So far this year I’ve has run roundtable meetup events for startups in Barcelona, Paris, Prague and coming up we’ll be in Stockholm in 27 May, Berlin on 10 June and throwing a huge summer party in London on 9 July (come meet The Travelling Geeks). But next week I will be putting together a day-long conference in London as a personal project which I think is needed for the eco-system. It’s shaping up to be pretty cool. After-all, over 200 people are already coming and there are only a handful of tickets left. [UPDATE: NOW SOLD OUT – Only tickets to the evening party still available]
Geek ‘n Rolla – the day for European startups old and new to network, learn from each other, meet investors and party – will have a full day of speakers, startup pitches and will also have a dedicated exhibition area. Get your ticket today.
The event will be from 10am, all day at RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects), 66, Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD. Map
Geek ’n Rolla is sponsored by Viadeo one of the largest professional social networks in the world, and supported by UK Trade and Investment, as well as NESTA, the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts. And not only will we be having a great day of fantastic content for tech startups, we are planning the mother of all evening networking parties at one of London’s premier venues, Cafe de Paris kindly sponsored by Winston & Strawn’s Bootlaw.
What’s there left to say? Just this. Are you Old School, or New School?
You see, people ask the question, what’s a real Geek ‘n Rolla? And I tell ’em: We all like a bit of the good life. Some the money, or the fame.
But a real Geek’n Rolla – wants the lot.
Sponsors
We still have a few sponsorship opportunities and there will be a dedicated exhibition area available for companies to show off their products. If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at the event, please contact Petra Johansson on petra[at]twistedtree.co.uk
Viadeo
Founded in June 2004, Viadeo quickly established itself as the place to be for professional networking in Europe and beyond. Since then, with more than 7 million members (as of January 2009). Follow them on Twitter @viadeo. Viadeo is essential for those who want to:
• Increase their business opportunities (to discover new clients, staff and business partners)
• Enhance their visibility and their online reputation
• Manage and develop their network of professional contacts
Viadeo’s members consist of business owners, entrepreneurs and managers from a diverse range of businesses both start-up and well established. Each day Viadeo attracts more than 10,000 new members; 40,000 new connections are made and over one million profiles are viewed. Based in Paris (head office), Viadeo also has offices and teams in the UK (London), Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Milan), China (Beijing), India (New Delhi) and Mexico (Mexico City). The company employs 200 staff worldwide. www.viadeo.com
As part of their sponsorship Viadeo are delighted to offer all delegates the opportunity to be prominently featured around the venue. You are invited to create a profile at www.viadeo.com – the 10 most interesting profiles will be part of a rotating Viadeo display visible to all attending VCs, business angels, journalists & geeks for the duration of the conference. Additionally all delegates signing up to Viadeo prior to April 21 (with the email you used to register with amiando) will be given a 3 month free premium subscription in order to get your European networking kickstarted… To qualify for exposure at the event profiles must be completed by midnight on April 19th via the link/ URL above.
UKTI
UK Trade & Investment is the government organisation that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. We also help overseas companies bring their high quality investment to the UK’s dynamic economy – acknowledged as Europe’s best place from which to succeed in global business.
UK Trade & Investment offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. We provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage. For further information please visit www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk or telephone +44 (0)20 7215 8000.
NESTA
NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts. Its mission is to transform the UK’s capacity for innovation. NESTA Investments has the largest portfolios of early-stage businesses in the country and is a leading authority on how to grow new ideas. We have strict investment criteria, and work with companies that have high potential for growth, are at seed or start-up stage, and have the potential to attract syndicated support. When we do invest, we aim to maximise our investment by assigning mentors, part-time managers or specialist support. We also stimulate imaginative solutions to pressing social issues and shape policy to help the UK meet its national innovation challenges.www.nesta.org.uk
After-party sponsor: Bootlaw
Bootlaw is a free boot camp for emerging technology, internet and digital businesses and the professionals working in them who want to learn more about the legal issues they face. Its brought to you by Barry Vitou and Danvers Baillieu the friendly lawyers at Winston & Strawn in London. For more information go to www.bootlaw.com
School for Startups
Geek’n Rolla is also supported by School for Startups. The inspiration of serial entrepreneur and angel investor Doug Richard, School for Startups is the UK’s leading provider of business training for entrepreneurs. Anyone attending Geek’n Rolla may claim a 5% discount on all current School for Startups events – currently 2 in London and 2 in Scotland. Simply go to www.schoolforstartups.co.uk quoting the discount code TECHCRUNCH to qualify for this discount.
See below for our speakers;
PROGRAMME: Geek’n’Rolla
10.00 Registration – Coffee and Tea
10.18 Opening Remarks
10.20 Europe, The Final Countdown – The Good, the Bad and the SuperBad
Speaker: Inma Martinez, Stradbroke Advisors
10.35 The Masterplan – How to Hire a Team of Peers
Speaker: Andy McLoughlin, CEO Huddle.net
10.50 Hey you, get off of my cloud – Launching your startup on a cloud computing infrastructure
Speaker: Joe Drumgoole, CTO & Founder, Putplace.com
11.05 Paper Planes – Monetising your startup from the word go with advertising and affiliates”
Speaker: Joe Stepniewski, Skimlinks
11.20 What’s the frequency Kenneth? – The trials of a mobile apps startup
Speaker: Jof Arnold, CEO Gymfu.com
11.35 Hey now, what you doing? – Usability / UX / Call it what you like: What startups most often get wrong and what they should do about it
Speaker: Leisa Reichelt, Freelance user experience consultant
11.50 Panel: Just a girl – Balancing Tech Culture: Getting more women involved in tech startups
Moderator: Cate Sevilla, BitchBuzz
Panellists:
Leisa Reichelt, User experience consultant
Sophie Cox, Worldeka.com
Paul Walsh, OpenSoho (startups networking event) & Entrepreneur
Zuzanna Pasierbinska-Wilson, Huddle.net
Nacera Benfedda, Director of Product, Viadeo
12.35 LUNCH and Networking
13.35 Get on your boots – Bootstrapping, Scaling and Cashflow
Speaker: William Reeve, Serial entrepreneur and Angel investor
13.50 American Idiot – Launching Your Startup In the US – when you’re actually in Scotland
Speaker: Lesley Eccles, Hubdub
14.05 We don’t need no education – Geek Tools, A Primer
Speaker: Ian Hogarth, CEO, Songkick.com
14.20 Panel: Have Love, Will Travel – How to be a startup that wins, excites and keeps users
Panellists:
Ryan Carson, Future of Web Apps / Carsonified
Nic Brisbourne, DFJ Esprit (Venuture capital)
Keiran O’Neil, CEO Playfire.com
Wendy White, CEO Moonfruit
15.05 COFFEE BREAK
15.25 Send me an Angel – Funding and How to Handle Angels
Speaker: Nic Halstead, CEO Favorit
15.40 Boulevard of Broken Dreams – Recession Business Models for Tech Startups
Speaker: Reshma Sohoni, Seedcamp
15.55 Bankrobber – To VC or not to VC? That Is The Question
Speaker: Fred Destin, Atlas Ventures
16.10 TechCrunch Pitch! sponsored by UK Trade & Investment
Pitch judges:
Doug Richard, School for Startups
Julie Meyer, Ariadne Capital
Michael Smith, Mind Candy
Alex How, Angel Investor
Startups Pitching:
Affect Labs
BookingBug
Buildor
Gigulate
Scribblar
Smarkets
Swiffen
VouChaCha
16.50 Closing Remarks & a Surprise…
18.00 Close of conference
19.00 Networking Party at Cafe de Paris (ticket required)