It was the year of the Internet of Things and hardware startups, European mobile and online gaming market explosion and crypto-currencies boom. Since the main stage at How to Web is the core of the conference, the place to hear keynotes from top speakers from around the world, this year we’re dedicating it to future trends in technology and entrepreneurship, areas in which tech innovation thrives through its builders.
Future trends
Increased mobility and the rise of the Internet of Things brought to the scene a lot of hardware startups and set new trends in developing mobile technologies. Also, the web became a support for an alternate system of currencies that attract potential investors. This year we aim to explore these trends and their impact on our everyday lives with the help of our expert speakers.
“Living in the mobile future” with Chris Chabot, Innovator & startup mentor, ex-Twitter VP of Developer Relations
Chris worked on key projects at Google and Twitter, and being an entrepreneur in between jobs enabled him to accumulate a vast experience on social networking products. At How to Web Conference he will share with us his vision on the future of mobile, with its intricacies and opportunities.
“The power of the crowd” with Florian Meissner, co-founder at EyeEm
Florian’s startup is one of the fastest growing European platforms in the photography world. Having already developed a strong community of professional photographers, Florian will talk about what it takes to harness the passion that unites millions of people, and how to build a great product that caters to these movements.
“The future of gaming” with Jason Dela Rocca, Co-founder and indie evangelist Execution Labs
Jason was the executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) for nine years, and is one of the staples of the gaming market. More recently, he co-founded Execution Labs, a hybrid incubator/accelerator for independent mobile game startups, and we’re extremely excited to have him on the main stage at How to Web Conference this year. If anyone can envision the future of game development, that’s definitely Jason!
“The crypto-currencies ecosystem” with Alex Barrera, Co-founder and CEO Press42.com, Co-founder and editor Tech.eu (moderator), Manuel Heilmann, Co-founder and CEO Coinzone and Lyuben Belov, Managing Partner of LAUNCHub Seed & Acceleration fund
Obviously Bitcoin and alternate or crypto-currencies are the newest cool thing on the web. But is it an opportunity or just a hype? Alex will moderate a panel on the subject during How to Web Conference, being extremely passionate about the subject and having written an in-depth analysis on the matter on Tech.eu (read it here).
Manuel, the CEO and co-founder of Coinzone, will also joing the talks, along with Lyuben Belov, a truly “orchestra geek”, venture capitalist, business angel and Bitcoin advocate. This is a fantastic opportunity to understand the underlying structure of the emerging cypto-currencies ecosystem and how it impacts other structures of the tech and finance worlds.
“The underground of the web” with Dennis Cox, Chief Product Officer, IXIA
Dennis co-founded BreakingPoint Systems in 2005 and served as its Chief Technical Officer until its acquisition by IXIA in August, 2012 for $160 million. In his talk, he will address the less visible developments of the infrastructure industry.
How fast are the needs for data and connectivity growing? What is the impact on the infrastructure the cloud computing and mobile apps era has? What are the developments we expect in five years from now and what are the entrepreneurial opportunities ahead? Get the answers to these questions and more from one of the most knowledgeable product managers we know.
Entrepreneurship
It’s useless to be on track with the latest trends if you can’t make the most out of them. Being part of How to Web Conference means you’ll always learn about the latest monetization techniques, how to prepare and be prepared for investments, and pitch your products at their highest value. If you’re an entrepreneur or aspiring to be one, don’t miss these instrumental talks and keynotes, delivered by veterans of the ecosystem in Europe and the world.
“How hard is hardware?” with Luka Sucic, Business Development Manager & Evangelist Hub:raum and Ze Pinto Ferreira, Co-founder & CEO FNV Labs
Hardware is making strong comeback in the tech world, motivating entrepreneurs and large tech companies alike to apply their innovation to physical tech products.
Ze created Mellow, a sous-vide low cost cooking device that managed to overstep by 300% its crowdfunding target. That’s quite something, especially considering that the campaign went on their own website, and not on specialized crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo or Kickstarter. The project had already been accelerated in San Francisco’s Springboard IoT and Highway1, which makes Ze’s experience invaluable to other entrepreneurs who want to tackle building a hardware product.
Luka Sucic’s expertise in evaluating hardware startups that apply to Hub:raum’s acceleration program will also bring key insights to the table, setting the context for a captivating discussion on the challenges and rewards of going into hardware.
“The product/market fit cycle” with Carlos Espinal, Partner, Seedcamp
Seedcamp is one of the top European accelerators and Carlos will approach the delicate subject of Product/Market fit cycle. Finding that moment in time when a product evolves to the point that a market segment finds it attractive is one of the most sought after milestones in a tech product’s evolution.
Without product/market fit, it’s hard to generate the desired growth rate that all investors want when they scout for opportunities. Having assessed hundreds of startups, Carlos will help guide the steps founders can take to reach the product/market fit.
“Planning for investment (Go fund yourself!)” panel discussion with Daniel Lynch, Managing Partner 3TS, Rokas Tamosiunas, Co-founder StartupHighway and Sitar Teli, Managing Partner, Connect Ventures
As a startup, searching for investment without planning in advance is bound to lead to failure. That’s why we invited expert VCs and accelerator representatives to line-up the key stages that startups should undergo before pitching their product to potential investors.
Daniel Lynch, partner at one of the lead investment funds and venture capital companies in the region, Rokas Tamosiunas, co-founder of regional accelerator StartupHighway, and Sitar Teli, Partner at the early-stage VC Connect Ventures, will share their expertise and applicable advice with the audience at How to Web. Startup founders, you don’t wanna miss this!
“The importance of reputation” with Colette Balou, founder of Ballou PR
Balou PR is one of the most active PR company on the European tech scene, with clients like Ebay, Facebook, Evernote, Pinterest, Eventbrite, Twillio, Sendgrid and many others. Consequently, Colette’s experience on how tech companies can approach their global audiences is invaluable. Find out what it takes to build a great reputation, inspire trust among your potential clients and create a brand for your tech startup from scratch.
“Financing your startup, the equity crowdfunding way” with Sean Kane, Co-founder and CEO F6s, Jeff Lynn, Co-founder and CEO at Seedrs and Dilyan Dimitrov, Founder Eleven
At the intersection of crowdfunding and VC financing, crowdfunding for equity helps startups raise money from crowds of investors or believers. What are the current best practices? What type of investments should one expect? And, if all goes well, how do you deal with the investor crowd?
We’re ready to address these questions with the help of our speakers, who all bring different and strong backgrounds to the table. F6s is the largest startup community worldwide, even bigger than Angel List. That’s impressive and you shouldn’t miss its co-founder Sean Kane talk on providing growth resources to startups in a social network.
Along comes Jeff Lynn’s far reaching experience with legal aspects concerning corporate transactions and startups and one of the founders of Eleven Acceleration Venture Fund, Dilyan Dimitrov with his never-ending source of meaningful community stories and anecdotes.
“Startup lessons learned in the accelerated way” with Jens Lapinsky, Managing Director, Techstars, Andrew Shannon, Head of global operations Startupbootcamp, Paul Smith, Co-founder & CEO Ignite & Campus North and Marvin Liao, Venture Partner 500 Startups
Accelerators help startups speed up their learning process while also providing support and coaching. What are the most important lessons accelerator directors or mentors learn after dealing with hundreds of startups? What are the most common fail or success patterns?
If you have the same dilemmas, it’s time to clear the air and get insightful advice from key people managing some of the best acceleration programs in the world! Marvin Liao, Venture Partner 500 Startups, Jens Lapinski, Managing Director at Techstars, Paul Smith, Co-founder & CEO Ignite & Campus North, and Andrew Shannon, Head of global operations Startupbootcamp, will be part of a must-attend panel on the main stage at How to Web.
As you can see, this year’s How to Web main track promises to be another great and fruitful experience! So get your very early bird ticket for the main track starting at 59 EUR!