Welcome to the leading startup competition in Eastern Europe, where you can accelerate your startup to success. Spotlight fuels early-stage tech startups with unique opportunities for matchmaking, collaborating and scaling.
APPLY NOWThe energy of startup founders matched with the seasoned skills of the mentors can lead to refined businesses. At Spotlight 2022, you have the chance to share ideas and test your skills with some of the most experienced mentors in Eastern Europe.
From how to prepare your pitch to what are investors really looking for in a startup — some of the most eager investors can give you the real answers to these questions. Enrol your startup on the Spotlight programme and you can propel yourself only one step away to that new round of funding.
At How to Web 2022, startups are in the Spotlight. With a dedicated Expo Area, you can showcase your idea and expertise to like-minded peers and spread the word about your startup directly to a niched audience.
Entrepreneurs with big ideas and their startups that can change the world really glow in the Spotlight. Pitch your idea on stage and get your company off the ground, as the investors are all eyes on you.
Step on stage and pitch for the grand investment prize — last year it rose up to 350K EUR, more details coming soon.
The Spolight finalist will receive the grand prize — a round of funding to set him off to success. Stay tuned to find out the surprize prize. ?
Do you have a tech startup that can change the world?
APPLY NOWSpotlight is dedicated to all early-stage tech startups in Eastern Europe that have the eagerness to take their business to the next level. If you meet the following criteria, sign up for the most engaging startup competition:
You have an early-stage technology startup, less than 5 years old and up to 1m EUR in financing.
You are past the idea stage, having a launched product with some traction.
Submit your application.
⌛ June 7 - September 1
Applications for Spotlight 2022 are open from June 7th until September 1st.
Enter the competition.
⌛ September 1 - September 20
40 startups will be selected to enter the matchmaking program based on their innovation and potential.
Shortlist to the semifinals.
⌛ September 21- September 22
20 startups will be announced on September 21st if they enter the pitch competition at How to Web 2022. They will also benefit from expo area, investor & expert meetings and quality exposure.
The best enter the finale.
⌛ September 22
The final rundown to the grand prize will take place on September 22nd on the Main Stage of the conference. 6 startups will enter the final competition and the best will receive the surprise round of funding.
Founder @ Startup Core Strengths
Europe #1 Growth Expert, creator of Startup Core Strengths — one of the best growth programs for startups worldwide.
General Partner @ Credo Ventures
Early stage investor, with investments in UiPath, PriceFX, Productboard and many more.
Startup Programs Manager @ Orange
Manager of the Orange Fab Romania program, facilitating collaborations between innovative startups and Orange.
Partner @ Earlybird Venture Capital
Investor in technology companies such as UiPath, FintechOS. Computer science and business background.
Conversion Copywriter @ Green Light Copy
Conversion Copywriting & Acquisition Expert, helping SaaS and tech companies acquire more customers, more profitably.
Founder & CEO @ Omniconvert
Go-to-Market Expert, Founder at Omniconvert CVO Academy, and Co-host at The eCommerce Growth Stories
Chief Developer Experience Officer @ Infobip
The Co-Founder of Shift, the biggest dev conference in SEE, acquired by Infobip & Codeanywhere, the first cross-platform Cloud IDE
Product Expert
Product Teams Development Expert, Product Director, Lecturer at TAG Innovation School, Product Tank Co-Organizer, with over 10 years of experience in overseeing tech, product design and product management departments.
General Partner @ 500 Startups Istanbul
Investor and advisor in early-stage technology companies and the host of cc:, a podcast on growth journeys.
Founder & Growth Strategist @ Ablaze Growth Studio
Leading European Growth Expert, skilled in getting, keeping and monetizing customers.
Co-Founder @ Kaizo
Hybrid Workforce Leader, Deep Tech Investor, Founder & Product Manager with a strong background in finance, strategy, AI, blockchain & Web3.
Partner @ LAUNCHub Ventures
South-East Europe seed-stage investor, passionate about entrepreneurship, technology investments and social impact.
Founding Partner
@ Smok Ventures
Early-stage investor in CEE, previously engineer turned entrepreneur.
VC Founder @ Lunar Ventures
Tech leader turned early-stage deep tech investor, backing technical founders building the technology giants of the future.
Lead Product Manager @ Miro
User-focused and data-driven Product Leader with experience in building startups, high-performing product teams and products from scratch.
Founder & Director @ CEW Communications
Startup & Venture Communications Specialist focused on PR, content creation, and social media.
Co-Founder & CEO @ InnerTrends
500 Startups Alumnus, product expert creating top-notch on-boarding processes. Passionate about data algorithms designed to offer deep insights into customer success.
Principal @ Inovo Venture Partners
Ex-founder and operator of VC-backed B2B marketplace and deep tech startups now joined the dark (VC ;)) side.
Co-Founder & CMO @ TypingDNA
Digital marketing expert on a mission to make online authentication effortless with typing based biometrics.
Founder, Managing Partner @ ATNNOVATE
Vice-President of TechAngels Romania. Founder, mentor to startups and angel investor.
Founder & CEO @ Simple Capital
Investor in early-stage companies. Sound engineering background and previous successful founder of Vector Watch with exit to Fitbit.
Partner @ GapMinder Venture Partners
Fund partner actively investing & accelerating startups in Eastern Europe. Also co-founder of Techcelerator and owner of ClujHub co-working space.
CRO Strategist @ UX Studio
Highly technical CRO strategist with 12 years of experience in User Experience (UX), Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) and Digital Analytics.
Product Marketing Management Lead @ Bitdefender
Product Marketing professional and a startup consultant, relatively obsessed with technology.
CEO @ 2Performant
Serial entrepreneur in the digital marketing space with exit experience.
Co-Founder @ T-Me Studios
Entrepreneur & occasional Angel Investor. Big fan of edtech, data companies and B2C mobile apps.
Content Marketer @ The Content Habit
Content marketing specialist for cybersecurity companies, with over 10 years of experience, helping them drive organic growth.
Founder @ Visionary Business Consultants
Angel investor and consultant for startups with over 25 years of experience in business and management.
President
@ TechAngels
Early stage business angel, investments including Symphopay, SmartDreamers and TypingDNA.
CEO @ ROCA X
CEO at ROCA X, Strategist, Investor, Growth Marketer, Experience Designer
Founder & Managing Partner @ Early Game Ventures
VC with a background as a tech entrepreneur in Romania and the US (Seattle and Silicon Valley).
Founder & CEO @ Deepstash
Serial entrepreneur of technology-driven businesses with previous exit experience of uberVU to Hootsuite.
General Partner @ Underline Ventures
Seasoned investor with over 9 years experience in helping CEE startups grow and meet their global goals. Founder of How to Web and Conectoo.
Host @ CHURN.FM
Leading Product Churn Expert and seasoned entrepreneur with 12 years of experience in digital growth companies as a founder or senior manager.
Founder & Host @ The European VC
Andreas is Europe's LP hypeman, aka founder of The European VC - the go-to podcast and connector of the European venture industry.
Developer Relations & Community Expert
Experience in building healthy communities at their intersection with product, seasoned with marketing coordination and strategic planning
Co-Founder & Managing Partner @ Eleven Ventures
The Co-founder and Managing Partner of Eleven - the most active early-stage investment fund in Southeastern Europe with more than 150 investments.
Founder, Writer and Employer Branding Consultant @ Netokracija
Founder and Editor of Netokracija, the ‘Techcrunch of the Balkans’. As a digital content consultant, Ivan has helped brands like Mastercard, A1, Microsoft and Raiffeisen bank with content marketing and employer branding.
Product Manager @ Google
Data-driven Product Manager with a background in computer science, a passion for design, and the desire to build products that matter.
Principal @ Notion Capital
Investor and adviser in technology companies. Sound educational background in ML and data science.
First Cheque Fund @ Octopus Ventures
Kirsten leads the pre-seed fund at Octopus Venture focused on B2B SaaS, FinTech, and Digital Health across Europe. She has spent the best part of the last decade working alongside some of Europe’s most exciting high-growth startups.
Partner & Board Member @ Gamegroove Capital
Investor and adviser in technology companies, formerly a Partner at venture capital fund 500 Startups, running the SF based accelerator program.
Managing Director @ Endeavor Romania
Self-taught entrepreneur contributing to innovation growth in all areas by helping startup founders scale their businesses.
Chief Growth Officer @ Bitpanda
Full-stack product marketer and experienced project manager, previously leading the marketing efforts of Uber in Romania. Entrepreneur at heart.
Representative for Romania @ Vienna Business Agency
Passionate about technology and digital transformations, I help businesses expand to Austria/DACH. With an extensive background in IT & Management Consulting, Business Development & Strategy, Deep Tech Start-ups, in Automotive, IT&C, Retail and Energy.
Commercial Pricing Director @ UiPath
Leading cross-department and cross-geography strategic projects in UiPath. Part of a brilliant team of professionals that aim to improve current aspects and also to look forward and prepare the company for upcoming challengers.
Investor @ Hellen's Rock
VC investments at Hellen’s Rock, with a focus on FinTech / Financial Services, with 10+ years experience in Fixed Income Investments, Management Consulting, and most recently ran Romanian operations of a high-growth CEE FinTech scale-up.
CEO and Data Scientist @ TYPINGDNA
“Startup Spotlight was a great opportunity to interact with other entrepreneurs and with seasoned professionals who could provide guidance for growing our company. We have incorporated many of the things we learned through the HTW experience into our business and believe that it brought us an extraordinary launching opportunity.”
CEO @ OMNICONVERT
“The How to Web team has put together a great concept where not only are startups brought into contact with investors, but the guidance from mentors and networking helped us understand better the SaaS game that we are in and also gave us more knowledge about how to tackle the channel market fit phase that Omniconvert encountered.”
Co-founder @ Cartloop
“ Winning Spotlight brought us an extra validation that the product is working and people believe in our vision and roadmap. We are really grateful for the opportunity to make amazing connections and gain valuable feedback which came at the right time and boosted the growth of Cartloop over the following months.”
Sign up for the most electric startup competition and the Spotlight can be yours. ⚡
APPLY NOW
