Seedcamp, the pan-European early stage startup programme that tours Europe to find companies for a week-long annual seed-funding event, has given TechCrunch Europe exclusive access to its dates for 2010.
The original plan to hold a Seedcamp Week every year in London for a 3 year run, investing in a total of 15 companies in that period, has now changed. The emphasis is now on a regular touring programme of ‘mini-seedcamps’, a move pioneered this year with seven events in Tel Aviv, Paris, Warsaw, London, Helsinborg, Ljubljana and Berlin. It’s going for creating mini-ecosystems in each city of entrepreneurs, investors, products, marketing and technology advisors, academia and corporates.
So in 2010 there will be 8 Mini Seedcamps (Spain is the new addition) and majoring on the Balkans and Eastern Europe which has produced previous Seedcamp finalists like Erply, Codility, Zemanta, Ubervu and Brainient.
These dates will be:
Zagreb – 11th February
Prague – 2nd March
Barcelona – 23rd March
Paris – 15th April
Tel Aviv – 6th May
Copenhagen – 27th May
Berlin – 16th June
London – 20th July
Seedcamp will shortly release more detail on how local teams apply [Update: see here], but the key thing to know is that each Mini Seedcamp is open to anyone – so anyone can catch an cheap flight to the location and apply. Last year saw a Romanian team in Paris, an Israeli team in Sweden, for instance.
Leading teams from each Mini Seedcamp in 2010 go into a final selection process in July of up to 40 teams for investment. Sometimes Seedcamp invests directly after a Mini Seedcamp. Winning teams get an intensive three month support program.
There are of course other startups programmes though so far none have managed to match Seedcamp’s pan-European globe-trotting. See out in-depth interview with founder Saul Klein recently for more.