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Recognising the value of local events for the European technology sector

Some well-deserved praise for those organizing events in less obvious places in Europe, and the role they play in developing the local startup ecosystem(s).

Running from one European tech conference to the next has the unfortunate side effect that everything tends to become a blur. At events, ranging from small meet-ups to large summits, forums and festivals (the term ‘conference’ has definitely fallen out of fashion), I would meet with startup founders, investors, policymakers and other industry stakeholders, never quite certain where and when exactly I met them if run into them a second time.

And yet, I find it important to attend and occasionally speak at events that have a crucial role in developing a local ecosystem, whether it is a regional or a national one.

Over the years, I’ve stopped attending most sessions from other speakers and panels at conferences, and rarely sit through hours of startup pitching competitions anymore. Not that I no longer enjoy it, mind you, quite the opposite actually, but because in my mind Tech.eu’s mission is to find out where the European technology industry is heading and passing on that knowledge to others in various ways. And that means spending time meeting people one-to-one is often better spent than sitting in an audience in a dimly lit auditorium.

Keep reading on: Tech.EU