Updates
Check out the latest news about Upstream Festival.
From pitch to partnership
For some startups, winning a customer can happen quickly. A product is demonstrated. A contract is signed. The solution is deployed within weeks.
Where founders meet investors in the Netherlands
Fundraising starts with conversations, with understanding which investors are relevant for your stage. With learning how to explain the company clearly. With getting feedback from people who have seen hundreds of startups before yours.
Fundraising when no one believes in you
What do you do when investors keep telling you that your idea will not work? You improve the story. You keep building. You find the people who understand the opportunity. And when the moment comes, you learn to take control of the process.
Rotterdam for maritime startups and port innovation
Maritime innovation has always been linked to movement.
Iggy Harmsen on finding the right room for a big idea
Have you ever found yourself in a room full of people doubting your idea? They might tell you that it is too ambitious. Too difficult. Too early. Or simply unlikely to work.
Why Rotterdam is becoming a city for startups
Rotterdam has always been a city of builders. It is practical, international and direct. It is a place where ideas are expected to work in the real world.
Not every startup needs to feel like a family
How do you keep moving quickly when a startup becomes a scale-up?
Venture Capital in the Netherlands: A guide for startups
Raising venture capital can feel like a world of its own. There are rounds, terms, decks, introductions, valuations, partner meetings, due diligence processes and a lot of advice that sounds confident until it starts contradicting the next
Founder turned investor
What makes someone a better investor? For Thijn van Helvoirt, the answer was to become a founder first.