How the 0100 Conferences brings local and international investors together
The 0100 Conferences is a European PE & VC platform | Image Credit: 0100 Conferences
At the start of January every year, startups from around the world descend at Las Vegas to demonstrate and celebrate their products and innovation at CES, the most influential consumer tech event. A month later, they head to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress and then to Amsterdam, to the heart of tech – TNW.
With the likes of Slush and Web Summit coming later in the year, all these events bring startups from around the world together. However, there aren’t many major events that bring venture capitalists and PE investors backing these private companies together.
The 0100 Conferences aims to bridge the gap. It is the leading event in Europe that brings regional as well as international general and limited partners together and offers them a platform to facilitate future transactions. Here is how their CEO, Pavol Fuchs, and his team realised this gap in the market.
Plugging a gap in the market
Speaking to Silicon Canals ahead of 0100 Conference Europe in Amsterdam in March, Pavol Fuchs explains they saw a gap in the market that there were only a few events designed for PEs and VCs and they mostly took place in an oversaturated market.
So they started hosting events in underrepresented cities like Vienna, Dublin, Copenhagen, Luxembourg, Prague, Tallinn, Bratislava, and Limassol with the goal of bridging the gap between local and international investors. This year’s event, for example, brought an underrepresented topic focusing on operations, finance, ESG, and data experts to Berlin.
“The inspiration behind starting 0100 Conferences was the desire to create a platform that unites all venture capital and private equity professionals,” Fuchs says, “for an elevated networking experience that’s actually conducive to building long-lasting relationships.”
Apart from bridging the gap, the 0100 Conference is also different from those few events aimed at investors. Firstly, 0100 Conference uses a number of side events to create a “meaningful relationship” between investors. “There is no better way to discuss business with your potential business partner or investor than in the informal atmosphere over the quality food and drinks that side events offer,” adds Fuchs.
Secondly, the event takes on some of the most pressing issues for limited and general partners in the PE and VC industry through its market-driven agenda. We have seen how the likes of Y Combinator, Sequoia Capital, and others warned startups about the gloom in the industry but they never addressed it collectively.
An event like 0100 Conference offers an opportunity for these investors to address such an issue. Lastly, the 0100 Conference is held at less saturated locations like Amsterdam. Fuchs says, “Our events are different because we want our attendees to not only gain the tangible, agenda-related benefits they came for, but also meet the innovative purpose-driven startups and scaleups that make up the entrepreneurial fabric of Amsterdam.”
Amsterdam to bring investors together
The 0100 Conference Europe is being held from 28 March to 30 March in Amsterdam, one of the fastest growing tech ecosystems in Europe. In collaboration with the City of Amsterdam and Techleap.nl, the event will aim to unify the European network of venture capitalists and private equity investors, and facilitate valuable connections for the local ecosystem of entrepreneurs.
The choice of Amsterdam, according to Fuchs, was a rather easy one. He sees Amsterdam as a welcoming and attractive city that lacks interesting PE/ VC events. He says the city makes a perfect choice for bringing its entire network of investors as well as for its flagship event.
“It would only make sense to hold it in a city known for innovation and creativity, as well as hospitality and entertainment,” Fuchs says about Amsterdam being chosen as host for 0100 Conference Europe.
Apart from the City of Amsterdam, the 0100 Conference has also drawn support from StartupAmsterdam, a public programme designed to stimulate the local business climate for startups and scaleups. Fuchs says StartupAmsterdam has played a key role in introducing them to key stakeholders in the local VC and startup ecosystems.
According to Dealroom, Amsterdam registered its highest funding in the first half of 2022 and became the second largest startup ecosystem in Europe. With investors willing to make capital investments to support local fund managers and startups, the 0100 Conference Europe will also be crucial for Amsterdam.
“With the 0100 Conference being hosted in Amsterdam, we will make sure to give 20 Amsterdam-based impact-driven startups access to the event and connect them to the attending investors”, says Bas Beekman, Director of StartupAmsterdam.
Fuchs says, “With our connections, we are able to attract top-performing fund investors and fund managers, which is helping Amsterdam become a major PE and VC Hub for Europe.”
Impact of economic downturn
At the 0100 Conference Europe in Amsterdam, the elephant in the room will be the impact of the economic downturn on the PE and VC industry. While the agenda of the conference resonates with real-life events and what LPs and GPs are going through, the lingering question around the economic downturn will not go unanswered.
Fuchs says the conference will look at how the economic downturn has impacted dealflow, deal activity, deal sourcing, and fundraising. He says LPs are now more careful with their allocations and due diligence is taking longer than expected. He sees the event as an opportunity to overcome these obstacles by meeting LPs in person.
Apart from addressing the impact of the economic downturn, the 0100 Conference will also talk about LP allocations and perspectives on the European venture capital industry. Other important talking points, according to Fuchs, will be the search for best managers by various pension funds and Fund of Funds, the position of family offices in the industry, ESG, ESG scoring, impact investing, etc. You can check the full agenda online here.
At the conference, there is also a panel discussion dedicated to family offices investing in PE and VC. This will be one of the eye openers since family offices have filled the gap left by established VCs during the current economic downturn. “We also have special networking side events for some family offices,” Fuchs adds.
An event bigger than its name
The binary code 0100 in the name corresponds to 4, which relates to the four founders of 0100 Ventures, the former parent company.
However, Fuchs says the name is also important because “they want to help companies and startups go from 0 to 100.” The 0100 Conference Europe will help PEs and VCs address the challenges that are limiting them from taking startups from 0 to 100. With free access for limited partners, the event will “have all the people they need to meet when doing PE/ VC business in Europe under one roof.”
With key speakers coming from the best funds in Europe (Abrdn, Adams Street Partners, Earlybird Venture Capital, EQT Partners, Octopus Ventures, SpeedInvest and many more), as well as Techleap.nl’s special envoy, Constantijn van Oranje, the LPs and GPs attending the event can hear firsthand what these funds are looking for and even share their experience, on and off stage.
“We’re happy to support the first edition of 0100 conferences in Amsterdam. As an ecosystem, it’s absolutely critical to have a solid network of investors, and 0100 will spur further collaboration between VCs and their investors, ensuring the availability of capital for growth so companies both in the Netherlands and Europe can continue to make an impact,” says Evelien de Vries, Capital and Investor Relations Lead at Techleap.nl.
“We’re also connecting top-performing LPs and GPs to Amsterdam, helping it become a major private equity and venture capital hub in Europe,” Fuchs says about the potential that Amsterdam offers for investors and startups.
In the end, the 0100 Conference will be bigger than its name as it will paint the potential of Amsterdam that a large number of investors and startups have already noticed. By helping local fund managers and startups to find the investors they need, this event will make Amsterdam an even stronger tech ecosystem.
Explore the speakers, programme and other important info on 0100 Conference Europe and stay tuned for March 28-30, 2023.
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