Scadenza candidature: 19 aprile
Across top tech blogs, at events and conferences, and among the EU entrepreneurial community, we often hear the same questions: How can Europe become more like Silicon Valley? How can we produce more unicorns in Europe?
At Mind the Bridge we believe one way we can contribute to this effort is by leveraging our deep ties in both markets, i.e. to build a bridge between Europe and Silicon Valley. We want to help EU startups turn this vision of becoming a unicorn into a reality by introducing them to the opportunities already offered by Silicon Valley and the US market more widely.
That’s why we are thrilled to announce that today, in partnership with the European Commission and Startup Europe, we are opening our call for the next generation of EU unicorns to be selected for the second annual SEC2SV (Startup Europe Comes to Silicon Valley) in September 2016.
Last year our inaugural mission brought together the most promising EU scaleups, corporates and investors, as well as leading EU policymakers to meet key Silicon Valley stakeholders. 14 EU companies representing 9 countries were selected to participate in the SEC2SV mission. Cumulatively, these businesses generated more than $60 million in revenue and had over 1,000 employees. Among them were German high-growth companies Shopgate and Entrade, the UK’s Realeyes and Versarien, Spain’s Job and Talent, Mosaicoon from Italy, France’s TVTY, among many more.
Key 2015 participants included Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Gunther Oettinger, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Partner Tim Draper, Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship Julie Hanna, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Chairman Larry Sonsini, and UK Chief Technology Officer Liam Maxwell, among others.
During SEC2SV 2016, scaleups will have the opportunity to present at the European Innovation Day (the opening conference of the SEC2SV mission, with 60+ speakers and 800+ attendees) and participate in a tailored program involving mentoring, networking, and meetings with key stakeholders – a dedicated 3-day Scaleup Summit that will involve in-depth roundtables with 30+ Silicon Valley experts on the topics of growth, talent, legal, funding, M&A, policy, and communications. The SEC2SV participants will also be invited to exclusive receptions (held at EU consulates in San Francisco), and meetings at Silicon Valley iconic institutions (Apple, Airbnb, Andreessen Horowitz, Silicon Valley Bank, Squire Patton Boggs, to mention some names from the 2015 edition).
Interested companies from across Europe should apply via the f6s scaleup form, which will remain open for six weeks, after which a committee of leading European and U.S. investors will select 15 companies to participate in SEC2SV 2016.
Interested scaleups must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- be a European Union-based company
- have an average annualized growth in employees or turnover greater than 20% per annum over a three-year period (with more than 10 employees at the beginning of the 3 year period)
- desire to expand to the U.S. market or already have a presence there
By building the bridge connecting Silicon Valley and Europe in the SEC2SV mission, we’re bringing together the most important stakeholders in each entrepreneurial community, benefitting all parties involved. We look forward to reading your scaleup applications – and we can’t wait to welcome our next class of future EU unicorns to our home in Silicon Valley!