6th Edition Of Wolves Summit Unveils 300 Innovative Projects In The Heart Of Warsaw

Polish Capital Of Innovation

Warsaw, Poland, welcomed the participants of Wolves Summit, an international networking conference, yet again. The interiors of the Palace of Culture and Science were filled with noise of business and technology talks for two full days. The representatives of Polish organizations that support innovative activities, including Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW), National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR), Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP), and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ) were present at the conference as well. “The capital is partnering and co-organizing our event. It’s the place with the right infrastructure and favorable conditions for young companies to develop”, says Piotr Piasek, the co-founder of Wolves Summit.

Global firms are more eager to choose Poland as it’s a state of well-educated individuals with innovative ideas. Warsaw is also the HQ to many international corporations that attract tech projects, just like other Polish cities including Cracow, Wroclaw or Gdansk. What’s even more tempting, is the vast offer of funds, accelerators, and office spaces available. All that translates into the constantly growing value of the region.
The 6th edition of Wolves Summit only ensures that Warsaw has real potential to become the next significant innovative hub in Europe.

Exceeded The Organizer’s Expectations

This time, the event organizers decided to focus on entrepreneurs connected to Central and Eastern Europe. Among 1178 participants there were 141 investors, 285 corporate representatives and just as many startups, even though the initial plan was to accept only 200 young companies. Two of them, GetAnna and Apzumi, won the Great Pitch competition, where only 38 chosen startups could join.

“The main goal of Wolves Summit is always creating opportunities for business development. Thanks to that young companies can meet corporates, executives, and investors face-to-face, as well as establish valuable relations. Thus the decision to invite 285 startups”, explains Piasek. Such relations often end up as long-term cooperations. For example, Tespack, a startup present at the 2nd edition, received an investment of 2€ mln from the Arkley VC fund in 2016. Both companies met at Wolves Summit. The winner of the Great Pitch at the 3rd edition, Czech startup Twisto Payments, got funding of 5€ mln from ING Bank Slaski.

All that thanks to 1:1 meetings, participants could schedule until the day of the conference. According to the matchmaking system, which allows searching for participants and setting up meetings, 2417 1:1 talks in 2 areas supported by NCBR and GPW took place. The busiest people had up to 15-20 meetings a day. “What’s interesting, the need for meetings was so high, one day before the event we decided to order more tables and chairs, so the attendees could have their business talks in good conditions. We were positively surprised by the interest, so we’ll definitely be prepared better before the next edition”, adds Piotr Piasek.

Plans For The Future

The definite success of 1:1 meetings available at the event prompted the organizers to open an online matchmaking platform in October 2017. It allows to match and meet all participants throughout the whole year, not just before and during the conference. The 6th edition of Wolves Summit put emphasis mainly on the representatives of Central and Eastern Europe, however many investors and executives came from other parts of the world as they wanted to meet Central European projects and people behind them.

The organizers are already announcing the next 7th edition of the conference. “We want the event to become a fixed point in the calendars of entrepreneurs and founders. On 10th and 11th April 2018 we are meeting in Warsaw again to establish valuable business contacts”, Piotr Piasek sums up.

There are 4500 1:1 meetings planned for April, as well as 2500 invited attendees including 400 startups, 400 corporates and executives, and 250 investors. All detailed information regarding the 7th edition of Wolves Summit is available on the website.

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All images: (c) Wolves Summit