CEE Startup Challenge

Join Us To Get Access To 200+ VC Funds, 250k EUR In Startup Tools & Credits, Media Exposure And More!

Judges

Meet the Judges who will be bringing their industry knowledge to assess the Winners

  • Ewa Chronowska, Next Road Ventures

    Ewa Chronowska

    CEO at Vestbee & Partner at Next Road Ventures

  • Bakhrom Ibragimov, Molten Ventures

    Bakhrom Ibragimov

    Partner, Molten Ventures

  • Esat Acar, 500 Emerging Europe

    Esat Acar

    Vice President, 500 Emerging Europe

  • Tomas Pacinda, KAYA VC

    Tomas Pacinda

    Partner, KAYA VC

  • Marcin Kurek, Market One Capital

    Marcin Kurek

    Managing Partner, Market One Capital

  • Łukasz Skarka, EIT InnoEnergy Central Europe

    Łukasz Skarka

    Investment Director, EIT InnoEnergy Central Europe

  • Szymon Kwiatkowski, EIT InnoEnergy Central Europe

    Szymon Kwiatkowski

    Investment Manager, EIT InnoEnergy Central Europe

  • Julian von Eckartsberg, Burda Principal Investments

    Julian von Eckartsberg

    Managing Director Europe, Burda Principal Investments

  • Donatella Callegaris, Flashpoint

    Donatella Callegaris

    Managing Partner, Flashpoint

  • Marcus Erken, Sunfish Partners

    Marcus Erken

    Founding Partner, Sunfish Partners

  • Onur Can, HEARTFELT_

    Onur Can

    Partner, HEARTFELT_

  • Eugene Valuev, ULTRA.VC

    Eugene Valuev

    Founding Partner, ULTRA.VC

  • Andrus Oks, Tera Ventures

    Andrus Oks

    Founding Partner, Tera Ventures

  • Marcin Hejka, OTB Ventures

    Marcin Hejka

    General Partner, OTB Ventures

  • Wiktor Namysl, ORBIT Capital

    Wiktor Namysl

    General Partner, ORBIT Capital

  • Lukas Macko, ORBIT Capital

    Lukas Macko

    Principal, ORBIT Capital

  • Adam Kočík, J&T Ventures

    Adam Kočík

    Managing Partner, J&T Ventures

  • Maximilian Schausberger, Elevator Ventures

    Maximilian Schausberger

    Managing Director, Elevator Ventures

  • Daniel Niemi, Atlantic Labs

    Daniel Niemi

    Partner, Atlantic Labs

  • Marcin Laczynski, Next Road Ventures

    Marcin Laczynski

    Partner, Next Road Ventures

  • Basar Yenidunya, 212

    Basar Yenidunya

    Head of Investments, 212

  • Alexey Alexanov, Cabra VC

    Alexey Alexanov

    Co-founder & General Partner, Cabra VC

  • Luis Shemtov, Lunar Ventures

    Luis Shemtov

    Founding General Partner, Lunar Ventures

  • Mateusz Bodio, RKKVC

    Mateusz Bodio

    Founder & Managing Director, RKKVC

  • Andrew Gray, Tilia Impact Ventures

    Andrew Gray

    Partner, Tilia Impact Ventures

  • Merve Zabci, Metis Ventures

    Merve Zabci

    Managing Partner, Metis Ventures

  • Roman Nováček, Presto Ventures

    Roman Nováček

    Partner, Presto Ventures

  • Troy Weeks, McWin Partners

    Troy Weeks

    Partner, McWin Partners

  • Paweł Szczepaniak, McWin Partners

    Paweł Szczepaniak

    Head of Digital, McWin Partners

  • Paweł Maj, Warsaw Equity Group

    Paweł Maj

    Partner, Warsaw Equity Group

  • Özge Öz, QNBEYOND Ventures

    Özge Öz

    Partner, QNBEYOND Ventures

  • Vitaly Laptenok, Flyer One Ventures

    Vitaly Laptenok

    General Partner, Flyer One Ventures

  • Georg Ioannidis, Uniqa Ventures

    Georg Ioannidis

    Managing Director, Uniqa Ventures

  • Karol Lasota, Inovo

    Karol Lasota

    Principal, Inovo.vc

  • Ryan Gong, Huawei

    Ryan Gong

    Chief Investment Director EMEA, Huawei

  • Krzysztof Tokarski, PKO VC

    Krzysztof Tokarski

    Managing Director, PKO VC

  • Iwona Cymerman, FundingBox Deep Tech Fund

    Iwona Cymerman

    Managing Partner, FundingBox Deep Tech Fund

  • Tatjana Zabasu Mikuz, South Central Ventures

    Tatjana Zabasu Mikuz

    Managing Partner, South Central Ventures

  • Artur Banach, Movens Capital

    Artur Banach

    Managing Partner, Movens Capital

  • Bartek Knichnicki, SATUS Starter VC

    Bartek Knichnicki

    Managing Partner, SATUS Starter VC

  • Adam Rudowski, Level2 Ventures

    Adam Rudowski

    General Partner, Level2 Ventures

  • Richard Illes, OXO Holdings

    Richard Illes

    Investment Director, OXO Holdings

  • Kristóf Székely, Lead Ventures

    Kristóf Székely

    Partner, Lead Ventures

  • Peter Marculans, Accelerace

    Peter Marculans

    Venture Partner, Accelerace

  • Deniz Aslandogan, Revo Capital

    Deniz Aslandogan

    VP of Investments, Revo Capital

  • Wojciech Drewczyński, Black Pearls VC

    Wojciech Drewczyński

    Principal, Black Pearls VC

  • Mark Palfalvi, PortfoLion Capital Partners

    Mark Palfalvi

    Principal, PortfoLion Capital Partners

  • Michal Bas, VentureFriends

    Michal Bas

    Principal, VentureFriends

  • Norbert Kruszewski, Cogito Capital Partners

    Norbert Kruszewski

    Principal, Cogito Capital Partners

  • Adam Hashchyshyn, Roosh Ventures

    Adam Hashchyshyn

    Principal, Roosh Ventures

  • Peter Parragh, Oktogon Ventures

    Peter Parragh

    Principal, Oktogon Ventures

  • Peeter Kompus, Trind Ventures

    Peeter Kompus

    Principal, Trind Ventures

  • Stepan Kivshyk, HTGF

    Stepan Kivshyk

    Investment Manager, HTGF

  • Romain Grimal, Blackfin Capital Partners

    Romain Grimal

    Investment Manager, Blackfin Capital Partners

  • Magdalena Trąba, Pracuj Ventures

    Magdalena Trąba

    Senior Investment Manager, Pracuj Ventures

  • Andrej Petrus, ZAKA Ventures

    Andrej Petrus

    Chief Investment Officer, ZAKA Ventures

  • Jan Hauser, EIT Urban Mobility

    Jan Hauser

    Business Creation Manager, EIT Urban Mobility

  • Norbert Bial, Euroventures

    Norbert Bial

    Investment Director, Euroventures

  • Michał Gawęda, Montis Capital Group

    Michał Gawęda

    Investment Director, Montis Capital

  • Robert Reich, Lighthouse Ventures

    Robert Reich

    Investment Manager, Lighthouse Ventures

  • Luiza Nowacka, Vinci S.A.

    Luiza Nowacka

    Investment Manager, Vinci S.A.

  • Gülce Horataci, Starters Hub

    Gülce Horataci

    Investment Manager, Starters Hub

  • Bruno Lusic, EBRD

    Bruno Lusic

    VC Investor, EBRD

  • Tobias Winczer, Target Global

    Tobias Winczer

    VC Investor, Target Global

  • Luca Brilliet, Karista

    Luca Brilliet

    VC Investor, Karista

  • Mia Lewis, MiddleGame Ventures

    Mia Lewis

    VC Investor, MiddleGame Ventures

  • Jan Follendorf, SpeedUp VC Group

    Jan Follendorf

    VC Investor, SpeedUp VC Group

  • Petra Mo, 3VC

    Petra Mo

    VC Investor, 3VC

  • András Fehér, DayOne Capital

    András Fehér

    Investor, DayOne Capital

  • Ewa Karólewska, EIT Food

    Ewa Karólewska

    Project Manager on Startup Support, EIT Food

And many more!

Focus

We are looking for regional startups and scaleups from Central & Eastern Europe raising seed, pre-series A, series A and beyond in following verticals:

SaaS & Marketplaces

AI / ML

Fintech & Insurtech

Cybersecurity

Defence and Govtech

Mobility, Industry 4.0 & Manufacturing

Environmental and Sustainable Solutions

Food and Agriculture

Healthcare & Wellbeing

Consumer Technology

Diversity and Inclusion

Other

Timeline

Nov 17, 2023

Application closes

Nov 22-29, 2023

Jury work

Nov 30, 2023

Finalists announcement

Dec 7, 2023

Finals: Online Pitching & VC Talks

Prizes

Fundraising support

Fundraising support for the Winner with connections to hundreds of leading VCs

Prize image
CEE VC Summit

Invitation to CEE VC Summit 2024 gathering 250+ GPs from CEE and Europe for the winner!

Prize image
Media coverage

Media and social media coverage for selected teams

Prize image
Up To €100.000

Up to €100.000 infrastructure credits for all applicants + fast track to the OVHcloud Startup Program, marketing & technical support for TOP 10

Prize image
Up To 90% Off

Up to 90% off on HubSpot for Startups for Top 100 eligible teams

Prize image
Up To $10,000 AWS Credits

Up to $10,000 in AWS Credits for all participants*

*AWS Activate Program rules must apply
Prize image
€15.000 Credits

Stripe Credits: €15.000 for all participants!

Prize image
$50.000 Credits

$50.000 on the Mixpanel Growth or Enterprise plan for all applicants!

Prize image
Dedicated Support From Startup Success Team!

1-on-1 onboarding with Startup Success team for TOP 10 and 6 months FREE for all participants!

Prize image
6 months for free

6 months of free Notion towards a Plus Plan, including unlimited AI for all applicants!

Prize image
12 Months For FREE

12 FREE months for basic plan or 90% off for premium plan for selected eligible startups

Prize image
Security Compliance Automation

30-50% off for finalists & 25% off for all applicants*

*discounts valid for first-time customers only
Prize image
Annual FREE Premium Access

Annual Business Plan for the Winner, 6 FREE months for TOP 10 and 3 months for all applicants!

Prize image
Annual FREE Premium Access

Annual Premium Access for the Winning Team, 6 months free for 2nd and 3rd place & 30 days free + 10% off for all applicants!

Prize image
Up To 500,000 FREE Credits

500,000 FREE email verifications for TOP 3; 100,000 for TOP 10 and 25,000 + 20% off for all participants

Prize image
Media Coverage

For The Winner & 35% discount for all applicants!

Prize image
Media Coverage

For The TOP 3

Prize image

Powered By

Vestbee logo

Strategic Partners

EIT InnoEnergy logoNext Road Ventures logo

Corporate Partners

  • amazon web services logo
  • Huawei logo
  • ovh startups program logo
  • hubspot logo
  • Stripe logo
  • notion logo
  • mixpanel logo
  • Zendesk for startups logo
  • Małecki Legal logo
  • Drata logo
  • Brand24 logo
  • TrustMate logo
  • Customer.io logo
  • Bouncer logo

Partners

  • Uniqa Ventures logo
  • Molten Ventures logo
  • 500 Emerging Europe logo
  • Target Global logo
  • KAYA VC logo
  • Burda Principal Investments logo
  • Flashpoint Venture Capital logo
  • HTGF logo
  • Sunfish Partners logo
  • HEARTFELT_ logo
  • Karista logo
  • Market One Capital logo
  • Atlantic Labs logo
  • EBRD Venture Capital logo
  • 3vc logo
  • 212 logo
  • otb logo
  • Portfolion logo
  • Inovo Venture Partners logo
  • FF VC logo
  • Tera Ventures logo
  • MiddleGame Ventures logo
  • SMOK Ventures logo
  • venture friends logo
  • J&T Ventures logo
  • Orbit Capital logo
  • Blackfin Capital Partners logo
  • PKO TFI logo
  • revo capital logo
  • Warsaw Equity Group logo
  • Elevator Ventures logo
  • McWin Partners logo
  • SpeedUp Venture Capital Group logo
  • Fundingbox Deep Tech Fund logo
  • Presto Ventures logo
  • Trind VC logo
  • Constantia new Business logo
  • eit urban mobility
  • oxo holdings logo
  • Vinci logo
  • Hubraum Tech Incubator logo
  • Ultra VC logo
  • South Central Ventures logo
  • Tilia Impact Ventures logo
  • Cogito Capital Partners logo
  • cabra vc logo
  • Pracuj Ventures logo
  • Lunar Ventures logo
  • Euroventures logo
  • Satus starter logo
  • Movens Capital logo
  • Level2 Ventures logo
  • Roosh Ventures logo
  • Accelerace logo
  • zaka ventures logo
  • Qnbeyond Ventures logo
  • Oktogon Ventures logo
  • Logo Ventures logo
  • Metis Ventures logo
  • Flyer One Ventures logo
  • TechOne Ventue Capital logo
  • Two Zero logo
  • Montis Capital logo
  • Lighthouse Ventures logo
  • Lead Ventures logo
  • Starters Hub logo
  • Black Pearls VC logo
  • DayOne Capital logo
  • rkkvc logo
  • EIT Food logo
  • Eban logo
  • latvian business angels network logo
  • Business Angels of Slovenia logo
  • Lithuanian Business Angels Network logo
  • Cobin Angels logo

Community Partners

  • Starta Ventures logo
  • 1991 Accelerator logo
  • Founder Institute logo
  • ReaktorXlogo
  • Huge Thing logo
  • Rubikhub logo
  • Start Smart logo
  • Spinlab logo
  • Labena Ventures logo
  • Beyond Accelerate logo
  • cultech acc logo
  • Unsung Heroes logo
  • Innovations Hub logo
  • Bird Incubator logo
  • AIC logo
  • Touch Summit logo
  • Lublin science and technology park logo
  • Terkko Health Hub logo
  • Baltic Sandbox Ventures logo
  • Focal logo
  • Awexr logo
  • Endeavor logo
  • Startup Poland logo
  • forest valley logo
  • albania tech logo
  • junior albania logo
  • Sapie - Slovak Alliance for Innovation Economy logo
  • bait.bg logo
  • Invest in Wroclaw logo

Media Partners

  • Mamstartup.pl logo
  • ITKey Media logo
  • MyCompanyPolska.pl logo
  • Czechinvest logo
  • FxMag logo
  • StockWatch logo
  • Comparic logo
  • Novinite.com logo
  • bankujesz.pl logo
  • Zrobotyzowany.pl logo

Get Free Perfect Pitch Guide Now!

Download comprehensive e-book on how to prepare outstanding Investor Deck, Elevator and Competition Pitch. Use our practical tips and make a big step toward successful fundraising!

Get Free E-book Now!
Startup Perfect Pitch Deck Ebook

Take Your Startup To The Next Level