How To Web

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.

Being part of an accelerator program is a great starting point for any early stage startup founder looking to close deals and get the business to the next level. However, getting into such a program is no easy task to do and your application is a deal maker (or breaker for the record). If you are working on your accelerator application or simply doing those final tweaks on your How to Web Startup Spotlight application (the deadline is September 25th, by the way), then you read on!