Yes, now it’s finally happening: thanks to a few crazy people, or rather a few Zebras from the savannah, Zaragoza is positioning itself as another key hub of the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem.
In 2022, at South Summit, Sergio Martínez, Co-founder of Zebra, came up to me. He told me, as he probably told more than 100 other people, that he wanted to organise a top event in Zaragoza the following October.
He wanted to bring together, in a single day, the main players in the ecosystem in his home city, where he does his work. It couldn’t be right that Zaragoza was being left out of the ecosystem when it had all the ingredients to be part of it. It has talent, well-known companies and, of course, some successful startups.
So I committed to taking part in a round table he organised together with other key players in impact investing.
It’s a pleasure to discover new events where, what’s more, nothing is missing:
- Good communication before the event, whether you’re an attendee or a speaker.
- Excellent organisation, with an immediate response when you arrive at reception.
- Good timekeeping on the agenda.
- Coffee breaks to encourage networking.
- A well-laid-out company exhibition area that lets you interact.
- The perfect location: easy to get to, to park and to find accommodation if you’re coming from elsewhere.
- In this case, lunch was a standing buffet to encourage networking
- On top of lunch, a unique, original and fun activity that brought out the best in everyone.
- If you’re a speaker and you go home with a little gift, need I say more (local produce, too).
- An excellent balance between investors and entrepreneurs (even more investors…)
So the first edition was a huge success, with around 400 attendees, and expectations for 2023 were high and… They were exceeded!
The 3 main Zebras, Sergio, Ulises and Alberto, together with their team and the stars at Wavveup, once again hit the nail on the head, so that the NETWORKING was networking with a capital N, unlike anything you’ve seen before. On the first day they called us together at 17:00, and we had a 2-hour activity to get to know each other in a different way.
If the venue was good in 2022, this year it was incredible. Networking and dinner for speakers at the Zaragoza Aquarium, the day of talks at ETOPIA, a perfect venue, and a few partner bars for the evening.
They pulled it off: the local media gave it coverage and we attendees celebrated it on our social profiles so that next year, if they want, we can go past 500 attendees, without losing their principles of quality and warmth, being approachable and practical, with the entrepreneur at the centre.
In my case, I was delighted that my favourite sector, EDTECH, was once again represented, with startups attending and finalists in the pitch competition.
See you next year!
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