The organizers of IDCEE make it clear who their main target is with their big, Kiev-based conference which is kicking-off its third edition on October 11th/12th – namely, ‘startups and geeks’. IDCE actually stands for ‘Investor’s Day Central and Eastern Europe’ and, as a result, from its origins has focused firmly exposing the world to startups from the CEE region and serving as the entry point to the dynamic CEE market for international startups, larger companies and investors. As IDCEE organizer and Managing Director of TA Venture Viktoriya Tigipko puts it:
‘IDCEE mission is to develop IT entrepreneurship. It can stem only through the synergy of business approaches and tech solutions. We’ve created Tech Stage for business leaders and CEOs-to-be of web companies. We want them to have an opportunity to feel the atmosphere of technologies. And developers should be able to find common language with entrepreneurial network. Emergence of new projects after the conference is our contribution to the establishment of IT entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ukraine.’
As the event has grown, the program has as well and now offers a wide range of activities and content for participants. This year’s edition will include:
Main stage: Which will highlight several top international tech speakers, including Coursera’s Daphne Koller, co-founder of Mangrove Capital and VC funding expert Mark Tluszcz, Google’s Jason Bigler and many others. The final round pitches for the top startup prizes will, of course, also take place on the main stage
Startup stage: What happens on the start-up stage is actually going to be a surprise, but the main highlights will focus on several super relevant workshops as well as the opportunity to listen to various startup teams pitch during their ‘Startup Toasters’ sessions where founders can perfect their pitches via real-time feedback from top investors. The winner of Startup Toaster will be allowed to pitch at StartupBootcamp without prior selection in front of dozens of investors.
Tech stage: Included for the first time this year, geeks of all ranks, from aspiring young engineers to CTOs of international companies to get deeper insights and info on exclusively tech related topics
Startup competition: The main startup competition will award a total of 30k€ in prizes across three main categories – Best Ukrainian Startup, Best Interactive in partnership, and Best Consumer Startup
If you’re interested in learning more about the CEE tech and startup scene, check-out IDCEE next week. You can still get tickets here, with a great rate for geeks of 149€ and a possibility to get 25%-off your ticket if you get the answer right to a quick quiz.