tech conference

If you are in a tech startup and eager to transform your business, How to Web in Bucharest is the place to be on 20-21 November. During the tech conference, there will be a chance for startups to participate in the Startup Spotlight competition and pitch their ideas. The current application window runs until 20 October and startups from in and outside of Romania are welcome to apply. How to Web will bring together investors, entrepreneurs and tech leaders to discuss the latest global trends.

In the Spotlight

“We hope to get top-notch teams with top-notch products that go after an international market, so we can put them in the best context to move forward,” CEO of How to Web Bogdan Iordache told inventures.eu. He also highlighted the importance of taking a look at the selection criteria before applying, because “having a custom presentation that focuses on what’s important for the jury always helps.”

Entry rules and judging

“While the application form is not light, I would say it consists of four big components: who you are, what do you do, why do you do it and where do you hope to take it,” said Iordache. “It is a fairly standard application form, but specially designed for early-stage startups.” You can find more information on the terms and conditions here.

A professional team of juries with international experience will decide on the 32 finalists, who are going to be announced on 28 October. Experience, market size and overall feasibility are some of the main criteria the jury will base their decisions on.

Long-term benefits

“In the past years, we’ve seen a growing number of high-quality startups, and that’s what we hope to see again,” said Iordache. “We would love to have a huge number of excellent startups from throughout the region that take advantage of Startup Spotlight.”

About a third of last years’ finalists have closed important deals as a result of participating in the competition and are now developing and growing strong, shows a How to Web follow-up report. Finalists Incrediblue (Greece) received investment from OpenFund and publicly launched the product, while MavenHut (Romania) received a VC investment of 500.000 euros and reached Top 100 Grossing Apps on Facebook in October 2013.

What’s in it for you?

Apart from receiving exposure and valuable feedback, Startup Spotlight has quite a few awards up for grabs. The organisers will give away altogether 20.000 dollars in cash prizes. The best startup will receive 10.000 dollars, the runner-up will get 3.000 dollars and the startup with the best pitch will go home with 2.000 dollars.

But Iordache believes that the experience is worth even more. “All the ones that have participated in the past would agree that the mentoring, office-hours and pitching programme of Startup Spotlight are what makes a huge difference, and that’s available to all the 32 finalists.”

All the details, including logistics, accommodation and entertainment during the event are listed here. 

Wait no more and apply now!

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