Finding yourself in the right room for seed or pre-seed funding, securing face time with operators who have scaled global tech, and expanding beyond your home market usually means months of flights, cold emails and fragmented coffee meetings across Western tech hubs.
Eastern Europe has by all means the capability, potential and drive to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s next generation of global tech companies. The bottleneck is almost always the time spent trying to actually land a conversation with the people who can get your startup closer to that.
Introducing Spotlight: a high-density shortcut that condenses that entire process into three days in Bucharest (October 6–8).
As the flagship startup program and competition hosted by How to Web Conference 2026, Spotlight brings 20 early-stage tech startups from across Central and Eastern Europe directly across the table from the investors, operators and partners who can unlock their next stage of growth.
Why Spotlight
Spotlight is designed around high-density access. Every component of the program connects directly to a commercial or fundraising opportunity.
| Program element | What happens | What does that actually mean |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 investor deal-making | Deal-sourcing meetings with investors from Atomico, Creandum, Eurazeo, Notion Capital, 20VC, Credo, OTB, and more. | A direct line to Tier-1 international capital without leaving the region. |
| Tailored mentoring | 1:1 sessions with a curated pool of experienced operators from companies like Stripe, Underline Ventures or BCR. | Applied, founder-first feedback on your product, go-to-market execution and identifying bottlenecks. |
| Dry-runs and stage pitching | Intensive dry-run prep on the Startup Stage, followed by Semifinal pitching. The top 5 finalists take the Build & Grow Stage. | Pitch sharpening before investors, regional validation, high-density exposure and direct visibility across European tech media. |
| Access to demo area booth | A dedicated booth for your startup in the high-foot-traffic Demo Area during the conference. | Live product demos, lead generation and pre-scheduled business development meetings with potential clients and partners via the app. |
The exact 3-day timeline
Day 1 (Oct 6): Dry-run pitching
All selected startups step onto the Startup Stage for a dedicated dry-run pitching session. You test your deck, sharpen your narrative and fix weak points with pitch coaches and investors before the official competition begins.
Day 2 (Oct 7): Semifinals and top 5 final pitch
Semifinalists pitch on the Startup Stage. The top five startups advance to the main Build & Grow Stage for the final pitch competition later that day, competing for stage recognition and investor focus.
Day 3 (Oct 8): Mentoring & Business Development
Day 3 centers on curated 1:1 mentoring sessions between the 20 startups and the mentor pool, tailored to your specific scaling goals and challenges. Simultaneously, your booth in the Demo Area becomes your hub for customer acquisition and investor meetings.
Next? Proof of impact
The value of Spotlight extends well beyond the three days.
AI enterprise platform DesignVerse won Spotlight in 2024. The team leveraged the stage validation, investor connections and international momentum to transition from early product validation into enterprise customer acquisition, expanding its footprint into the US market.
“Winning Spotlight was a turning point for our team,” says Andrei Manolache, co-founder of DesignVerse. “Pitching on that stage in Bucharest validated our vision and gave us the opportunity to showcase what we were building to an international audience – and that was only the beginning.”
Ready to apply?
Applications are open to early-stage founders ready to build on a global scale. To be eligible, your startup must meet the following criteria:
Location: Based in or originating from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE);
Company age: Under 5 years old;
Funding: Less than €700,000 in total funding raised to date;
Traction: An active product with demonstrable early market traction;
Access: Hold a valid “Startup” ticket to How to Web Conference 2026.
Key dates to remember
Application window: May 1 – September 11, 2026
Cohort announcement: September 21, 2026
Live program: October 6–8, 2026 (Bucharest)
Bypass months of fundraising travel and get your company in front of global decision-makers and apply for Spotlight now.
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