Updates
Check out the latest news about Upstream Festival.
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.
What founders and investors need from each other
Should founders bootstrap for as long as possible? Does founder–market fit matter more than market size? And when a startup is ready to raise a meaningful round, should it immediately look beyond the Netherlands?
Barbara Barend on building HERA United
What do you do when the system was never designed to include you? You question it. You challenge it. And, sometimes, you build something new.