How To Web

I came up with the title of this article before I began writing it, which hardly ever happens. And I was so proud of it too, before I googled it and found an almost exact version – what were the odds? I’m taking it in stride though, since it was published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. It’s pretty cool and it’s written from the investor’s standpoint, so if you’re an investor you can check it out here.

If you’re a startup founder however, keep reading because you’re going to get some grade A advice from Robert Neivert, Venture Partner at 500 Startups who specializes in B2B seed investments.

Fintech, or “financial technology”, is taking the world by storm with disruptive solutions that advance IT infrastructure and change consumer behaviour. But it has actually been around for a long time, longer than you would think. Forbes pinpoints its beginning a few decades ago, in the 1950s, but the New York Times goes even further – a century further to be more exact. They place the invention of the first fintech device way back to 1865. Yes, you read that right. One thing is clear though, it’s a sector that has been evolving constantly ever since.

50 outstanding tech startups from 11 European countries have been selected to attend How to Web Startup Spotlight 2016 and today we proudly get them introduced to you. The finalists develop products in fintech, gaming & entertainment, cybersecurity, SaaS, health, media and advertising, travel, education, HR, developer tools, e-commerce or retail and their applications stood out due to the market validation and traction they already have, the scalability of their products, the team fit, their experience, and more!

“Agriculture is our wisest pursuit because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness.” At least that’s what Thomas Jefferson believed. Even though the essence of his belief is still true today, we’re taking this discussion further, to a more technical level. And who better to lead with than Bill Gates, who has committed more than $2 billion to agricultural development efforts through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He advocates smart farming and finding ways to increase the quality and quantity of agricultural yielding through technology. “I have seen firsthand that agricultural science has enormous potential to increase the yields of small farmers and lift them out of hunger and poverty”, says Gates.