AMSTERDEN Scale-Up! focuses on the positive change venture capital and innovation are making in business and society. AMSTERDEN Scale-Up! is an invitation-only “Dragons’ Den”-format breakfast for reputable, like-minded VCs, impact investors, HNWIs, angels, corporate CEOs and CIOs, venture catalysts and a select group of strategic partners from around the world interested in high-growth, high-impact scale-ups in Europe.
To take their companies to the next level and ensure exponential growth, promising European scale-up entrepreneurs wish to be connected to strategic partners, to access new markets, and to secure capital to scale. AMSTERDEN Scale-Up! provides an exclusive setting in Amsterdam for the founders of mission-driven, pro-life scale-ups, interested investors and leading corporates to listen, learn, partner and invest, in order to redefine success in business—together.
Why?
There is a significant gap, particilarly in Europe, between seed funding and later-stage funding for outstanding high-impact entrepreneurs who are running young, fast-growing Cleantech, Circular, Bio-Based, Autonomous/Off-Grid, Clean Energy, Smart and/or Social scale-ups. We prefer to call them “impact gazelles”. It is precisely this “capital-to-scale” gap—hampering the further rapid growth of such game-changers—that AMSTERDEN Scale-Up! wishes to fill.
What?
AMSTERDEN is proud to be invited for Amsterdam Capital Week 2016 to present the sequel of our first edition, held at the Port of Amsterdam HQ in May of this year. AMSTERDEN Scale-Up! will be held in the European Capital of Innovation on the fourth day of the Amsterdam Capital Week, on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 from 6:30-10:00 AM, prior to Capital Impact.
What you can expect?
With your breakfast you will enjoy our selection of 10 pre-screened impact gazelles in The Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe seeking growth capital of at least €1 million to materialise their rapid international scaling ambition. They will give 4-minute pitches on stage together with their current investor(s), followed by 6 minutes of Q&A, first with the Dragons and then with the audience. Ample opportunity is provided for connecting with your fellow power players in the venturing, impact and innovation space. A special VIP guest speaker will be invited to have an interactive session of 20 minutes with the audience.
Be first at the table with these 10 impact gazelles that are:
- rigorously pre-screened by AMSTERDEN,
- younger-stage, innovative, mission-driven game-changers that have a viable Product (or Products), Service as a Product (SaaP) or Software as a Service (SaaS),
- fast-growing companies with strong a management team and technology/IP,
- Certified B Corporations, Certified Pending B Corporations or otherwise be “B Corps to B” (they are not (yet) Certified B Corps, but will complete the B Impact Assessment, which assesses how their company performs against dozens of best practices),
- seeking at least €1 million in growth capital to scale quickly and with integrity, both nationally and internationally, in order to achieve greater impact and profitability,
- focusing on high-tech, clean, renewable, circular, bio-based, autonomous/off-grid, alternative, modular, social and/or smart solutions to pressing, modern-day challenges in terms of energy, lifestyle, building, mobility, healthcare and/or technology for good,
- seeking to create long-term corporate synergies and secure strategic collaborations with CEOs and partners who sign on to the company values of the 10 scale-ups.
Benefits of investing in and/or partnering with the impact gazelles pitching at AMSTERDEN Scale-Up! include:
- they strive to achieve environmental, emotional and social impact as well as financial success,
- focus on value creation for all participants instead of solely for their shareholders,
- are in business for the long-term,
- work for (and with) people, communities and the planet—as well as for the bottom line,
- are at the beginning of their hockey-stick growth,
- are structured to maintain their mission after the next financing, sale or IPO, and
- can command higher valuations.
AMSTERDEN Scale-Up! programme
6:30 Start of continuing breakfast service (available until 10:00 AM)
6:40 Welcome
6:45 Keynote address
6:55-7:25 Presentation, Q&A – scale-ups 1-3 with their current investor(s)
7:25-7:40 Break
7:40-8:10 Presentation, Q&A – scale-ups 4-6 with their current investor(s)
8:10-8:25 Break
8:25-9:05 Presentation, Q&A – scale-ups 7-10 with their current investor(s)
9:05-9:30 Break
9:15-9:30 Dragons’ jury deliberation
9:30-9:50 Special VIP guest speaker and Q&A
9:50-9:55 Dragons’ top-three ranking proclamation
9:55-10:00 Closing and exit
