StartUp Guide Brussels: Launch event

Founded by Sissel Hansen, Startup Guide published its first guidebook in 2014 in Berlin. The publishing and media company has books in over 20 cities across Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East, as well as a regional guidebook spanning the Nordics. In autumn 2018, the company launched a media website, startupguide.com, born out of the desire to explore different types of content and reach a wider audience.

Startup Guide also has physical stores in Berlin, Lisbon and Copenhagen that double as offices for the company’s 20-person team. The newly opened store in Copenhagen is also a workspace offering members a place to collaborate with other creators and grow their big ideas.

STARTUP GUIDE BRUSSELS
Home to the Council of the European Union, the European Commission and NATO, Brussels has long had a reputation as a hub for international relations. But in addition to its diplomatic prowess and rich history of art, architecture and food, it’s a center for business and – increasingly – startups. Brussels has the most tech startups per capita of any Belgian city, due in large part to government initiatives, especially programs designed to support young entrepreneurs. As the ecosystem expands, more and more startups are making an impact on a global scale – data governance platform Collibra recently became Belgium’s first unicorn.

Startup Guide Brussels will be packed with essential information, insightful interviews and valuable resources to help entrepreneurs navigate the capital city’s ecosystem and build their big idea. In order to ensure the guidebook is accurate, it will be made in collaboration with our community partner hub.brussels.

HOW THE NOMINATION PROCESS WORKS
Each Startup Guide book highlights startups, entrepreneurs, investors, programs, experts, schools and co-working spaces nominated by the people who know the ecosystem best: locals in the startup scene.
The start of the nomination period begins during a kick-of event, bringing together our local partners and members of the ecosystem. In Brussels, the kick-of event will be hosted by hub.brussels on April 30.

Submissions for those who should be featured will be accepted until May 14. At the conclusion of the nomination period, a local advisory board (assembled with the support of hub.brussels) will evaluate those who were nominated and make their final selections on who should be included in the guidebook.

Once the production phase for the book is finished, a launch party will be hosted to mark the occasion, which will be open to everyone in the local startup community. The event (planned for winter 2019) will celebrate the ecosystem, those featured in the book and the partners who made it possible.