Upstream Festival
21-05-2026
Van Nelle Fabriek
Speakers
Below you'll find who will be speaking and hosting workshops at Upstream 2026. We are adding new ones on a regular basis. Stay tuned for more...
Barbara Barend
Director New Business & Co-fouder HERA United
Speaker
Co-Founder of HERA United, the first professional women’s football club in the Netherlands, through which she contributes to the structural professionalization and advancement of women’s football.
Constantijn van Oranje
Special Envoy Techleap
Speaker
Constantijn van Oranje leads Techleap, the initiative to turn the Netherlands into a European powerhouse for tech companies.
Melissa Ablett-Jordaan
Founder Sibyl
Speaker
Melissa Ablett-Jordaan is an event host, moderator, and growth-focused executive working at the intersection of innovation, entrepreneurship, and women’s health.
Matthijs Welle
CEO Mews
Speaker
12 years in scaling from zero to unicorn: Mews supports hotels and hospitality businesses in 85 countries, with 12,500 customers live on the platform.
Vicky Kuang
Investor Draper Associates
Speaker
Vicky Kuang is an investor at Draper Associates, focusing on early-stage, technology-driven startups shaping the future.
Siete Hamminga
CEO Robin Radar Systems
Speaker
Siete founded several high tech companies, before spinning out TNO radar technology into a commercial venture in 2010, Robin Radar. He has grown the firm to 250+ staff and €100M+ turnover.
Sophie Heijenberg
Venture Capital investor Graduate Ventures
Speaker
Sophie brings a decade of experience across B2B software investing, strategy consulting, and startups, and co-founded the Women in VC NL community.
Hans Scheffer
CEO HelloPrint
Speaker
Hans is a Dutch serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of HelloPrint, the global marketplace for customisable printed products.
Arosha Brouwer
Chief Impact Officer TrueTribe
Speaker
She founded and led Quan, a Y Combinator–backed company that raised over €3M and partnered with global enterprises, before its acquisition by TrueTribe.
Krijn de Nood
Co-Founder Iconic Works/Meatable
Speaker
Krijn is a founder & entrepreneur building Iconic Works. He brings extensive experience as former CEO of Meatable, where he led the lab-grown meat company through significant growth.
Ingrid Romijn
CEO and Co-Founder Q*Bird
Speaker
Q*Bird, a Delft-based leader in quantum secure communications, building ultra-secure networks that safeguard critical infrastructure
today & prepare organisations for the quantum internet of tomorrow.
Thijn van Helvoirt
VC Partner & Investor at No Such Ventures
Speaker
Tech founder turned VC Partner at No Such Ventures, investing in Europe’s most promising software-first startups. He previously raised €15m in equity for mobility tech company Check.
Liselotte Graas
Co-founder Weheat
Speaker
Under her leadership, Weheat, a Dutch clean-tech scale-up, has achieved consistent triple-digit growth, proving that scaling integrated physical and digital technology can be done at high speed.
Koen Burgers
CEO & Co-founder SolarDuck
Speaker
With deep experience across the maritime sector & a strong foundation in business innovation, Koen leads SolarDuck’s mission to open a new frontier in renewable energy.
Nina Orlic
Attorney at law (counsel) Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh
Workshop host
Nina Orlić is counsel at Windt Le Grand Leeuwenburgh, specializing in privacy/GDPR and cybersecurity law. Legal 500 recognizes her as a Leading Associate in this field the Netherlands (2023 and 2025).
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Iggy Harmsen
Co-founder Medal
Speaker
Medal, the largest game recording platform globally, used by millions of players who capture over 2.5 billion clips annually. Later spun out AI research lab General Intuition, which raised a $134m
Ingeborg van Harten
Founder and Chief People Officer 7people
Workshop host
HR Leader & the founder of 7people, a People & Culture consultancy that helps start- and scale-ups to become irresistible. She scaled Mollie from 80 to 400 people, and created a strong employer brand.
Thomas Vles
Founder & CEO GoDutch
Workshop host
Serial entrepreneur who also founded GoDutch, a fintech platform for SMEs that automates financial operations and reduces admin so entrepreneurs can focus on growth.
Maud Vermeulen
VC investor at Golden Egg Check
Workshop host
Maud is a VC investor at Golden Egg Check, investing in pre-seed and seed B2B software startups. She combines founder support with an active role in investment decision-making.
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Frank Appeldoorn & Ties Hagemeijer
Managing Partner/Investor Arches Capital
Workshop host
Frank leads B2B software investments, helping founders scale with capital and networks. Ties supports founders on fundraising, positioning, investor conversations, and strategic growth decisions.
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Sharon Klaver
Co-Founder & Managing Director Builders Studio
Workshop host
She works hands-on with early-stage teams on positioning, fundraising, and growth strategy. She has a strong focus on clarity and execution.
Pieter Aarts
COO Embion
Workshop host
Throughout his career he has held executive leadership roles in technology companies, led a publicly listed company & founded and scaled a Start-Up company to more than 500 employees.
Paul Musters
Founder, Psychologist
Workshop host
Psychologist and founder of emaho who works with founders, leadership teams, and investors (before they invest in a team) on understanding what really drives growth in startups and what holds it back.
Gaston Serpenti & Jort Schutte
Co-Founder & Director The Incredible Time Machine
Workshop host
The Incredible Time Machine, a storytelling agency helping deep-tech and sustainability scale-ups turn complex innovation into clear, compelling narratives.
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Dominic Stephen
Senior Innovation Consultant Bax
Workshop host
Dominic is a Senior Energy Consultant at Bax, in Barcelona, working with clients from major public authorities, energy utilites, social housing developers, and research institutes.