiment of a true entrepreneurial spirit.
Growth Day: Network drinks
17:30 - 18:30
Connect with the other attendees. Drinks are on us.
Closing party
19:00 - 23:00
Close off this edition of Upstream with music, drinks and more!
City events
City events are hosted by companies at different locations, taking place from 31 May 2022 till the second of June 2022.
The city events are not accesibble with your three day pass for the main events. These events organised by the Co-creators of Upstream each require their own registration. See the registration in the agenda overview.
Padel tournament
Arches Capital
8:30 - 12:00
A big Padel fan or in need of a new experience? On Tuesday 31st May Arches Capital will organise a Padel event including workshop. Besides the team of Arches Capital we will invite a number of angel investors to join us! The event will be held at Padelcity in Delft. Whether you are experienced or just getting started, everybody is welcome to participate. The workshop will make sure you will have a great time.
StartupRoulette
By GoldenEgg Check
13:00 - 14:00
Speed up your fundraising process and get introductions to top VC and angel investors! With StartupRoulette we’ve been organising speeddate sessions for entrepreneurs and relevant investors. It’s an efficient way to meet new investors that match your company. Each startup gets 3 carefully matched 20-minute speed dates with investors, and vice versa. Perfect for building your network efficiently!
Superconnectors
Varias
15:00 - 17:00
After the very succesful first edition, we’re proud to announce a new SuperConnectors where we fulfil the critical asks of scale ups by linking them to the best connected people within the ecosystem. Would your startup benefit from tapping into the networks of the best connected people in the Rotterdam region? We invite you to fill out your critical ask in our madlib form and maybe the SuperConnectors will unlock their networks for you!
The Funding The Future Dinner
BlueCity
15:00 - 20:30
The ‘Funding The Future’ Dinner, formerly the Impact Investor Diner, is a private dinner organised for capital investors to communally discuss the challenges and opportunities in investing in early stage circular companies.
Road to TNW | Rotterdam
TNW
17:00-19:00
A chance for the Rotterdam community to raise a glass ahead of TNW Conference (June 16-17), with a beers, music and networking for creatives, founders and investors.
Raise the Bar networking drinks for entrepreneurs & innovators
Erasmus Enterprise
18:00 - 19:30
Get ready to mingle with the entrepreneurial community where startups, scaleups, students and other Erasmus Enterprise community members get together during an inspirational networking session on the Erasmus University Campus. Listen to stories of founders while enjoying refreshing drinks&snacks, and meeting inspiring new people. Make new connections, or perhaps even meet your co-founder, new customer or business partner!
Let’s not cook the books: cooking & fundraising workshop
By No Such Ventures
18:00 - 22:00
Let’s not cook the books! During this easy cooking workshop (beginners allowed!), No Such Ventures will share with you how we approach VC differently, insights on how to create realistic projections, what’s important in fundraising, and how to determine if you’re ready (next to answering all your questions). Also, we’re happy to receive any potentially interested investors to share our philosophy!
Pitch4Capital
StartDock
18:30 - 21:00
P4C accelerates communication, interaction and leads for start-ups through the exchange of ’Capital’, next to financial, also network, knowledge and experience. During the formal part 4/5 start-ups will pitch their ideas to a dedicated group of investors and experts. (5 min pitch/ 5 min short Q&A, in total app. 1 hour). Afterwards there is ample (informal) time to talk and further discuss possible collabs
Funding medtech companies
Rabobank
19:30 - 21:30
YES!Funded – by YES!Delft – and Rabobank Startup & Scale-up team are jointly organizing an event about financing MedTech companies. What are the do’s and don’ts in raising funds from investors/banks/other institutions and what are the options out there in such an early stage. Experts of YES!Delft and Rabobank will give you some insights into what they find to be important (and sometimes even crucial) when raising those funds, that you can use to grow your business.
Manifestation Meditation
CIC
12:30 - 13:30
For startup and scaleup founders and employees, both mental and physical health is of invaluable importance. Join us for this series of mental and physical health sessions.
How does manifesting work? Denise will explain this during a guided meditation. Pick a heart desire. How would you feel if your heart desire would come true. Around your heart, around your body you activate a magnetic field with which you will attract this heart desire. The more often you tune in to this frequency the sooner you’ll attract the heart desire.
Headstand Workshop
CIC
14:00-15:00
For startup and scaleup founders and employees, both mental and physical health is of invaluable importance. Join us for this series of mental and physical health sessions.
During this empowering workshop, Denise will show step by step how to stand on our hands and head! Denise is a yoga teacher, with a special love for inversions and hand balancing poses.
This workshop can be done in regular clothing, but comfortable pants will make it easier. We’ll start with warming up the shoulder area. Then we’ll balance on our hands, and finally on our head. No yoga experience is needed! Everyone can join.
Female entrepreneurship: How to be in the lead of your own journey
CIC
17:00-18:30
You might have started your company by transforming a hobby into a business or by spotting a gap in operations during your full-time role in a company, scaled by securing an investment from a VC or by getting funded by family and friends. No matter what, every journey is valid and should be celebrated!
In a number of industries, seeing a women-led business is still considered a rarity and the paths to how they get there look so differently. Many women in entrepreneurship struggle with reaping the fruits of their hard work and feeling as an outsider on a daily basis.
During the event, we will be introducing a panel discussion of women leaders sharing their story and experiences. We will challenge the status quo and share lessons learned of women achieving successful results by running their businesses.
Let’s tap into our personal powers instead of replicating the standard qualities expected when embarking on an entrepreneurial journey!
O2LAB Rotterdam Community Meeting
ECE
18:00 - 20:00
O2LAB Rotterdam invites all (project) managers and teachers from MBO, HBO and WO educational institutions with an interest in entrepreneurship & education (O2) to the next Community Meeting, to connect and share knowledge on entrepreneurial education & 21st century skills!
Aperi’Tech with Lunatech
CCI France Pays-Bas
18:30 - 21:30
Organized by the CCI France Pays-Bas in partnership with College Life & Lunatech, a Tech company (based in The Netherlands, Belgium and France) expert in system integration and who believes in diversity amongst its employees, this event aims to bring together Tech Scale-ups and Start-ups. Hosted in atmosphere of knowledge, professionalism and efficiency, this event will create the opportunity for the participants to meet each other, exchange & network as well as (for some) to pitch their activities.
Fuck Up Nights: Upstream Edition
BlueCity
19:30 - 22:00
Fuck Up Nights is a stage where failure stories and it’s greatest lessons are shared! With a simple format:
1. A line-up of four speakers that get 8 minutes to present their mother of all fuckups
2. A crowd of enthusiastic people giving them a standing ovation for their bravery! And asking great questions to learn even more.
3. One bar with ice cold beers (and other drinks)
Speakers: TBA
iTanks Pitch Breakfast | SME
iTanks
07:30 - 09:30
On Thursday 2 June 2022 iTanks will organise a Pitch Breakfast at Microlab Rotterdam at 07.30 am.
During this Pitch Breakfast innovative parties will pitch about their knowledge, product or service.
Breakfast will be ready and there will be room for interaction, Q&A and making new connections. Register via the form and we’ll be happy to welcome you at the Pitch Breakfast.
Accelerating Sustainability Summit
ICOS Capital
9:00 - 14:00
The Accelerating Sustainability Summit brings startups, corporates and industry experts to discuss game changing solutions in sustainable food, circular economy, decarbonisation and sustainable industry.
Boosting Innovation and Accelerating Your Business in Agrofood Logistics
Dutch Fresh Port
10:00 - 12:00
There are a lot of untapped innovation opportunities in the field of mobility, circularity and sustainability in agri-food logistics. Expand your network during this event and meet other companies in this sector. Are you a startup and interested in accelerating your business? Or is your company interested in boosting innovation by collaborating or investing in startups? Then join our event via the registration link!
The Art of Scaling
ScaleUpNation
10:30 - 12:30
It takes courage to make important decisions for your company. After supporting 125+ companies to scale their impact, we’re confident you can do the same.
The Art of Scaling is our unique scaling methodology. Based on research on thousands of ventures, and confirmed by working closely with over 130 scale-up teams, we identified what differentiates those that scale from those that stall: the Scaling Success Factors.
There is no single formula for scaling. But you can learn from those that came before you. Here, we translate our empirical research into knowledge that informs you on your scale-up journey. During this workshop we provide you with the key fundamentals to reflect on your scaling journey.
CEO Icebath Challenge
CIC
11:00-12:30
For startup and scaleup founders and employees, both mental and physical health is of invaluable importance. Join us for this series of mental and physical health sessions.
Conquer your mental and physical limits and unlock your true potential by participating in the Ice Bath Challenge. Reduce inflammation in your body and learn to control your stress response. Forget about all your to do’s and meetings for a moment. Experience the power of your body and mind. Kickstart your day with an energy boost!
Annual Startup Visa Facilitator Meeting
Netherlands Point of Entry
12:30 - 14:00
The Netherlands Point of Entry would like to invite you to our yearly startup visa facilitator meeting! This year, we’ve chosen to provide all our startup visa facilitators with a networking lunch that will be organized during Upstream Festival in Rotterdam. Upstream festival brings together startups, scale-ups, investors, corporates, policy makers and students. This networking lunch is a great opportunity for you to connect with other startup visa facilitators before the festival starts at 14:00.
Erasmus Enterprise on Tour: Visit the YES!Delft Incubator
Yes!Delft
13:00-18:30
During Erasmus Enterprise on Tour you will visit the YES!Delft incubator in Delft, and find out how YES!Delft helps to build the best startups in the world. You will learn how YES!Delft supports startups and young talent, meet startup founders and work on real startup challenges! We end the afternoon with networking drinks, where you get the connections to find a job at a startup or learn how it is to start your own enterprise!
Power breathing session
CIC
14:00 - 15:00
Join the Power breathing session and fire up your inner warrior. Join the session and fire up your inner warrior. Let’s celebrate your achievements together.
Connect with yourself. Connect with other like minded people. Learn about and experience the power of the breath. Get out of your head. Breathe, dance and shout together with fellow entrepreneurs.
One Single Hub tender explanation
One Single Hub, RVO
14:15 - 15:00
Do you support start-ups and scale-ups with your network or organisation? Or do you know of a successful regional programme that supports start-ups or scale-ups? The One Single Hub scheme aims to expand proven results. In this way, the regional programmes will have a nationwide effect and we will strengthen the competitive and innovative position of start-ups and scale-ups and of the Netherlands.
Company-building cheat sheet with Builders
Builders Studio
17:00 - 18:00
In this webinar, Builders’ team will tell you all about the stage-gate model and how they are building tomorrow’s thriving ventures. Get ready for it because you will learn about the following:
- What are startup studios exactly and how can entrepreneurs get involved;
- Why should you work with a startup studio;
- How to build faster, bigger, and better as a founder;
- How to shape the future with true market validation;
- How to identify the perfect co-founder match.
The Making Of… Deals! The Investors’ Perspective
Venture Café Rotterdam, De Investeerdersclub & Leapfunder
17:00-18:00
Join this session to get the investors’ perspective on deal making! A diverse mix of investors on stage will share their thoughts on why they invested in a certain company or entrepreneur or why the deal fell through, sometimes even at the last minute. A panel discussion, followed by networking at the Thursday Gathering of Venture Café Rotterdam.
Smart Industry Globaliser Alumni Drinks
DutchBasecamp
17:00 - 19:00
Closing drinks with the participants and partners of the Globaliser Smart Industry.
Bakkie Impact: Testing the waters
VoorGoed
18:30 - 20:30
‘Bakkie Impact: Testing the waters’ is an initiative by Voor Goed Agency in collaboration with Innofest. During this event you will be provided with insights into testing and the development of products. Through a workshop about the benefits of testing you will be taught different testing methods that you can apply to test your ideas or innovations. This workshop will take about an hour. After the workshop (max) 4 social entrepreneurs from Rotterdam will inspire you with a presentation about their stories and products. These entrepreneurs have businesses in the fields of fashion, food, innovation and design. After the presentations they will gather input from the public by using different testing methods. In this way you will experience testing in live action. Afterwards you are more than welcome to stay for a nice conversation and enjoy the DJ-set at the event venue Mono.
Standup Comedy
Venture Café Rotterdam
19:00-20:00
The most memorable connections are often accompanied by a laugh, so let’s have a good laugh together and make it an unforgettable evening! Afterwards we will set of to the closing party of Upstream Festival at Bird.