Last week, Bucharest became the center of attention for innovation and entrepreneurship as the How to Web Conference 2024 brought together key players from across CEE and beyond. Over 3,000 attendees from 840 companies gathered at the Face Convention Center for two days filled with dynamic discussions, thoughtful keynotes, and vibrant networking sessions. As one of the region’s most significant tech events, How to Web 2024 showcased the latest trends, startup success stories, and highlighted the growing influence of the CEE on the global tech stage.
CEE’s startup scene captivates global investors
Now in its 14th edition, the event featured over 100 speakers who explored a broad range of topics. These included product development, UX, sales, and investment strategies—covering crucial aspects for startups and investors alike. April Dunford’s session on product positioning stood out, offering actionable insights that resonated deeply with startup founders. Meanwhile, Fonz Morris engaged the audience with his focus on customer experience design, and Chris Heilmann presented a forward-looking discussion on the future of open web technologies. Talks from Andy Budd on design leadership and Staffan Helgesson from Creandum on scaling startups further enriched the event, each speaker adding a new layer to the broader conversation on innovation and growth in the region.
One different aspect that I observed at this year’s conference was the attendance of major international investors. Representatives from prominent firms like Lakestar, Atomico, and Northzone didn’t just attend—they expressed genuine excitement about the region’s potential. “There are a lot of good points to be excited about Europe. Europe is hungry for technology,” said in a panel Radu Bozga, Vice President at Notion Capital. The CEE’s startup ecosystem is clearly gaining momentum, with over €1B raised to be deployed into tech startups across the region, as highlighted in our State of AI in CEE 2024 report.
The CEE startup ecosystem is not all roses and unicorns
However, not all conversations were purely optimistic. Investors also voiced concerns about liquidity challenges. In one of the panels, Notion Capital’s Bozga emphasized the importance of delivering returns: “We need to return money to original investors so they can reinvest.” Startup valuations were another recurring topic, with Eva Arh from 3VC providing a pragmatic outlook: “It takes longer to raise today, and the valuations are lower. Founders should accept that, take the money, and go build.” This practical advice reflected the current realities of the investment landscape and served as a reminder for entrepreneurs to adapt to evolving conditions.
AI dominates the agenda and spotlights innovation
The conference also highlighted the region’s innovative startup scene through its Spotlight competition. This year’s winner, FigVision, a Romanian startup transforming images into fully functional Figma components, took home the €350,000 investment prize. The prize, syndicated by Startup Wise Guys, Underline Ventures, and Gapminder VC, was a major boost for the company and a sign of the opportunities available for emerging startups in CEE.
Beyond startups and investments, AI dominated much of the conversation. The pre-launch of our own State of AI in CEE 2024 report revealed that 40% of tech startup fundraising rounds this year were directed towards AI projects, underscoring the region’s growing influence in this space. A panel discussion on AI adoption in CEE followed, featuring experts from Google Cloud, Europe Cloud, Malcom Finance, and Earlybird Venture Capital, who emphasized the region’s potential to lead in AI-driven innovation.
Monica Zara, Head of Conference at How to Web, encapsulated the event’s importance by noting, “The role of How to Web Conference evolves along with the region’s drive and focus. We’re noticing an immense need for businesses of all sizes, for technology builders, entrepreneurs, founders, and investors—to have the context to connect and discover resources that can help them accelerate their growth and possibilities. And we’re here to address that. We’re extremely honored to have had so many attendees from all over the world join our event and find exactly what they were looking for, as they have told us throughout these two days.”
