On 11-12 December, thousands of savvy startuppers will flock to Germany for Disrupt Berlin 2019. Disrupt events, the premiere technology conferences hosted by TechCrunch, are known the world over as the place to launch, network, invest in and collaborate with the international early-stage startup community.
Disrupt offers plenty of startup action — world-class speakers, Startup Battlefield, hundreds of exhibitors, workshops, a hackathon and more. And it turns out that early-stage startup founders have lots of different reasons for loving Disrupt. Let us count the ways.
Education and collaboration
Tech evolves so quickly, amirite? When a startup has a new or complex concept, Disrupt is a great place to educate your community. Or to learn about new advances.
Case in point: Vlad Larin, the co-founder of Zeroqode, went to Disrupt Berlin to evangelize the startup’s no-code technology.
“We wanted to help people understand the technology and to spread the word that no-code development is real and it’s happening today. Exhibiting in Startup Alley at Disrupt Berlin was the perfect place for us to start those conversations.”
Larin also viewed Disrupt as an opportunity to meet like-minded people and to build collaborative relationships with other startups.
“We met all kinds of people looking for new ideas, collaboration and inspiration — people who want to learn and exchange ideas about the latest products and industry trends.”
Meet other founders
Disrupt provides plenty of opportunity to meet and learn from other founders. Case in point: Caleb John, the co-founder of Cedar Robotics, went to Disrupt San Francisco to meet other early-stage startup founders, something he’d never experienced. The chance to meet seasoned entrepreneurs from a range of industries, to build relationships and to learn from them was a major draw.
“Just talking about my business with other founders who understand what it takes to build a startup was incredibly valuable. They can look at your roadmap from a non-technical viewpoint, help you avoid pitfalls and make sure you’re running things smoothly in terms of your business practices.”
John built connections with R&D startups and potential investors — collaborative relationships he says may pay off down the road.
“Building relationships with those firms was very helpful, and I say going to TechCrunch Disrupt is a no-brainer. It’s something every startup founder should experience.”
Find funding
Cash is the lifeblood of any early stage startup and Disrupt is ripe with investors eager to fatten their investment portfolios. Case in point: David Hall, co-founder and president of Park and Diamond, went to Disrupt hoping to raise a round of funding.
“Investors from all over the world come to Disrupt. The chance to have those discussions and to potentially form relationships was invaluable.”
Hall credits his Disrupt experience with improving the startup’s overall growth.
“The exposure we received at TechCrunch Disrupt completely changed our trajectory and made it easier to raise funds and jump to the next stage.”
The funding they received as a result of connections cultivated at Disrupt allowed them to relocate from Virginia to New York and to make the company’s first key hires.
“TechCrunch draws that entrepreneurial community, and you never know when you’ll bump into the right person. Disrupt offers so many opportunities — you’d be foolish not to go.”
Disrupt Berlin 2019 takes place on 11-12 December. Whatever your reasons, don’t miss the opportunities awaiting you at Disrupt. Buy your super early bird passes here and save up to €600. We’ll see you in Berlin!
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Written by Leslie Hitchcock
This news first appeared on https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/23/startup-founders-share-why-they-attend-techcrunch-disrupt/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29 under the title “Startup founders share why they attend TechCrunch Disrupt”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
