The Startup Sesame Tech Events Annual Report 2017-2018 highlights the significant rise in tech events across Europe, connecting startups with investors and industry leaders. With over 62,000 tech meetups annually, Startup Sesame has established itself as a vital network of tech events to foster collaboration and innovation. The report emphasizes the importance of informed decision-making for entrepreneurs to maximize the benefits of attending the right events.

1. STARTUP SESAME
TECH EVENTS
ANNUAL REPORT
1ST EDITION
2017-2018

2. Extract from Atomico’s “The State of
European Tech 2017“ survey results
(3,480 responses)
1
Atomico: The State of European Tech 2017
Europe's growing and highly-engaged tech communities
WHY
TECH EVENTS
MATTER
TECH EVENTS
ARE ON THE RISE
STARTUPS ALREADY
KNOW THEY MATTER
SURVEY PARTICIPANT
SEGMENTATION*
*¼ Women - ¾Men
Founder
Employee at a private tech startup or scale-up
Employee at a private company that is not
a tech startup/ scale-up
Venture capitalist
Employee at a publicly listed tech company
Student
Other
Employee in the public sector
Other investor
Employee at a publicly listed non-tech company
Angel investor
32.6%
16.0%
10.4%
10.0%
6.4%
5.9%
5.1%
4.3%
3.8%
3,0%
2,6%
There are over 62.0001 Tech meetups
every year in Europe alone.
This number has almost doubled since 2015
and shows no sign of slowing down; fueled by
new digital landscapes, making it easier for
events to attract high-profile speakers and
attendees from all over the world.
These events are bringing startups, investors,
corporates and media together; offering
opportunities for collaboration, demonstration
and business development.
As the volume of startup events continues to
expand, organizers are battling to build more
value for entrepreneurs looking to tap into
industry-leading experts, thought-leaders and
investors.
OF
PARTICIPANTS
AGREE THAT
TECH EVENTS
GENERATE
BENEFITS FOR
THEM
91%
ATTENDED 6+
TECH EVENTS
THIS YEAR!
21%
20+
• PAGE - 2 • • PAGE - 3 •
11-
20
%OF
REPONSES
8%
0 1-5 6-
10
71%
16%
3% 2%
TECH EVENTS PER YEAR

3. FUELING THE
“TECH EVENT GENERATION“
Back in June 2015,
we had this crazy idea to unite event organizers looking
to help entrepreneurs expand within the European Tech
ecosystem. Slush, Pioneers Festival, Webrazzi Summit,
Arctic15, Tech Open Air and Challengers were the first
events to trust in our vision and support this initiative.
Since 2015, we have grown this ecosystem to 30 official
partner events and are currently working with 100+ events
worldwide.
As a member of the Tech event generation, we believe
entrepreneurs can change the world if they attend the
right event, at the right time. Unfortunately, the lack of
verified and transparent information about events makes
it hard for these entrepreneurs to decide which events to
attend, and when.
We decided to change this and co-create with our
community a world where professional meetings have a
sustainable and positive impact on our society. No more
time lost at useless conferences, no more money wasted
on poorly-organized tradeshows.
If informed and accurate decision-making fosters
innovation, this annual report is our humble contribution
to a stronger innovation ecosystem in Europe.
Ben Costantini
Co-Founder & CEO, Startup Sesame
STARTUP SESAME
IS THE LARGEST
ALLIANCE OF
TECH EVENTS IN
EUROPE & THE
FIRST COMMUNITY
OF TECH EVENT
INSIDERS
Weconnect Tech events in
Europe with our growing
community
Wedeliver event strategy
to companies looking to
efficiently navigate startup
and innovation ecosystems
OUR NETWORK
• 30,000 Tech enthusiasts
• 1700+ startups
• 200+ accelerators and incubators
• 30 partner events
• a pool of 30+ mentors
WHAT WE DO
Wesupport startups via our
Event Acceleration Programs
• PAGE - 4 • • PAGE - 5 •

4. EUROPE
A program for European startups in different industries
CitizenLab (Belgium) - Citron (Paris) - Combyne (Germany)
CyborgNest (UK) - Letz.do (Netherlands) - Limitless (UK)
MOBILITY
A program dedicated to mobility startups
POMP (France) - Zify (India/France)
ENTERTAINMENT
A program designed for creative startups
Gameway (UK) - Look Live Media (Belgium)
Soundsgood (France) - WARM (Denmark)
OVERVIEW FROM OUR 2017 CALL FOR ENTRIES
• 200+ CANDIDATES FROM 38 COUNTRIES
• 1.9 AVERAGE YEARS OF EXISTENCE
• 12 STARTUPS WERE SELECTED FOR STARTUP SESAME SEASON 3
OUR
EVENT
ACCELERATION
PROGRAMS
OUR PROGRAMS SUPPORT ENTREPRENEURS
LOOKING TO GROW THEIR BUSINESS
INTERNATIONALLY.
SELECTED STARTUPS BECOME “SESAMERS” AND
JOIN A COMMUNITY OF TECH EVENT INSIDERS.
THEY GET PREMIUM ACCESS TO CONFERENCES
AND TRADESHOWS, VISIBILITY, GUIDANCE
AND MENTORING SESSIONS WITH A POOL OF
INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS.
Startup Sesame has been
extremely valuable for us as
an early stage startup.
The mentors have helped us
tremendously - kicking down
doors for us at very important
events.
Jesper Skibsby
Co-Founder & CEO, Warm
Given Startup Sesame’s
expertise in knowing and
interacting with tech/ startup
events, they were the perfect
fit for us.
Chedy Riahi
Innovation Associate,
BNP Paribas
Thanks to Startup Sesame’s
expansive network of European
tech influencers and
ecosystems, we were able to
scout the very best mobility and
transport startups in Europe!
Karima Delli
Chairwoman of the Transport
and Tourism Committee,
European Parliament
It’s exciting to see an
organisation that is by the
startup community, for the
startup community, go from
strength to strength. We are
proud to support what we view
as a key grassroots
organisation working tirelessly
to support founders and Tech
events across Europe.
Bryce Keane
Head of Communications,
Atomico
It’s all very simple, but
also extremely valuable
in my opinion, as
(especially first-time)
entrepreneurs don’t
always know which
event will provide the
best bangs for their
(limited) bucks.
Robin Wauters
Founding Editor,
Tech.eu
Startup sesame has a special place in our hearts for
embracing us and our campaign by providing
unparalleled access to top events across Europe.
What stands out most however, and makes Startup
Sesame truly special, is the passion of the
incredible team behind it.
Soumyadip Rakshit
Co-founder,
Mystery Vibe
VOICES
• PAGE - 6 • • PAGE - 7 •

5. EVERY YEAR, WE HANDPICK THE
BEST EVENTS TO JOIN OUR PARTNER
NETWORK, WORKING WITH THEM
SIDE-BY-SIDE TO DELIVER MORE
VALUE, ENERGY AND CONNECTIONS.
THIS ANNUAL REPORT SERVES AS
A USEFUL REFERENCE TO QUICKLY
GAUGE THE VALUE OF EACH EVENT
FROM OUR NETWORK.
WHAT
WHERE
WHEN
FE
B
MAR APR MAY JUN
February
9-10
Riga
February 27
March 1
Barcelona
April 11-12
Paris
May 3-5
Helsinki
May 18
Tel Aviv
May 17-19
Gdansk
June 6-7
Lisbon
June 7-9
Nantes
June 8-9
Sofia
June 1-2
Vienna
JU
L
AUG SE
P
OCT NOV DEC
June 14-17
Barcelona
June 29
July 2
Clermont-Ferrand
July 11-14
Berlin September 6-7
Cologne
September 26
Paris
September 4
Stockholm
September 13-17
Frankfurt
October 18
Istanbul
June 6-15
Stockholm
July 31
August 1
Hollywood
October 4-10
Madrid
October 11-12
Amsterdam
October 17
San Fran-
cisco
October 26-27
Paris
October 19-21
Paris
November 30
December 1
Helsinki
• PAGE - 8 • • PAGE - 9 •
November
24-26
Tallinn
1 TECHCHILL
2 4YFN
3 LEADERS
4 ARCTIC15
5 INFOSHARE
6 ECOMOTION
7 PIONEERS
8 LISBON INVESTMENT SUMMIT
9 SYMPOSIUM
10 WEB2DAY
11 DIGITALK
12 SONAR +D
13 EUROPAVOX FESTIVAL
14 TECH OPEN AIR
15 WORLDZ
16 STHLM TECH FEST
17 PIRATESUMMIT
18 NEW MOBILITY WORLD
19 FRANCE DIGITALE DAY
20 MONDIAL TECH
21 SOUTH SUMMIT
22 WORLD SUMMIT AI
23 SF MUSIC TECH
24 WEBRAZZI
25 AUTONOMY
26 HELLO TOMORROW
27 ROBOTEX
28 SLUSH

6. Date: 09 - 10 Feb. 2017
Next Date: 08 - 09 Feb. 2018
Location: Riga, Latvia
1,100 participants
70 investors
56 speakers
26 countries
200 startups
10 startup pitches
Website: techchill.co
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
•Opening keynote: “How to Hack Tech
Events”
Date: 27 Feb. - 01 Mar. 2017
Next Date: 26 - 28 Feb. 2018
Location: Barcelona, Spain
19,500 participants
600 exhibitors
544 corporates
700 investors
748 journalists
275 speakers
160 countries
600 startups
1,800M of media reach
200 startup pitches
Website: 4yfn.com
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Sesame Dinner with 25 participants
• Startup Sesame Booth
• Panel: “Hacking Events like a Viking“
• Telegram group with over 100 members
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: TOPDOX
(Portugal) / WeFarm (UK) / Talent.io
(France) / 30min MBA (Sweden) /
OpenBack (Ireland) / Mystery Vibe (UK)
We Farm won the “Disrupted by
Mobile“ competition
Date: 03 - 05 May 2017
Next Date: 30 - 31 May 2018
Location: Helsinki, Finland
1,500 participants
150+ corporates
300+ investors
60+ countries
450+ startups
30 startup pitches
Website: arctic15.com
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Telegram group with 30 members
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startup on-site: Letz.do
(Netherlands)
Date: 11 - 12 Apr. 2017
Next Date: TBD
Location: Paris, France
1,200 participants
16 exhibitors
350 corporates
55 investors
65 journalists
100 speakers
50 countries
90 startups
Website: paris.leade.rs
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
•Startup Sesame Summit with 13
international event organisers
•Telegram group with over 60
members
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startup on-site: Talent.io
(France)
• PAGE - 10 • • PAGE - 11 •

7. Date: 18 May 2017
Next Date: 23 May 2018
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
1,500 participants
70 exhibitors
300 corporates
25 journalists
45 speakers
23 countries
200 startups
40 startup pitches
Website: ecomotion.org.il
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Key information shared with clients
• Sourcing for New Mobility World
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: POMP
(France) / Pzartech (Israel) / Faraday
Motion (Germany)
Date: 17 - 19 May 2017
Next Date: 22 - 23 May 2018
Location: Gdansk, Poland
5,500 participants
180 exhibitors
2,700 companies and organizations
100 investors
150 journalists
133 speakers
45 countries
250 startups
3,3M of media reach
4,741 social media mentions
270 publications
120 startup pitches
Website: infoshare.pl
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Invitation for mentors
Date: 06 - 07 Jun. 2017
Next Date: 06 - 07 Jun. 2018
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
1,000 participants
37 corporates
200+ investors
100 speakers
40 countries
300+ startups
Website: lis-summit.com
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Telegram group with 20 members
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: CitizenLab
(Belgium) / POMP (France) / Zify
(France) / Faraday Motion (Germany)
Date: 01 - 02 Jun. 2017
Next Date: 24 - 25 Feb. 2018
Location: Vienna, Austria
2,500 participants
39 exhibitors
600 corporates
300 investors
200 journalists
80 speakers
100+ countries
500 startups
1,071 articles
9M€ media equivalency of online
articles
80 startup pitches
Website: pioneers.io/events
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
•Startup Sesame booth
• Key information shared with clients
• Sesame Dinner with 30 participants
•Telegram group with over 90
members
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: Gameway
(UK) / CitizenLab (Belgium) / Combyne
(Germany) / Limitless (Netherlands) /
Zify (France) / Pzartech (Israel) /
Faraday Motion (Germany)
• PAGE - 12 • • PAGE - 13 •

8. Date: 07 - 09 Jun. 2017
Next Date: 13 - 15 Jun. 2018
Location: Nantes, France
5,000 participants
25 exhibitors
50 corporates
300 speakers
75 startups
19,036 livestreams
49 startup pitches
Website: web2day.co
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Moderation of 2 panels
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: POMP
(France) / Zify (France) / Citron (France)
Zify won the pitch competition
Date: 07 - 15 Jun. 2017
Next Date: 06 - 16 Jun. 2018
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
530 participants
55 journalists
70 speakers
6 startup pitches
Website: symposium.co
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Telegram group with 20 members
• Discount for mentors
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site:
Look Live Media (Belgium) /
Soundsgood (France) / WARM
(Denmark)
Date: 14 - 17 Jun. 2017
Next Date: 13 - 16 Jun. 2018
Location: Barcelona, Spain
61,000 participants
66 exhibitors
3,242 corporates
32 investors
90 speakers
104 countries
30 startups
30 startup pitches
Website: sonarplusd.com
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
•Telegram group with 20 members
•Speakers confirmed among our
mentors
• Dinner with 8 participants
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: Look Live
Media (Belgium) / WARM (Denmark) /
Combyne (Germany)
Date: 08 - 09 Jun. 2017
Next Date: 31 May - 01 Jun. 2018
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
2,500 participants
15 exhibitors
300 corporates
100 investors
20 journalists
60 speakers
20 countries
350 startups
12 startup pitches
Website: digitalk.bg
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Telegram group with 30 members
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: Citron (France)
/ Combyne (Germany) / Letz.do
(Netherlands)
• PAGE - 14 • • PAGE - 15 •

9. Date: 11 - 14 Jul. 2017
Next Date: 19 - 22 Jun. 2018
Location: Berlin, Germany
20,000 participants
106 exhibitors
75 corporates
450 investors
200 speakers
40 countries
1,200 startups
200 international media outlets
22 media partners
25 startup pitches
Website: toa.berlin
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
•Telegram group with over 80
members
• Key information shared with clients
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: Look
Live Media (Belgium) / Combyne
(Germany) / POMP (France) / Zify
(France)
Zify won the pitch competition
Date: 29 Jun. - 02 Jul. 2017
Next Date: TBD
Location: Clermont-Ferrand,
France
50,000 participants
25 countries
27 startups
6 startup pitches
Website: europavoxfestival.com
A partnership with digital startup
incubators, a space for experimentation
offering a selection of startup to test
their prototypes on each dimension
of the cooperation project and in an
international environment, a space
for creativity bringing together
professionals, startups and journalists
in order to stimulate the expression of
new needs, identification of new uses
and innovative devices.
Date: 04 Sep. 2017
Next Date: TBD
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
4,000 participants
120 exhibitors
100 investors
35 journalists
60 speakers
20 countries
100 startups
Website: sthlm-tech-fest-2017.confetti.
events
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startup on-site: Combyne
(Germany)
Date: 11 Jul. - 01 Aug. 2017
Next Date: 17 - 18 Oct. 2018
Location: Hollywood, USA
1,720 participants
16 exhibitors
50 investors
80 journalists
20 countries
640M of media reach
Website: worldz.us
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Key information shared with clients
• Tickets sold via promo code
• PAGE - 16 • • PAGE - 17 •

10. Date: 13 - 17 Sep. 2017
Next Date: TBD
Location: Frankfurt, Germany
250,000 participants
2.013 exhibitors
25 corporates
2,000 journalists
200 speakers
19 countries
40 startups
75,000+ page views
430M of media reach
150 startup pitches
Website: newmobility.world
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Startup sourcing
• Partner of the startup competition
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: POMP
(France) / Zify(France)
Date: 06 - 07 Sep. 2017
Next Date: 03 - 05 Jul. 2018
Location: Cologne, Germany
1,000 participants
60 exhibitors
100 corporates
250 investors
25 journalists
100 speakers
79 countries
500 startups
10,000 newsletter reach
10,000 social media reach
70 startup pitches
Website: piratesummit.com
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
•Telegram group with over 40
members
• Moderation & speaking at 4 sessions
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: Combyne
(Germany) / POMP(France) / Zify
(France)
Combyne was the finalist of the pitch
competition
Date: 01 - 04 Oct. 2016
Next Date: 01- 06 Oct. 2018
Location: Paris, France
1,250,000 participants
245 exhibitors
10,000 journalists
30 speakers
19 countries
26 startups
8 startup pitches
Website: mondial.tech
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Startup sourcing
• Partner of the startup competition
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: EverCharge
(USA) / SmartUp Cities (Spain) /
Faraday Motion (Denmark) / Pzartech
(Israel)
Date: 26 Sep. 2017
Next Date: 25 Sep. 2018
Location: Paris, France
2,000 participants
35 exhibitors
200 corporates
40 investors
200 journalists
60 speakers
800 startups
13,000 newsletter
55,000 socialmedia
Website: francedigitale.org
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Moderation of 1 panel
• Key information shared with clients
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: Soundsgood
(France) / CitizenLab (Belgium) / POMP
(France) / Zify (France)
• PAGE - 18 • • PAGE - 19 •

11. Date: 11 - 12 Oct. 2017
Next Date: 10 - 11 Oct. 2018
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
2,800 participants
30 exhibitors
390 corporates
360 investors
51 journalists
136 speakers
72 countries
360 startups
Website: worldsummit.ai
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Key information shared with clients
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startup on-site: Letz.do
(Netherlands)
Date: 04 - 06 Oct. 2017
Next Date: TBD
Location: Madrid, Spain
12,500 participants
46 corporates
650 investors
325 journalists
460 speakers
3000 startups
95 startup pitches
Website: southsummit.co
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
•Telegram group with over 30
members
•Event Hacking & Brand Activation for
OpenUp BNP Paribas
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: WARM
(Denmark) / Combyne (Germany) /
Limitless (Netherlands) / Zify (France)
Date: 18 Oct. 2017
Next Date: 22 - 23 May. 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
1,500 participants
65 exhibitors
650 corporates
100 investors
50 journalists
38 speakers
20 countries
200 startups
10 national newspaper coverage
5 magazines
10 startup pitches
Website: summit.webrazzi.com
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Moderation of 1 panel
• Information shared with client
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Wildcard invitations
Date: 17 Oct. 2017
Next Date: TBD
Location: San Francisco, USA
800 participants
78 speakers
20 startup pitches
Website: sfmusictech.com
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Jury of the startup competition
• PAGE - 20 • • PAGE - 21 •

12. Date: 26 - 27 Oct. 2017
Next Date: TBD
Location: Paris, France
4,000 participants
160 exhibitors
18 corporates
300 investors
113 speakers
10 countries
72 startup pitches
Website: hello-tomorrow.org
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
• Tickets sold with our promo code
Date: 19 - 21 Oct. 2017
Next Date: 18 - 20 Oct. 2018
Location: Paris, France
10,000 participants
220 exhibitors
200 journalists
110 speakers
30 countries
80 startups
2,5M € of media reach
342 press
33,6000 social media mentions
Trending topic in Paris on October,
2017
39 startup pitches
Website: autonomy.paris
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
•TweetChat organised with our
mentors on the future of urban mobility
• Event Hacking for clients
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startup on-site: POMP (France)
Date: 30 Nov. - 01 Dec. 2017
Next Date: 04 - 05 Dec. 2018
Location: Helsinki, Finland
20,000 participants
350 exhibitors
60 corporates
1,500 investors
610 journalists
176 speakers
131 countries
2,600 startups
49,800 tweets
100 startup pitches
Website: slush.org
STARTUP SESAME ACTIVATION:
•Telegram group with over 200
members
•Event Hacking & Brand Activation for
OpenUp BNP Paribas
• Event Hacking for clients
• Sesame Workshop
• Dinner with TOA/Opnrs
• Tickets sold with our promocode
•Support of the State of European Tech
Report by Atomico &Slush
• Jury for the Slush competition
EVENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM:
Sesame startups on-site: WARM
(Denmark) / Soundsgood (France) /
Cyborg Nest (UK) / Combyne
(Germany) / Limitless (Netherlands) /
POMP (France)
WARM and Soundsgood won the
Slush Music competition
Date: 24 - 26 Nov. 2017
Next Date: TBD
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
20,000 participants
84 exhibitors
10 investors
25 journalists
16 speakers
35 countries
300 media
12 startup pitches
Website: robotex.ee
• PAGE - 22 • • PAGE - 23 •

13. www.startupsesame.com
info@startupsesame.com
Thank you to our community and team for
their help with this report.
In particular, thank you to Maxime-Jean
Guibbert, Ando Razafindrainibe, Jonny Yin
and Suzanne Newman. Thank you Dan
Taylor for providing us with the visual story
of our network of events.
LeStudioGraphiquedesImproductibles-studio.lesimproductibles.com-Photocredits:DanTaylor