On June 30, more than 150 viewers joined BlockStart’s 2nd Demo Day online event, to hear from our top 5 startups and learn more about blockchain VC funding in Europe
On the 30th of June, at 3pm CET (Brussels Time), all eyes were on BlockStart‘s 2nd Demo Day online event. Over 100 people joined the streaming of the event, and 40 followed the discussion live on BlockStart’s YouTube channel.
The event was presented by Nadine Teles, EU Projects Manager at F6S and one of BlockStart’s consortium partners. Nadine made a brief introduction to the subject that was going to be discussed for the next two hours. After the introduction, João Fernandes, Project Manager & Investment Analyst at Bright Pixel and leader of the BlockStart consortium presented how BlockStart is trying to support the development and growth of blockchain startups through its 3 steps (Ideation Kick-off > Prototype Stage > Pilot Stage) Acceleration Programme, over the past 2 years.
Carla Puel and David Chreng-Messembourg, VC Investors from LeadBlock Partners, a blockchain-focused VC company, were the keynote speakers, and took over the stage in a passionate speech about tips on getting VC funding, key highlights on funding, maturity, product use cases and success stories in the B2B Blockchain ecosystem. During their presentation, Carla and David delighted the participants – mainly composed by startups, SMEs and innovation ecosystem intermediaries such as incubators, accelerators, associations, among others – and questions just kept popping up.
During the discussion, it became clear more data has been produced in the last couple of years and, as the economy feeds on data, blockchain technology can help capture the value of raw data. Thus, blockchain is expected to transform the way industries own, share and harness data and the importance of blockchain is already noticeable, with a visible growth in the number of early-stage blockchain startups over the last few years (for more information, visit LeadBlock Partners Enterprise Blockchain 2020 Report). Finally, Carla and David provided some tips & tricks for blockchain startups when pitching their company and solution in front of a VC.
Figure 1: screenshot of Carla and David’s presentation
Then it was the time everyone was waiting for and it was the moment for BlockStart’s top 5 blockchain startups to shine! Motoblockchain, LoanXchain, Knowtary, IBISA and ComeTogether pitched their solutions, developed throughout BlockStart’s 2nd Acceleration Programme and with the help of the programme’s mentors and experts.
Figure 2: screenshot of BlockStart’s top 5 blockchain startups pitches
The event was very dynamic, allowing participants to ask questions directly to the startups through a chat group. Some polls were also added in the beginning of the event, to engage people to interact and share their expectations regarding the Demo Day.
BlockStart was several times mentioned as a great example of the type of programme that helps blockchain startups and allows good matches to be made with innovative SMEs willing to adopt blockchain-based products and services.
What a great event this was, indeed! Whether you didn’t have the chance to watch the stream, wish to share it with someone curious about blockchain’s use cases, or even if you want to see it again, here is the recording of the event:
You can also download the full presentation of the event: