“This year’s Startup Iceland, the 5th anniversary, is focused on helping startups better position themselves for scaling and growth, which is critical to the viability of Iceland’s business ecosystem," said Startup Iceland Founder Bala Kamallakharan.
Reykjavik, Iceland (PRWEB) May 25, 2016
Startup Iceland, the annual international entrepreneurs’ conference taking place in Reykjavik, Iceland May 29- 31, 2016, is proud to celebrate its fifth anniversary with a remarkable speaker and mentor program focused on helping startups scale globally. The three-day conference is for Icelandic and international startup founders, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and angel investors.
Startup Iceland will open with a kickoff pre-game event for the Ultrahack hackathon at Bryggjan Brugghús in Reykjavik, Iceland, on 29 May 2016, where the Ultrahack team will present how the hackathon works, and the awards contestants are eligible to win.
The conference speaker program takes place at Harpa Conference and Event Center on 30 May 2016. His Excellency President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson will open the event and US Ambassador to Iceland Robert C. Barber will give a keynote address before some of Iceland’s most promising startups take the stage.
“Jónsi” Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson will serve as the event master of ceremonies introducing the prominent Icelandic and international entrepreneurs, investors, government officials and members of the media. International speakers will include Ingrid Vanderveldt, Founder & Chairman of Empowering a Billion Women by 2020 (EBW2020); Mark Solon, Managing Partner, Techstars; Jenny Fielding, Managing Director, Techstars; Jud Valeski, CTO of Techstars; Andrew Carmody, Strategic Advisor, Digi.me and President, ViewersLogic; Scott Caruso, CEO, PureColor, Inc.; and Mikko Järvilehto, Executive Producer, Ultrahack.
The international speakers will be joined by mentors, investors and entrepreneurs in the Icelandic business community such as Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir, CEO of Kjörís and Chairman of the Federation of Industries; Þorvarður Sveinsson, Executive Director, Vodafone Iceland, Svana Gunnarsdóttir, Partner, Frumtak Ventures; Helga Valfells, CEO, NSA Ventures; Magnús Björnsson, Senior Director of Engineering, Oracle; Brandur “Brassi” Karlsson, Chief Development Officer, Sjalfsbjorg, Social innovation Center; Ragnheiður Magnúsdóttir, Business Manager, Inside Sales, Marel and Chair of Technology Board (Formaður tækninefndar); Einar Gunnar Guðmundsson, Corporate Entrepreneur, Arion Bank, Salóme Guðmundsdóttir, CEO, Icelandic Startups; Xiaochen Tian, CEO, TravelShift and Co-founder, Guide to Iceland; Stefán Baxter, Founder & CEO at Activity Stream (Flaumur ehf.); Haukur Guðjónsson, Entrepreneur; Arnar Laufdal Ólafsson, CEO / Co-founder, Kaptio; Kolbrún Hrafnkelsdóttir, CEO & Founder, Florealis ehf.; Jessie VanderVeen, VP, Marketing & Communications and Legal, Tempo.io; and Hjálmar Gíslason, VP of Data, Qlik. Additionally, the winners of Stökkpallurinn and the 2016 class of Startup Reykjavik entrepreneurs will be announced on stage at the close of the day.
The conference program will close on May 31st at the University of Reykjavik with Startup Iceland’s renowned “office hours” style mentoring sessions, where attendees have the unique opportunity to meet one-to-one with the event speakers and other seasoned executives and influencers.
“Startup Iceland has become a flagship annual event over the last 5 years, helping to grow interest in entrepreneurship, reinforcing the value of mentorship and establishing an international network for startups in Iceland,” said Startup Iceland Founder Bala Kamallakharan. “This year’s Startup Iceland is focused on helping startups better position themselves for scaling and growth, which is critical to the viability of Iceland’s business ecosystem.”
Who should attend and Why?
Entrepreneurs, startup founders, senior executives, venture fund managers, pension fund managers, angel investors, financial institutions, government agencies, business journalists, students, and anyone involved in the business of value creation should attend Startup Iceland.
Participants represent startup communities from Iceland, the US and Europe. Attendees will learn strategies that can be applied in their own businesses and communities here in Iceland and abroad.
Tickets and information: http://startupiceland.com/
Special thanks to Startup Iceland sponsors: Icelandair Group, Haskólinn Reykjavík, Vodafone, The US Embassy of Iceland, Nýsköpunarsjóður, Frumtak Ventures, Deloitte, Microsoft, Federation of Icelandic Industries, Promote Iceland, Marel and Innovation Center Iceland.
ABOUT STARTUP ICELAND
Founded by investor Bala Kamallakharan in 2012, the Startup Iceland Conference (#startupISK) brings together leaders from Iceland, the global community of entrepreneurs, enterprise businesses and government to discuss and create solutions to promote resilient startup communities throughout the world and foster economic growth.
The conference is a 3-day event that includes a hackathon, “office hours” style mentoring sessions, and single track conference presentations by leaders from startup communities throughout the world, as well as several conference-adjacent networking and business development opportunities. For more information, please visit StartupIceland.com.
About Ultrahack
Ultrahack is a development runway for next generation innovations. It brings together developers, start-ups and corporations to solve world-class challenges with the latest technologies. The tournament format and pre-game platform gives participants an early start to their projects through access to the Ultrahack community with matchmaking and networking opportunities.
During the Ultrahack Tournament teams have a chance to win awesome prizes, earn investments and take their skills to a whole new level. This year, Ultrahack expands to Nordic and Central European capitals with the hottest tech startup scene events in Reykjavik, Helsinki, Prague, Oslo and Copenhagen. The high point of Ultrahack 2016 Tournament will be the Ultrahack finals, a 48 hour hackathon held at Vallilan Konepaja Bruno, in Helsinki on 25-27 November 2016.
Website: https://ultrahack.org
Stökkpallurinn
Startup Iceland and Vodafone Iceland teamed up to launch STÖKKPALLURINN, a new competition program designed to help founders in Iceland grow faster locally and hence scale globally, with access to Vodafone’s network, the community of Startup Iceland mentors and deeper international reach. Any company or entrepreneur that fits the application criteria can apply. The first winners will be announced on stage at Startup Iceland on 30 May 2016. For more information: https://startupiceland.com/stokkpallurinn/