The StartUp Growth Conference, organised by StartUp HUB, has become a meeting point for young people dedicated to entrepreneurship and innovation and took place on Wednesday 4th September in the conference room of the Panorama Boutique Hotel. The event, attended by more than 300 people, reaffirmed StartUp HUB’s mission: to build a community where entrepreneurs and innovators together shape the future and create the values that develop our region and our communities.
Grüman Róbert, co-founder and CEO of StartUp HUB, opened the conference: “Entrepreneurs are true value creators who dare to take risks where others do not, thus shaping the future. The development of our region is due to the passion and perseverance of entrepreneurs. It is in our common interest that this path is appreciated and that more people choose this challenging path”. Renowned experts such as Bagoly Miklós, President of ASIMCOV, Klárik Attila, Director of LAM Foundation and Olti Ágoston, General Director of OTP Consulting also contributed to the professional level of the event.
Throughout the day, various professional presentations provided the participants with a detailed insight into the functioning of the startup ecosystem. The participants of the roundtable “Strengthening the Regional Startup Ecosystem” included Bihari Béla, Vice President of the IT Plusz Cluster; Paul Băbuș, partner at the law firm Law of Tech; Berkeczi Zsolt, Communications Director at Harghita Business Center; and W. Szabó Péter, founder of Tengr.ai. The discussion was moderated by Oltean Csongor, co-founder and strategic director of StartUp HUB, who highlighted the need to create a community at the regional level where entrepreneurial spirit is encouraged, collaboration among professional organizations is strengthened, and the entrepreneurs of the future can find their right path.
Special attention was given to Balogh Petya, founder of STRT Holding, an investor and mentor, who presented the STRT Launchpad program through an online connection. This program provides a launchpad for startups in Transylvania and creates opportunities for local entrepreneurs to stand out on the international stage.
The award ceremony of the 25,000 Euro StartUp Program was a festive moment where the co-founders of StartUp HUB handed out the prizes, recognizing the efforts of young entrepreneurs who have already proven that perseverance and innovation are the keys to success. The ceremony was hosted by Karácsony Zsolt, business development expert of StartUp HUB.
The conference continued with a presentation by Hild Imre, CEO of Obuda UNI Venture Capital, on venture capital investments and their role in the growth of startups. Luka Levente, co-owner of eMudding.ro, shared how his startup reached its first significant milestone by reaching 1 million euros in revenue, while Cristina Toma, partner at Loop Operations, spoke about the challenges and opportunities of creating social startups.
In the final part of the conference, Grüman Róbert presented the SES program, which offers 10 million euros for the creation of social startups, thus supporting the development of sustainable enterprises that create social value.
An important moment at the end of the day was the signing of cooperation agreements initiated by StartUp HUB, presented by Kelemen Szilárd, co-founder and director in charge of partnerships. In his speech he emphasized “the importance of cooperation between professional organizations”. The signatories expressed their commitment to support the development of the startup ecosystem by organizing regular meetings and forums, thus contributing to the dynamic growth of the community. The collaboration agreement was signed by representatives of the following organizations ASIMCOV, Union of ARBOR Entrepreneurs, HÁRIT Association, IT Plus Cluster, Junior Business Club, LAM Foundation, StartUp HUB and St. Georgius Manager Club.
The conference was hosted and moderated by Grubisics Levente, owner of SEPSI Radio, who concluded that the commitment and passion of the participants was an inspiration to everyone who believes that entrepreneurship, innovation and collaboration can shape the future.
