[Updated] Running a startup can be breaking especially when you’re stuck and have no clue how to advance forward with your business plan. This is where startup events and conferences come in.
By attending such meetups, you will open a world of valuable insights, tips, tricks, recommendations, suggestions, and advice from industry experts for yourself.
These startup events are the backbone of the startup ecosystem where the participants contribute by sharing their experiences, ideas, and problems with each other.
Like every year, there will be some engaging startup events coming your way. I have identified a list of the best ones here to rev-up your startup game.
Who Should Attend Startup Events?
- Founders/ Entrepreneurs
- Startup Employee
- Marketers/Managers/Owners/Directors
- VCs and Angel Investors
- Business Consultants
Why Attend Startup Events?
Every type of person mentioned above has a different agenda to attend startup events. Startup founders would want to pitch their new business ideas, get funded or listen to experts’ advice. Investors hunt for investment opportunities. And, marketers come to learn new hacks and analyze the industry and especially eye the competitors. And, business consultants participate to consult inexperienced founders and teach successful ways of doing business.
Note: Events listed in this article are in sort according to date.
Event: CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2020
Date: 7-10 January 2020
Venue: Las Vegas, USA
The Consumer Electronics Show 2020 will cover more or less every topic there is on startups. With more than 250 sessions discussing the latest trends and emerging technologies, it will allow you to see the bigger picture of your startup with ease.
Event: Startup Grind Global Conference
Date: 11-12 February 2020
Venue: Silicon Valley, USA
Start, Grind, Scale. That’s their objective. This startup conference is an excellent opportunity that takes entrepreneurs and innovators to the next level. You will be able to attend 6 stages of highly educational content by a roster of world-class speakers, thousands of entrepreneurs and innovators who are looking to build relationships, hours of impactful networking, partner opportunities, and of course – startup parties.
Event: SaaStr Annual 2020
Date: 10-12 March 2020
Venue: San Francisco Bay Area, USA
SaaStr is the largest B2B software gathering in the world. The annual SaaStr 2020 will give you a chance to hear from SaaS experts with no fluff, no commercials, and no boring panels.
You can expect 300+ hand-crafted sessions that will allow you to scale your startup effectively. Moreover, 500+ 1-on-1 sessions alongside small group meetings will give you all the answers you need.
Event: SLUSH
Date: 19-20 November 2020
Venue: Tokyo, Japan
According to Forbes Japan, this event is a movement, not just a conference. This startup event will allow founders and tech talent to meet with top-notch international investors, executives, media and tech-heads from across the globe.
Event: 4 Years From Now
Date: 24-26 February 2020
Venue: Barcelona, Spain
4YFN is the world’s largest exhibition for the mobile industry, GSMA MWC Barcelona and an excellent event that allows startups and investors to connect with each other and launch new business ventures together. You can expect discussions on technology that will create a difference 4 years from today.
Event: SXSW (South by Southwest)
Date:13-21 March 2020
Venue: Austin, USA
The SXSW Conference provides an opportunity for global professionals at every level to participate, network, and advance their careers. With one unified startup conference that spans 25 tracks of programming, they’ll be offering opportunities for networking, learning, and discovery more than ever before.
Event: Money 20/20
Date: 25-28 October 2020
Venue: USA
If you want to find out about the future of money, this event is for you. This is the event where payments, financial tech, and the service industry connect with each other. In simpler terms, this is the event where technology meets money, money meets people, people meet ideas and ideas become reality.
Event: Startup Ole
Date: 05-07 May 2020
Venue: Salamanca, Spain
Startup Ole is one of the biggest tech startup events in Europe. It is a free-to-join conference that has turned into a benchmark event and a driver of the democratization of the tech-entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Event: JAM Product Leaders Weekend (aka JAM Weekend)
Date: 14– 17 May
Venue: Forest Farm, near Cardiff, Wales, UK
JAM Weekend is an event carefully curated around the most pressing challenges faced by anyone in a product leadership role.
Join them for 3 days of practical talks by experts in their field, immersive discussions, and brainstorms with other product leaders. Expect insightful stories and meaningful conversations on the following key themes: making better decisions, building stronger teams, growing in confidence.
JAM Weekend provides a varied range of activities, giving you the opportunity to connect with all participants in a friendly, informal setting. Expect fireside chats by a real fire, dinner discussions, outdoor activities and more!
Event: Seed Start Summit
Date: 3rd April 2020
Venue: Lausanne, Switzerland
Attending the Seedstars Summit is one of the best ways to discover the most promising startups and unicorns-to-be from across the globe. You will be able to learn about the latest tech trends in different regions while being able to access a world-class network of global changemakers.
Event: The Next Web Conference
Date: 18-19 June 2020
Venue: Amsterdam, The Netherland
TNW has been sharing, inventing and advancing tech developments since 2006. They’re a large growing group of people who take a special interest in technology. They call themselves Generation T. Their need for information, data and personal connections increases day after day. This tech media company focuses on cross-generational groups and helps them get the most out of technology by informing them through remarkable stories and insights while bringing them together through extraordinary events and workspaces.
Event: Viva Technology
Date: 11-13 June 2020
Venue: Paris, France
VivaTech is the world’s rendezvous for startups and leaders to celebrate innovation. It’s a gathering of the world’s brightest minds, talents, and products. From top speakers and exhibitions to open innovation and live experiences, VivaTech is a celebration of today’s innovations and tomorrow’s possibilities for everyone who believes in the power of technology to transform business and society.
Event: Latitude59
Date:28-29 May 2020
Venue: Tallinn, Estonia
If you’re serious about startups, investing, and the future of governance, this is a startup event where would want to be. Latitude59 is a great way to get your startup in front of the whole tech community and many relevant visitors as well as investors. You can expect this startup event to refrain from the “crowd” and meet people who actually matter.
Event: Collision
Date: 22-25 June 2020
Venue: Toronto, Canada
Collision is the fastest growing tech conference for a startup in North America. Now in its fifth year, Collision has grown to over 25,000 attendees and is in for a big change in 2020. According to the Huffington Post, this event is a global gathering of provocative ideas, brilliance, and investment dollars. You are guaranteed to learn something new and exciting.
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Event: Arcitic15
Date: 5-6 Feb 2020
Venue: Stockholm, Sweden
It is the best matchmaking startup event in the Sweden. This event primarily focuses on making deals as well as quality networking. You can expect nearly 15 tracks that will cover various topics and industries like AI, Digital Health, Blockchain etc. Also, this is your chance to meet 450+ startups, 300+ investors, 150+ corporates and media from 60+ countries.
Event: London Tech Week
Date: 8-12 June 2020
Venue: London, United Kingdom
This is the event where creativity, talent, and innovation come together. The 4th Industrial Revolution is happening now and is transforming society and business alike. The UK continues to innovate as a worldwide cutting-edge tech hub. As one of the world’s most open & welcoming markets, the UK is positioned to lead the global conversation in designing and scaling tech. This event connects international communities from across the spectrum to address how to access tech and profoundly create a positive impact in society and business.
Event: Techsylvania
Date: 20-23 June 2020
Venue: Cluj, Romania
With over 3,000 engineers, founders, investors, executives and CEOs of IT & digital companies from across the world will meet at Techsylvania for inspiration and networking. You can expect more than 70 keynotes, panels, workshops, satellite events, executive roundtables, and Q&A sessions while exploring visionary ideas, groundbreaking projects, and changing markets.
Event: RISE
Date: 21st March 2020
Venue: Hong Kong
RISE has become Europe’s largest tech conference for startups which last year attracted 70,000 attendees from 170+ countries around the world.
In March 2020, people from the world’s biggest companies and most exciting startups will come to Hong Kong to share their stories and experiences. They’ll be joined by major global media, hundreds of investors and thousands of attendees for three days of legendary networking.
Event: StartupFest
Date: 4-18 June 2020
Venue: Montréal, Canada
This event is small enough to meet who you need to meet and big enough that everybody’s present there. Startupfest is known for rethinking the standard event format. Crowned “a music festival for startups” by Reddit Founder Alexis Ohanian, you’ll have tangible opportunities to make the connections you need, in one of the world’s most iconic festival cities.
Event: HYPERGROWTH
Date: 6th May 2020
Venue: London, UK
This event will bring together entrepreneurs and business leaders who have built successful brands, have sparked movements and found ways to unlock unprecedented growth. A ticket to this event is a ticket for you to learn and invest in yourself while connecting to an amazing group of people who do great things just like you. This isn’t your average event, it’s a whole new experience.
Event: JAM Barcelona
Date: 17 – 18 Sept, 2020
strong>Venue: TBA, Barcelona, Spain
An alternative 2-day product event in the heart of Barcelona. JAM Barcelona is where makers come together to celebrate their craft, share real-world advice, and help each other grow.
On the first day, you’ll hear practical talks, candid conversations and actionable advice on how to build great products. Hot topics in 2020: Building with AI, shaping the future, & sharing stories.
Event: SaaStock
Date: 12-14 October 2020
Venue: Dublin, Ireland
SaaStock gives a voice to leaders who have started blazing the trail and to network with peers on the same journey. The SaaS phenomenon in Europe is gaining momentum. With over 4,000 founders, executives and investors, you can expect a critical mass who will come together and share their experiences. SaaStock is the catalyst for this movement.
Event: JAM London
Date: 14- 15 Oct, 2020
Venue: TBA, London, UK
Join JAM for a 2-day, dynamic gathering bringing together the world’s top product people. JAM is about learning from those who’ve been there and done it. Street food, craft coffee, and friendly vibes included. Passionate about the product? JAM is for you!
Conference day: Enjoy a series of carefully crafted stories, blending insightful retrospectives, honest lessons, and practical tips.
Workshop day: Add skills to your product toolkit with one of our hands-on, specialized workshops, taught by experts in their field.
Event: Web Summit
Date: 2-5 November 2020
Venue: Lisbon, Portugal
According to Forbes, This is the best technology conference on the planet. At a time of great uncertainty within various industries, this event gathers founders and CEOs of different technology companies, fast-growing startups, policymakers and heads of state to ask one simple question: Where to next?
Word of Advice
You can only understand the value of startup events by attending them rather than browsing the web, as that would not add any value to your startup project.
So, which startup events are you willing to attend this year? Let us know in the comments below.
Arsalan Sajid
Arsalan, a Digital Marketer by profession, works as a Startups and Digital Agencies Community Manager at Cloudways. He loves all things entrepreneurial and wakes up every day with the desire to enable the dreams of aspiring entrepreneurs through his work!
