The European Startup Week 2026
Hundreds of Startup Founders. One Unforgettable Week.
The European Startup Week, now in its 4th edition, is not your typical tech conference. Instead of a convention centre, hundreds of European and Italian early-stage startup founders, investors, and enthusiasts spend a week taking over a Mediterranean beach and city to connect, collaborate, and close deals.
Organised by Startup Network Europe and Feedel Ventures, and supported by Deep Ocean Capital, InnovUp, Italian Tech Alliance, Politecnico di Bari, and Regione Puglia, this immersive 7-day event combines the high-level deal-making of a major tech conference with the authentic, community-driven culture of a summer beach festival.
Our guiding principle is "Friends First, Networking Second."
We encourage everyone to treat this week as an amazing holiday first, and a business networking opportunity second.
Enjoy yourself on the beach, and focus on making lifelong friends with like-minded people. You won't end up doing business with most people you meet, and that is totally ok.
Ironically, when we take this approach of friendship first, then co-founder matches and business deals naturally follow, because the best partnerships are based on trust!
Days 1-3: Connecting
Day 1 (Monday, July 6): Welcome Evening Reception
Day 2 (Tuesday, July 7): Dolphin Watching Boat Trip | Evening Meetup
Day 3 (Wednesday, July 8): Day Trip to Polignano a Mare & Monopoli | Evening Meetup
Day 4: European Startup Conference - Taranto City Day
Taking place on Thursday (July 9th) at 9:30am-4:00pm, this is the headline event of The European Startup Week 2026.
The Full Day event's agenda is as follows:
09:30 AM - 10:00 AM: Networking & Registration
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM: Introductory Speech
Prof. Eugenio Di Sciascio, Regional Minister for Economic Development, Regione Puglia
Salvatore Toma, President, Confindustria Taranto
Vincenzo Cesareo, President, Camera di Commercio Taranto Brindisi
Prof. Paolo Pardolesi, Dipartimento Jonico Director, Università di Bari
Pietro Bitetti, Mayor of Taranto
Mattia Giorno, Deputy Mayor of Taranto – Strategy, Innovation & International Relations
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM: Italy and Puglia Data Analysis
Max Brigida, Founder, La Tech Made in Italy & IT’S TECH
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM: Policy ideas for reversing brain drain
Fabrizio Pagani, Partner, Vitale & Associati
Rob Cox, Visiting Professor, Luiss Guido Carli University; Co-Founder & former Global Editor, Reuters Breakingviews
11:30 AM - 12:15 AM: The Funding Playbook: Positioning Your Early-Stage Startup for Investment.
Bibop Gresta, Founder, HyperloopIT
Emilia Garito, Chairwoman, Deep Ocean Capital
Annamaria Tartaglia, Executive Director, Angels4Women
Mike Melby, Co-Founder, Fitlab; GP, Profondo Capital; Co-Owner, Cesena Football Club
12:15 AM - 1:00 AM: Soonicorn & Unicorn Panel Discussion, including 15 minutes of Q&A
Topic: The First 1,000 Days: How Europe's Unicorns Scaled from Seed to Global Champions.
Moderator:
Rob Cox, Visiting Professor, Luiss Guido Carli University; Co-Founder & former Global Editor, Reuters Breakingviews
Panellists:
Dmitry Gurski, Co-Founder & CEO, Flo Health (Unicorn)
Razvan Ranca, Co-Founder & CTO, Tractable (Unicorn)
Philipp Nieland, Co-Founder, PPRO (Unicorn)
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Networking & Light Lunch
2:00 PM - 2:40 PM: VC Discussion, including 15 minutes of Q&A
Beyond the Hype: Where VCs are Deploying Capital in 2026
Sara Polatti, Managing Director, CC & Soci
Dom Ventimiglia, Principal, Squadra Ventures
Ken Horenstein, Founder & GP, Pack Ventures
Patrick Polak, Partner & Co-founder, Newion Partners
Neal Dempsey, Managing General Partner at Bay Partners
2:40 PM - 2:50 PM: Annapaola Scrimieri, Fondazione Taranto25
2:50 PM - 4:00 PM: Startup Pitches feat. Puglia Techs
Presenter:
Leonne Kaldenbach, Community Builder, Puglia Techs
Judges:
Claudio Tinelli, CEO, Eulogic
Jason Fontana, CEO, WayfinderBio
Kevin Bifulco, Key Manager, AVM SGR
Fabiana Martone, Associate, Vertis Capital
- Alfredo Lobello, Head of Innovation Promotion, Puglia Sviluppo
8 Startups (TBA)
8:00 PM: Party at U Pundon
Day 5: European Startup Conference - Beach Day
Taking place on Friday (July 10th), an immersive "Unconference" that blends peer-to-peer knowledge sharing with a high-energy Mediterranean celebration. The agenda is as follows:
3:00 PM: Bus leaves Taranto
Buses arrive from Taranto. Guests make their way to the Frescheria Jamaica bar to grab a refreshment and settle in.
5:00 PM – 5:10 PM | Official Introduction
Welcome remarks by Gianna Elisa Berlingerio.
5:10 PM – 5:30 PM | Tailored Live Experience
Adam Patrick Fulham introduce the roundtable moderators.
5:30 PM - 6:55 PM: Roundtable Talks at Frescheria Jamaica
2 Sessions of 45 minutes each:
Dr. Florian Steiner, Claude AI Consultant & Trainer
Darinka Burovska, Business & Transformation Coach, Founder at The Resilience Club, ex-PM
Vin Miceli, Founder, verb
Marco D’Angelo, CEO, beeco; Venture Partner, ToSeed & Partners; Executive Managing Director, X Combinator
Luca Pignatti, Managing Partner, Profondo Capital
Diego Gaspar, Founder, Inn Remote
Alay Aridhi, Country Director Tunisia, Westerwelle Foundation
Daniel Wardle, Sales training design & delivery, The Founder Sales Club
Alessandro Nasi & Giulietta Testa, President & Group CEO, Djungle Holding
Christoph Raethke, Investor, Author, Mentor, Founder
Georgina Smith, Founder, Share-A-Table.com
Vanessa Coppola, Head of Innovation & Corporate Venturing, The Qube
6:55 PM – 7:00 PM | Closing remarks
7:00 PM – 12:00 AM | Party & Beachside Hangout
Days 6-7: Reflecting
Day 6 (Saturday, July 11): Ferry to San Pietro Island & Beach
Day 7 (Sunday, July 12): Goodbye Morning Meetup
About the Hosts
Startup Network Europe is an Irish company that has hosted 280+ Startup, Mid-Market, and Corporate Events since 2021.
Feedel Ventures is a global innovation hub and startup studio based in Puglia. Since 2020, they have built and scaled a portfolio of 20+ disruptive digital ventures across Tech, Web3, and Lifestyle. Specialising in corporate venture building, Feedel secures vital funding and drives high-impact business development to connect Italian innovation with European capital.
About the Partners
Our confirmed partners include the below. Please note that this list will increase significantly in the coming weeks.
Government Partner: Regione Puglia
University Partner:
Ecosystem Partners:
Italian Tech Alliance - Italy’s VC Association
InnovUp - Italy’s Startup Association
VC Partners:
Hospitality & Experience Partners:
💡 Important Info: Logistics & Catering
Based on attendee feedback regarding ticket costs and diverse catering preferences, we have decided to offer tickets at a more accessible rate, with accommodation, food, and drinks not included in the ticket price.
Whether we are on a boat, at the beach, or in the city, we will always ensure we are near excellent local spots where you can purchase refreshments.
✈️ Important Info: Flights
We recommend flying to Bari International Airport-Karol Wojtyla, as it's by far the biggest airport in the region. From there, you just have to travel 85 minutes by bus to Taranto.
As we kick off the startup week at 7pm on Monday (July 6th), we highly recommend arriving by the Monday afternoon or before.