Spotlight 2024, the region’s leading startup competition program hosted by How to Web Conference, announces an investment prize exceeding €350,000 for the most ambitious and innovative startup founders. In addition, the program facilitates decisive meetings with leaders from some of Europe’s most influential venture capital funds. Underline Ventures, Startup Wise Guys, and GapMinder VC syndicate this year’s investment prize.
Exclusive Meetings With European Investors
Spotlight 2024 offers a unique opportunity for early-stage startup founders from Eastern Europe to showcase their businesses in front of top venture capital funds, secure the necessary funding to accelerate business growth, and most importantly, connect directly with key investors in the region—a process that would typically take months to accomplish.
Spotlight has a proven track record of helping startups achieve significant milestones. A previous competition winner shared their experience, highlighting how the program helped them overcome a critical moment in their funding journey.
“Instead of chasing investors, they came to us, interested in our vision and potential. The exposure and validation we gained through the Spotlight competition completely turned the situation in our favour,” said Alexandru Cojocaru, CEO of Licenseware.
In addition to the main investment prize awarded to the top winner, this year’s edition will also offer three secondary prizes: facilitated meetings with top-level decision-makers from leading venture capital firms. Three Spotlight finalists will have the opportunity to participate in exclusive meetings with European investors responsible for investment decisions at some of the largest venture capital funds, including:
- Ondrej Bartos, General Partner at Credo Ventures;
- Kamil Mieczakowski, Partner at Notion Capital;
- Felix Martinez, Principal at Seedcamp;
- Bogdan Iordache, General Partner at Underline Ventures;
- Cristobal Alonso, Global CEO at Startup Wise Guys;
- Martin Olczyk, Managing Director at Techstars.
Spotlight’s Impact on Startup Growth
Participating in Spotlight 2024 is not just about entering a competition—it’s a crucial step in a startup’s growth journey. Securing capital can be challenging for early-stage startups, particularly those from Eastern Europe. While venture capital funds often recognize the potential in tech products, they may hesitate to allocate significant amounts due to longer incubation periods and early revenue requirements. Spotlight addresses this challenge by offering a platform that not only exposes startups to a broad audience but also facilitates direct interactions with investors actively seeking promising businesses to invest in.
Investors from top firms like Seedcamp, SMOK Ventures, Credo Ventures, 3VC, Inovo Venture Partners, Techangels Romania, Venture Friends, Wayra UK, LauncHub Ventures, Early Game Ventures, and many others will join the program.
Selected founders will have the chance to pitch their businesses on the Startup Stage in front of an audience of investors and industry leaders. The top five startups will take the main stage, where the winners will be announced on the first day of the conference, offering significant exposure for their businesses.
Access to World-Class Mentors and Judges
Besides networking with investors, startup founders will have the opportunity to learn from some of the industry’s most talented leaders, including Fonz Morris, Lead Product Designer from Netflix; Matt LeMay, Product Leader from Product Land; Horia Coman, Senior Engineering Manager from Stripe; Giorgio Pontillo, Global VP of Revenue and Founder of Fractional Wizards; Andrew Michael, CEO at Churned and many others.
These mentors bring extensive expertise in product management, revenue optimization, SaaS growth, fintech innovation, and AI, offering founders valuable insights, strategy refinement, and a network of useful contacts.
Moreover, selected startups will have the opportunity to showcase their innovations in the exhibition area of How to Web Conference. With over 3,000 technology and business professionals in attendance, this is a major opportunity for startups to present their products and services to a broad audience, attracting interest from potential customers, partners, and investors.
How to Apply
The application deadline for Spotlight 2024 is September 1. You can apply here.
The 40 selected startups will be announced on September 16, and the main events will take place on October 2 and 3. On October 2, all selected startups will pitch on the Startup Stage, with the top five advancing to the main stage, where the investment prize winners will be announced. On October 3, startups will participate in exclusive 1:1 meetings, offering them the chance to interact directly with Europe’s most recognized investors.
