Blog — sTARTUp Day - Most Startup-Minded Business Festival

BLOG

From Farmer's Son to CEO: How Robin Saluoks Is Revolutionizing Agriculture with eAgronom

Robin Saluoks, CEO and co-founder of eAgronom, shares his journey from growing up in a farming family to leading one of the most innovative agricultural tech companies today. Robin opens up about his early dreams of becoming a football player,...
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Dmytro Fishman from Better Medicine on using AI to help doctors and the challenges of MedTech industry

Dmytro Fishman, or Dima as he likes to go by, is a Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence at the Institute of Computer Science,...
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Kristen Tamm from Futuclass on innovating education with VR and building an EdTech startup

Futuclass is a Tartu-based EdTech startup on a mission to make learning more engaging with the help of virtual reality. We talked...
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The Pursuit of Scrappiness: Merging the Baltic startup bubbles

Janis Zeps and Uldis Teraudkalns are co-hosts of The Pursuit of Scrappiness, the popular English-language startup podcast dedicated to actionable and scrappy...
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Kadi Saadlo from Hotelbuddy – A Hotelier Turned Into to a Startup Founder

Kadi Saadlo never dreamed of becoming a startup founder before the Covid-19 pandemic turned her personal and professional life upside down. Today,...
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Rasmus Merirand from DoBu: a young founder not afraid of taking the plunge

When most 14-year-olds spend time playing video games and making silly jokes, Rasmus Merirand chose to spend his time watching Youtube videos...
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Petri-Jaan Lahtvee and Nemailla Bonturi from ÄIO on finding similarities between academia and entrepreneurship

ÄIO is an Estonian biotech company that is employing precision fermentation to valorize side-streams from agriculture, food industry and forestry into high-quality...
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Oleksandra Bernatska from Skyworker: The war gave us a push to do things we had been afraid to do before

Oleksandra Bernatska is Co-founder & Chief Product Officer at Skyworker, one of the fastest-growing recruitment startups in Europe. Founded in Ukraine in...
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Kalev Kärpuk from Adact: Founders should learn more from the mistakes of others

Kalev Kärpuk is the CEO and founder of Adact, a young gamification marketing startup that allows companies to create engaging gamification campaigns...
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Designer Liis Tiisvelt from iLLIMOR loves making sustainable apparel for startups

Liis Tiisvelt is a designer and founder of the clothing brand iLLIMOR, which is characterized by sustainability – all clothes are produced...
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Kristo Kraft from Ringy: Sharing your good ideas with others helps you move forward

Kristo Kraft is the CEO of Ringy, a circular economy company that aims to reduce the waste of natural resources through refurbishing...
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Avely Marjapuu and Toomas Häide from Naine.fit: Success starts with baby steps, both in business and fitness

Avely Marjapuu and Toomas Häide are founders of Naine.fit, an online fitness platform offering women a variety of training programs, healthy recipes...
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Dan Michaeli: “I believe it is crucial to understand that ‘startup’ is just a phase. It’s a temporary stage when an organization is searching for its business model.”

Dan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Glia – a digital customer service platform that allows businesses to interact with their customers...
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Few things I learned at a startup and implemented at Microsoft

Henn Ruukel is a Group Engineering Manager at Microsoft. They provide Fraud and Spam prevention services for Microsoft calling and messaging features...
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Genia Trofimova: “Everybody wants to believe that they know something well, but it is only our assumption about the world”

Genia Trofimova is the CEO and co-founder of Introwise, a platform that helps everyday experts easily earn money online. Coaches, consultants, social...
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Katrina Laks: “Knowing that we can make people’s lives better inspires us.”

Migrevention is a young startup that scored a victory at BioHackathon 2020 competition. Despite the challenges of the past year, they have...
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Toms Niparts: “If the problem lets you sleep peacefully, you probably should find fulfillment from another place.”

Toms Niparts is the CEO and Co-Founder of Jeff App, the winner of sTARTUp Pitching 2020. Jeff’s mission is to make financing...
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10 valuable lessons from a founder of a fast-growing startup and their first investor

As a founder, choosing a great investor and collecting as much value as possible without losing control can be very tricky. Aleks...
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Henri Klemmer: ”We are at the beginning of a significant green transition and digitization trend, which puts us in an ideal position.”

Henri Klemmer is the CEO and Co-Founder of Hepta Airborne. Established in 2017 and headquartered in Tartu, Hepta Airborne automates the analysis...
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Carlos Paniagua: “Take risks that won’t kill you. But take risks!”

Carlos is the CTO and Co-Founder of Glia – a digital customer service platform that allows consumers to interact with their choice...
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Melissa Sassi: "I turned my worst nightmare into my superpower and you can too!"

Melissa is the Chief Penguin of IBM Z – Student & Entrepreneur Experience, focused on empowering early-stage startups through technology and business...
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Marion Teder: “The continuous learning process goes according to what the world has to offer.”

Marion Teder is the founder and CEO of CareMate – a platform that helps people needing home care assistance meet their personal...
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Female Founders: Don't be Afraid to Believe in Yourself

On August 26, Female Founders Meetup brought together 75 female entrepreneurs at Naissaar – the women’s island. Karen K. Burns and Hedi...
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Female Founders Meetup Kickstarted a Community

Despite there are so many powerful women in the startup community, only about 15% of startups in the world are founded by...
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Milda Mitkute, founder of Vinted: “Being a leader and being an expert are two different things”

Milda Mitkute is the co-founder of the online marketplace Vinted, where people sell and buy second-hand clothes. With more than 13+ million...
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Sacha Michaud - Co-founder, Glovo: “We’ve been able to rise to the top by being faster, more focused and more efficient”

Sacha Michaud is an English entrepreneur who has founded several companies during his career, for example, one of the largest Spanish internet...
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Ivar Kruusenberg, CEO of PowerUp Energy Technologies: “Running a science-based company takes a lot of persistence”

Ivar Kruusenberg is the CEO and founder of PowerUp Energy Technologies. After a long career as the University of Tartu scientist, he...
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Kadri Tuisk: “Many problems an entrepreneur faces are new even to the world”

Hero of the Week Kadri Tuisk is the founder and CEO of Clanbeat  - a personal growth support tool helping people to...
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Stenver Jerkku: “Even if everything seems to fail, always look for learning opportunities.”

Stenver Jerkku is a software engineer, a leader, a public speaker and an entrepreneur but most importantly – the co-founder and COO...
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Hero of the Week - Mari Joller: “I want to reinvent how people search for audio”

Mari Joller is an Estonian tech entrepreneur living in New York, who builds companies that are enabled by artificial intelligence (AI). She...
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Hero of the Week - Kristjan Maruste: “I decided that failing my startup would just equal an MBA"

Kristjan Maruste is the CEO and co-founder of Comodule that creates a universal operating system to digitize light vehicles such as electric...
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Raine Toss (k u u l design): “Each failure is necessary for growth”

Raine Toss is the founder and designer of the Estonian clothing brand k u u l. The brand was initially created by...
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Priit Alamäe: “Our projects are shown as an example for other institutions in different countries”

Priit Alamäe has been known in Estonia as an entrepreneurial activist for more than 20 years mainly for being the co-founder and...
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Martin Kristerson: "Teamwork makes the dream work"

Martin Kristerson is the founder and CEO of UpSteam – one of the fastest-growing early-stage startups of Estonia. While he was getting...
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Laura Dekker: “Fighting for your dreams and goals is always worth it!”

Laura Dekker is the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone. At the age of 14, while her peers were...
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Ardo Kaurit - the Estonian Young Entrepreneur of the Year!

Ardo Kaurit started building electric bicycles with two friends 5 years ago. At first, it was more of a side-hobby besides motor...
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Milda Mitkute: “Cultural Fit is More Important than Professional Skills”

Milda Mitkute is the co-founder of Vinted – the largest pre-loved fashion marketplace. The idea for Vinted came from Milda’s own shopping...
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Keith Siilats’ Words of Wisdom to Future Founders: “Start After You’ve Put Aside Enough Money From Your Day Job.”

Keith Siilats is an entrepreneur, co-founder, and CTO of Bolt Mobility, a company that's developing and renting electric scooters. This spring, Bolt...
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Kaarel Kotkas: “If you have momentum you have everything.”

Kaarel Kotkas is a founder and CEO of Veriff. He is the brain and driving power behind Veriff who inspires the team...
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Jevgeni Kabanov shared his lessons learned on building a great product

Jevgeni Kabanov built his first company at an early age of 16. Already then he made thousands of dollars building software. Unlike...
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Roger Dickey: “Culture can get you through tough times.”

Roger Dickey is a serial entrepreneur, active angel investor and founder of Gigster. He gave us 22 sharp lessons from his life...
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Laurie Louvet, CEO of LEEVE: “Being an Entrepreneur Means Facing New Adventures and Challenges Every Day.”

Laurie Louvet is a true traveller who believes that learning new languages opens doors and makes people to become more understanding about...
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Tickets from €159

Tickets

Find your perfect ticket type! All ticket types grant access to all three festival days on 29-31 January 2025. 

Venue access
Ϟ Day 0: Side Events on January 29
Ϟ Day 1 on January 30
Ϟ Day 2 on January 31
Matchmaking
This is where the magic happens. Through our matchmaking app, you can schedule 20-minute meetings with participants and meet them at our matchmaking area. General access to the matchmaking app will be available at the beginning of the festival week.
Stage program
There will be three stages at sTARTUp Day 2025 – Starlight Stage, Insight Stage, and Pitching Stage – with speakers and presenters who cover a variety of topics for every taste.
Demo Area access
This is the Mecca of Entrepreneurship! Explore the latest innovations and discover new products, services, friends, opportunities and perhaps, your new career challenge.
sTARTUp Night
The legendary sTARTUp Night wraps up the first conference day on January 30. The afterparty is bringing together the coolest festival visitors, good music, and lots of surprises!
Seminars
Practical seminars to sharpen & level up your skills.
Side events
Vibrant side events take place all over Tartu before and during the official festival.
Early access to matchmaking app
With early access, you’ll gain access to our matchmaking app two weeks earlier than most people. Use the opportunity to get a head start and request meetings with the hottest participants before all their slots are full.
VIP Reception
Celebrate the beginning of sTARTUp Day in style! The VIP Reception brings together speakers, investors & executives for an unforgettable night.
VIP Lounge access
Escape to your lounge where you can kick back and relax, get some work done, or prep for the next meeting.
Investor Day
Investor Day on January 29 is an exclusive investors' meetup to share experiences, learn from each other, and create meaningful contacts. Structured in a way you'd feel both elevated by and busy with new ideas while leaving enough room for networking.
Executive Day
Executive Day on January 29 is about taking the time to listen, talk, and network with other leaders. This is the place to bounce your thoughts and learn about challenges and solutions across different industries.
List of attending investors
Startups will see the participating investors' list (investor's name + investment fund's name) which enables them to request meetings with the right investors through our matchmaking app.
List of attending startups
There are over 300 unique startups at sTARTUp Day, which can be quite overwhelming at times. We'll send you a database of all of the participating startups so you can browse through them all and select the ones you want to meet beforehand.
Personalised startup matches
With the help of our good friends from Dealum, we will find the most relevant startup matches based on each investor’s profile. This means that investors will get a list of hand-selected startups that meet their requirements, making it even easier to meet the right startup.
Visibility at sTARTUp Day website
All validated startups and the biggest VC funds will be featured on the sTARTUp Day website.

Visitor

179 €
BUY NOW
Venue access
Ϟ Day 0: Side Events on January 29
Ϟ Day 1 on January 30
Ϟ Day 2 on January 31
Matchmaking
This is where the magic happens. Through our matchmaking app, you can schedule 20-minute meetings with participants and meet them at our matchmaking area. General access to the matchmaking app will be available at the beginning of the festival week.
Stage program
There will be three stages at sTARTUp Day 2025 – Starlight Stage, Insight Stage, and Pitching Stage – with speakers and presenters who cover a variety of topics for every taste.
Demo Area access
This is the Mecca of Entrepreneurship! Explore the latest innovations and discover new products, services, friends, opportunities and perhaps, your new career challenge.
sTARTUp Night
The legendary sTARTUp Night wraps up the first conference day on January 30. The afterparty is bringing together the coolest festival visitors, good music, and lots of surprises!
Seminars
Practical seminars to sharpen & level up your skills.
Side events
Vibrant side events take place all over Tartu before and during the official festival.
Early access to matchmaking app
With early access, you’ll gain access to our matchmaking app two weeks earlier than most people. Use the opportunity to get a head start and request meetings with the hottest participants before all their slots are full.
VIP Reception
Celebrate the beginning of sTARTUp Day in style! The VIP Reception brings together speakers, investors & executives for an unforgettable night.
VIP Lounge access
Escape to your lounge where you can kick back and relax, get some work done, or prep for the next meeting.
Investor Day
Investor Day on January 29 is an exclusive investors' meetup to share experiences, learn from each other, and create meaningful contacts. Structured in a way you'd feel both elevated by and busy with new ideas while leaving enough room for networking.
Executive Day
Executive Day on January 29 is about taking the time to listen, talk, and network with other leaders. This is the place to bounce your thoughts and learn about challenges and solutions across different industries.
List of attending investors
Startups will see the participating investors' list (investor's name + investment fund's name) which enables them to request meetings with the right investors through our matchmaking app.
List of attending startups
There are over 300 unique startups at sTARTUp Day, which can be quite overwhelming at times. We'll send you a database of all of the participating startups so you can browse through them all and select the ones you want to meet beforehand.
Personalised startup matches
With the help of our good friends from Dealum, we will find the most relevant startup matches based on each investor’s profile. This means that investors will get a list of hand-selected startups that meet their requirements, making it even easier to meet the right startup.
Visibility at sTARTUp Day website
All validated startups and the biggest VC funds will be featured on the sTARTUp Day website.

Startup

159 €
BUY NOW
Venue access
Ϟ Day 0: Side Events on January 29
Ϟ Day 1 on January 30
Ϟ Day 2 on January 31
Matchmaking
This is where the magic happens. Through our matchmaking app, you can schedule 20-minute meetings with participants and meet them at our matchmaking area. General access to the matchmaking app will be available at the beginning of the festival week.
Stage program
There will be three stages at sTARTUp Day 2025 – Starlight Stage, Insight Stage, and Pitching Stage – with speakers and presenters who cover a variety of topics for every taste.
Demo Area access
This is the Mecca of Entrepreneurship! Explore the latest innovations and discover new products, services, friends, opportunities and perhaps, your new career challenge.
sTARTUp Night
The legendary sTARTUp Night wraps up the first conference day on January 30. The afterparty is bringing together the coolest festival visitors, good music, and lots of surprises!
Seminars
Practical seminars to sharpen & level up your skills.
Side events
Vibrant side events take place all over Tartu before and during the official festival.
Early access to matchmaking app
With early access, you’ll gain access to our matchmaking app two weeks earlier than most people. Use the opportunity to get a head start and request meetings with the hottest participants before all their slots are full.
VIP Reception
Celebrate the beginning of sTARTUp Day in style! The VIP Reception brings together speakers, investors & executives for an unforgettable night.
VIP Lounge access
Escape to your lounge where you can kick back and relax, get some work done, or prep for the next meeting.
Investor Day
Investor Day on January 29 is an exclusive investors' meetup to share experiences, learn from each other, and create meaningful contacts. Structured in a way you'd feel both elevated by and busy with new ideas while leaving enough room for networking.
Executive Day
Executive Day on January 29 is about taking the time to listen, talk, and network with other leaders. This is the place to bounce your thoughts and learn about challenges and solutions across different industries.
List of attending investors
Startups will see the participating investors' list (investor's name + investment fund's name) which enables them to request meetings with the right investors through our matchmaking app.
List of attending startups
There are over 300 unique startups at sTARTUp Day, which can be quite overwhelming at times. We'll send you a database of all of the participating startups so you can browse through them all and select the ones you want to meet beforehand.
Personalised startup matches
With the help of our good friends from Dealum, we will find the most relevant startup matches based on each investor’s profile. This means that investors will get a list of hand-selected startups that meet their requirements, making it even easier to meet the right startup.
Visibility at sTARTUp Day website
All validated startups and the biggest VC funds will be featured on the sTARTUp Day website.

Investor

259 €
BUY NOW
Venue access
Ϟ Day 0: Side Events on January 29
Ϟ Day 1 on January 30
Ϟ Day 2 on January 31
Matchmaking
This is where the magic happens. Through our matchmaking app, you can schedule 20-minute meetings with participants and meet them at our matchmaking area. General access to the matchmaking app will be available at the beginning of the festival week.
Stage program
There will be three stages at sTARTUp Day 2025 – Starlight Stage, Insight Stage, and Pitching Stage – with speakers and presenters who cover a variety of topics for every taste.
Demo Area access
This is the Mecca of Entrepreneurship! Explore the latest innovations and discover new products, services, friends, opportunities and perhaps, your new career challenge.
sTARTUp Night
The legendary sTARTUp Night wraps up the first conference day on January 30. The afterparty is bringing together the coolest festival visitors, good music, and lots of surprises!
Seminars
Practical seminars to sharpen & level up your skills.
Side events
Vibrant side events take place all over Tartu before and during the official festival.
Early access to matchmaking app
With early access, you’ll gain access to our matchmaking app two weeks earlier than most people. Use the opportunity to get a head start and request meetings with the hottest participants before all their slots are full.
VIP Reception
Celebrate the beginning of sTARTUp Day in style! The VIP Reception brings together speakers, investors & executives for an unforgettable night.
VIP Lounge access
Escape to your lounge where you can kick back and relax, get some work done, or prep for the next meeting.
Investor Day
Investor Day on January 29 is an exclusive investors' meetup to share experiences, learn from each other, and create meaningful contacts. Structured in a way you'd feel both elevated by and busy with new ideas while leaving enough room for networking.
Executive Day
Executive Day on January 29 is about taking the time to listen, talk, and network with other leaders. This is the place to bounce your thoughts and learn about challenges and solutions across different industries.
List of attending investors
Startups will see the participating investors' list (investor's name + investment fund's name) which enables them to request meetings with the right investors through our matchmaking app.
List of attending startups
There are over 300 unique startups at sTARTUp Day, which can be quite overwhelming at times. We'll send you a database of all of the participating startups so you can browse through them all and select the ones you want to meet beforehand.
Personalised startup matches
With the help of our good friends from Dealum, we will find the most relevant startup matches based on each investor’s profile. This means that investors will get a list of hand-selected startups that meet their requirements, making it even easier to meet the right startup.
Visibility at sTARTUp Day website
All validated startups and the biggest VC funds will be featured on the sTARTUp Day website.

Executive

259 €
BUY NOW
Venue access
Ϟ Day 0: Side Events on January 29
Ϟ Day 1 on January 30
Ϟ Day 2 on January 31
Matchmaking
This is where the magic happens. Through our matchmaking app, you can schedule 20-minute meetings with participants and meet them at our matchmaking area. General access to the matchmaking app will be available at the beginning of the festival week.
Stage program
There will be three stages at sTARTUp Day 2025 – Starlight Stage, Insight Stage, and Pitching Stage – with speakers and presenters who cover a variety of topics for every taste.
Demo Area access
This is the Mecca of Entrepreneurship! Explore the latest innovations and discover new products, services, friends, opportunities and perhaps, your new career challenge.
sTARTUp Night
The legendary sTARTUp Night wraps up the first conference day on January 30. The afterparty is bringing together the coolest festival visitors, good music, and lots of surprises!
Seminars
Practical seminars to sharpen & level up your skills.
Side events
Vibrant side events take place all over Tartu before and during the official festival.
Early access to matchmaking app
With early access, you’ll gain access to our matchmaking app two weeks earlier than most people. Use the opportunity to get a head start and request meetings with the hottest participants before all their slots are full.
VIP Reception
Celebrate the beginning of sTARTUp Day in style! The VIP Reception brings together speakers, investors & executives for an unforgettable night.
VIP Lounge access
Escape to your lounge where you can kick back and relax, get some work done, or prep for the next meeting.
Investor Day
Investor Day on January 29 is an exclusive investors' meetup to share experiences, learn from each other, and create meaningful contacts. Structured in a way you'd feel both elevated by and busy with new ideas while leaving enough room for networking.
Executive Day
Executive Day on January 29 is about taking the time to listen, talk, and network with other leaders. This is the place to bounce your thoughts and learn about challenges and solutions across different industries.
List of attending investors
Startups will see the participating investors' list (investor's name + investment fund's name) which enables them to request meetings with the right investors through our matchmaking app.
List of attending startups
There are over 300 unique startups at sTARTUp Day, which can be quite overwhelming at times. We'll send you a database of all of the participating startups so you can browse through them all and select the ones you want to meet beforehand.
Personalised startup matches
With the help of our good friends from Dealum, we will find the most relevant startup matches based on each investor’s profile. This means that investors will get a list of hand-selected startups that meet their requirements, making it even easier to meet the right startup.
Visibility at sTARTUp Day website
All validated startups and the biggest VC funds will be featured on the sTARTUp Day website.