Sometimes, having a brilliant idea isn’t enough. Young entrepreneurs often face a critical challenge: connecting with the right investors, accelerators, and support systems to turn their visions into thriving businesses. This is where the ENTREPRENEDU Venture Matchmaking Summit stepped in, offering a dynamic solution designed to bridge this gap.
We reversed the pitching game
The Venture Matchmaking Summit was organised by the ENTREPRENEDU team as a set of two online webinars targeting young entrepreneurs in Europe who are seeking for answers and business support. By organising Venture Matchmaking Summit webinars, our aim was to prioritize needs of these young entrepreneurs and reverse the traditional pitching dynamic. What do we mean by that? Well, instead of entrepreneurs constantly seeking out for support and answers on their own, Venture Matchmaking Summit created an environment where esteemed accelerators presented their services and opportunities to the entrepreneurs. In other words, we reversed the pitching game in entrepreneur’s favour, giving them the unique position of being the “judge” and choosing the best fit for their venture.
Venture Matchmaking Summit #1
Held on 10th of April, 2025, the first Venture Matchmaking Summit was skillfully organised by ENTREPRENEDU’s Greek partners: Corallia and the University of Thessaly (UTH). On one hand, Corallia is well-known for its work in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship through clusters and incubators. On other hand, UTH is a vibrant academic institution supporting young talent. Their combined efforts ensured presentation of a diverse range of accelerators and support mechanisms (STARTAB, Business Incubation Center, Corallia Ventures…) and success stories. This joint approach offered participants a broader spectrum of choices and insights tailored to various startup stages and sectors.
Venture Matchmaking Summit #2
Continuing the success of the first webinar, the second Venture Matchmaking Summit, held on 16th of May, 2025, was organised by European Business Angels Network (EBAN). EBAN, a prominent pan-European non-profit association representing the early stage investor community, brought its extensive network and expertise to the forefront. This webinar provided powerful platform where selected accelerators and angel investor groups (EBAN per se) pitched their services directly to ENTREPRENEDU’s young entrepreneurs. The webinar was filled with insightful information and useful links which entrepreneurs could use for finding funding opportunities. F6S, another ENTREPRENEDU partner, presented its platform which helps millions of founders and their companies grow. Moreover, speakers were more than happy to answer all participant’s questions and doubts.
Benefits for young entrepreneurs
ENTREPRENEDU Venture Matchmaking Summit’s main objective was to create meaningful connections that can lead to future collaborations and mentorship opportunities. Participating to any of the two webinars, offered two key advantages for aspiring entrepreneurs: direct, streamlined access to a curated network of European accelerators, clusters, incubators, and funding opportunities in addition to establishing meaningful connections that can provide mentorship, resources, and market access.