Your Guide To The Europas – The European Tech Startup Conference
You work for a startup and you haven’t heard of The Europas?! What sort of giant rock (ahem computer) have you been hiding behind? Penned as ‘Europe’s Most Prestigious Tech Awards’, The Europas are the premier awards for Europe’s hottest tech startups.
Set up 6 years ago by Mike Butcher, a man known around the world for his role as the Editor of TechCrunch and for his endless contacts within the startup sector, The Europas celebrates the most forward thinking, progressive and innovative tech companies across Europe. Over the past few years, The Europas has grown into a fun and fantastic awards ceremony, followed by an after party and networking.
Where and when does all the action happen:
How to get involved:
The daytime conference is an invitation-only event and is accompanied by a parallel track called PathFounders, an exclusive event for startup Founders that is also invitation-only. If you have not been invited to attend, nut really wish to go, you can can request an invite for these invitation-only events by filling out this form here.
If you are only interested in attending the evening awards ceremony, which is where all the action happens, you can purchase a ticket on Eventbrite which includes entry to the awards as well as dinner and drinks.
Public voting, which was only open for 24 hours, has already ended, but you can check out all the shortlisted startups here.
What are the award categories:
There is a wide variety of award categories in The Europas to cover every type of startup imaginable. From the Best Entertainment, Best E-Commerce and Best Education Startup awards to the Best Mobile startup, Best Founders and Best Investor awards.
Previous notable winners of The Europas include SoundCloud (Best Entertainment Startup), Startupbootcamp (Best Accelerator Programme), BlaBlaCar (Best Sharing Economy Startup) and taxi app Hailo, which one Best Travel Startup last year.
Our pick of 5 of the best European startups:
Dubsmash: I absolutely love DubSmash. It is such an easy to use and fun app, yet so many people don’t seem to know about it. DubSmash let’s you create short selfie videos dubbed with famous sounds, which you can there share online or send to your friends.
HelloFresh: HelloFresh is a great little app that gives you delicious and healthy recipes to cook with and then delivers all the pre-measured ingredients to your door each week to ensure you maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle. This is a must-have app for people who find themselves too busy to do food shopping on a weekly basis, and end up falling back on unhealthy alternatives such as fast food.
SkyScanner: I have been using this site for a few years and never really thought of it as a startup. Skyscanner is a global travel search site that provides online comparisons for a number of flights, car rentals, and hotels. If you are looking for the cheapest flights out there, this is the go-to site.
Hassle: This is the perfect site for busy working professionals who are looking for a trustworthy cleaner to help them clean their home. Customers simply go to Hassle.com’s website or download the iOS or Android app and type in their postcode to find the right cleaner for them, all in less than 60 seconds. They can then book and pay via Hassle.com’s easy-to-use online platform.
Fiverr: Have a task that needs doing but don’t have the time or skills to do it? Check out Fiverr, and you might find the perfect freelancer to help you out, and for starting prices as low as 5 dollars It’s the easiest way for individuals and businesses to get everything done, at unbeatable value.
Where to stay:
Thanks to the conference’s excellent central location in London, there is a huge choice of nearby hotels to stay. Pick the right hotel, and you could find yourself doing some late-night networking at the hotel bar with top tech writers or investors from all over Europe. Stay in the right hotel and you could find yourself eating breakfast with Europe’s up and coming Founders.
London Bridge Hotel
Considering the conference and awards take place in a venue overlooking London Bridge, you couldn’t really stay any closer to the action than the London Bridge Hotel. The hotel also has 7 small and medium sized meeting rooms, perfect if you plan on networking or getting some work done before or after The Europas.
Grange City Hotel
Located smack bang in the centre of the city of London and only minutes walk from the Tower of London, the Grange City Hotel is a great location for your stay. This upscale business hotel also has a great variety of restaurants on offer to guests and also gives you the choice to upgrade to rooms which feature sitting areas, female-focused amenities such as doorbells and anti-mist mirrors, or executive lounge access.
Shangri-La Hotel, At The Shard
Want to be close to the awards ceremony but feel like splashing some cash on a spectacular overnight stay? The Shangri-La at the Shard is the hotel for you. This luxurious five star hotel overlooks the river Thames and is only a 15 minute taxi ride from the Canary Wharf business district, perfect if you want t schedule some business meetings before or after the awards.