10 European Tech Events That YOU Should Attend

I've attended so many events in the past 2 years! Here's my Top 10 for Europe. Quite useful for any tech business dealing with internationalization.

EDITS
* You can DOWNLOAD the PDF, to leverage the clickable links!
* I will probably enrich it in the coming months ;)

Transcript

1. 10 European Tech Events That YOU Should Attend +15 Others That You Should Pay Attention To
2. Selecting Events @Elie__
3. Selecting Events Time consuming Annoying & Boring @Elie__
4. Top 10 @Elie__
5. Top 10 Among 50+ events Get the BEST value @Elie__
6. “Unconference & Startup Competition” A Few Words A lot of Berlin locals attend the public "Big Show," but you will also meet a lot of people who hail from the rest of Europe. You must apply to attend the “Unconference”: only 150 attendees are admitted, which means they keep only the best. Hy Berlin has recently announced a partnership with Hub:Raum, the Deutsche Telekom incubator, and Axel Springer bought 49% of the conference: this makes the event even more interesting if you are young startup. Downside: their selectiveness tends to make them “not so open.” Keywords Startups, Contest, Berlin, Entrepreneurship, Incubators, VCs… Bottom line Warmly recommended, for the startup competition. - More info @Elie__ #10
7. “Conferences dedicated to the digital economy” A Few Words One of the very few important French events taking place outside of Paris. It’s good to use our native language sometimes! But don’t get fooled, you will meet startups with international exposure. Nantes is a very dynamic city when it comes to tech. web2day really celebrates the "French Web" in general: even the most egocentrics parisians make the trip there ;-) Keywords French, Tech Ecosystem, Startups, Geeks, Not Expensive... Bottom line If you’re trying to understand the French market, going there is a must. - More info @Elie__ #9
8. “Leading. European. Digital.” A Few Words Year after year, NEXT has grown bigger and bigger. The event is organized by SinnerSchrader, a huge agency based in Hamburg, the city where the event was born. This is probably why this conference is more German than international. But this is perfect: you will meet key people from Vienna, Munich or Hamburg. In other words: digital Germany, beyond Berlin! An awesome event to dive into the huge German market. Note that speakers come from everywhere in the world. Keywords Digital, Internet, Agencies, Incubators, Startup, German Ecosystem... Bottom line If you target Germany, go there! - More info @Elie__ #8
9. “1st international event on APIs in Europe” A Few Words The first API Days edition was in Paris. Small is beautiful. At Mailjet our business relies on our APIs, so when I heard about this event, I jumped at the chance. These conferences are organized by Faber Novel and Webshell, two great teams. Excellent speakers coming from all over the world and a small audience. Very convivial and "tech select." Other editions planned in Madrid or SF. Other cities might host API Days: stay tuned. Keywords APIs, Cloud, Programming, Tech, Innovation… Bottom line If your business deals with APIs, attending is a must. - More info @Elie__ #7
10. “Discover how the Web will evolve” A Few Words 2013 was the first TakeOffConf edition. I loved it so much that I hired one of the co-Founders of this conference (now heading Dev Evangelism @Mailjet). Great talks in English, interesting 90% of the time, with speakers coming from everywhere and bringing some fresh perspectives. The location is great: in the heart of Europe. Lille is 30 minutes from Brussels, Paris and London. Lots of Germans and Dutch also attended. It was so successful that there will be an edition in Brazil. Keywords CTOs, APIs, Cloud, Programming, Ruby, JavaScript, Scalability, Real Time... Bottom line All developers who want to stay up to date should attend. - More info @Elie__ #6
11. “TED-like level of quality of tech conferences” A Few Words This organization was co-founded by a CTO (Sylvain Zimmer), to bring high quality tech events to his peers. Ferdinand Boas manages the operations with brio. They are also the ones who organize the Paris Tech Talks Meetups. I didn't attend the dot JS, but I've heard great feedback. Elite, reasonably priced and organized by serious people. Can't wait for the dot Scale in June! Probably the most promising event organizers in Europe. Keywords CTOs, APIs, Cloud, Programming, Ruby, JavaScript, Scalability... Bottom line Many themes: if one of them rings a bell, then book your tickets for Paris. - More info @Elie__ #5
12. “The international internet ecosystem” A Few Words Like it or not, LeWeb is THE internet event in Europe. The big size comes with its downsides, however: fragmented spaces. If you have a startup booth, you will be in a separate building, far from the main scene where the magic happens. It's as a visitor (or speaker) that you can leverage this event to the utmost. A lot of people complain about the high cost of attendance: around 2,300 euros. However, if you're a startup, you will pay one third of the price. And if you're a hustler, you can find your way in as a blogger, an association, etc... Keywords Internet, Digital, Generalist, Technology, VCs... Bottom line If you have the means, go. If you don't, get creative to get in! - Next Edition @Elie__ #4
13. “Get you with the people you want to meet the most” A Few Words Everybody receives a lot of email from Paddy :) If you're not on their mailing lists yet, go for it: they do an amazing job as marketers. A lot to learn from them. The events are as audacious as their communication strategy: in less than 2 years they have become a reference. Their prices remain very reasonable: good point! Keywords Internet, Digital, Generalist, Technology, VCs... Bottom line No hesitation, must attend! With their “2 for 1” voucher, 1 ticket is 250 euros. - More info @Elie__ #3
14. “Tech, Music & Art Festival” A Few Words My friend @Madflo calls it “SXSW for Europe.” He’s right. Takes place is a club, near the Spree river. People mingle under the sun and a small boat takes you on some "networking trips." There are a lot of satellite events organized by partners, before and after the main conference. Probably the best way to dive into the Berlin Tech Ecosystem. Regular early birds tickets are 100 euros. Keywords Berlin tech ecosystem, startups, geeks, sunny if you're lucky... Bottom line Must attend. - Book your ticket! @Elie__ #2
15. “Conference for (...) everyone Tech.” A Few Words TNW rocks. As a startup, we got a booth for less than 2000 euros, which came with 4 tickets. And it was a real booth, not a desk lost in a satellite location where attendees never go. Every event should do the same and place the booths where the action is happening. The location was perfect; even the scenography was high level. Great talks and awesome networking. You could meet the speakers at the "Speakers bar." Will their conferences outside of Europe be as high-caliber? I believe they will be, fingers crossed! Keywords Internet, Digital, The Next Web, Europe, Tech, Startups, Hackathon (Kings of Code)... Bottom line Must attend. - More Info. @Elie__ #1
16. Bonus? @Elie__ @Elie__
17. Bonus? @Elie__ @Elie__ 10 HOT confs & hackathons on my radar
18. #1 Django Con (Europe) #2 Real Time Conf (France) #3 Pirate Summit (Germany) #4 FOSDEM (Brussels) #5 Pioneers Festival (Austria) #6 Devoxx (France) #7 Devs Love Bacon (UK) #8 Web5 (France) #9 hacked.io (UK) #10 Rulu (France) @Elie__
19. More Bonus? @Elie__ @Elie__
20. More Bonus? @Elie__ @Elie__ Feedback for 5 other famous events
21. “Europe's Most Prestigious Tech Awards” A Few Words The timing was funny: in less than 8 days, you had 3 major startup contests in Berlin (German Startup Awards, Hy Berlin & The Europas). That's probably why someone trolled a little bit: do we need awards? (Note that I invited the author, and he eventually attended ^^). An interesting thing about The Europas' is that the event is 100% about the awards: it's basically a party with tech people. The venue was OK: a bit noisy but it’s a party, and Postbahnhof is a nice spot. Keywords European Startups, VCs, Founders, Tech Ecosystem... Bottom line If relevant, apply to the contest when it’s time. - More info @Elie__
22. “Innovation, Digitization, Science & Culture” A Few Words I didn't attend this one as I was stuck at some other events in Berlin (The Europas). However, a lot of good people flew there. One of our contractors was attending and he confirmed the event was great. I’d say: same ambiance as LeWeb. Keywords LeWeb, Digital, Generalist, Technology... Bottom line If you have the means, go! More info @Elie__
23. “Where Europe’s leading cloud visionaries convene” A Few Words Also taking place in Amsterdam, but a bit less glamour than TNW: it's not the same audience. The event takes place in a cozy hotel conference venue and the attendees are 100% cloud & data oriented. You will meet tech people, but often having a business background. Don't go there to meet hackers. It is the only event of this kind in Europe, and this is the place to go if your partners are in the cloud industry. Keywords Internet, Digital, The Next Web, Europe, Tech, Startups... Bottom line If your business deals with data or cloud infrastructure, book a ticket! - More info @Elie__
24. “The most inspiring Tech Event in Europe” A Few Words The event strives to be international. However, it is still very Luxembourgian. If you're a SaaS, it will be very difficult to do business in Luxembourg. To work with banks, you need to have a PSF certification and be able to host the data in Luxembourg. If your business model allows you to do this, go for it: they don't really seem to care about the price. If installing your business there is something you're thinking about (VAT, IP, etc.), this event might be interesting. Keywords IT, Luxembourg, Finance, Banking... Bottom line Must go if Luxembourg is a significant market for you. - More info @Elie__
25. “The digital world's most trendsetting showcase” A Few Words Strange event. I had a booth and did the following experiment: put some goodies on the table, move 10 meters away from it, and watch. In less than 5 minutes, a flock of country bumpkins grabbed everything. I was desperate so I locked up the rest of the goodies and moved to visit the booths of potential partners. Problem: I could only talk to some hostesses that were hired to give away goodies and chocolate. Some folks told me they loved the event and go every year: I don't get it... Must really depend on who you clients are. Keywords Show, Trade Fair, Huge... Bottom line I’d say: more for big companies! (Microsoft or SAP) - More info @Elie__
26. Hope This Was Useful @Elie__
27. Hope This Was Useful @Elie__ If so, I’ll enrich it!
28. @Elie__ About Me
29. I've studied philosophy but my head ended up in the cloud. Head of Marketing @Mailjet Follow me @Elie__ @Elie__ About Me
30. See ya! @Elie__
31. See ya! elie.li mailjet.com @Elie__