Blockchain Startups Summit 2018

The Blockchain Startups Summit is a jointly organized event by the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center and EU-Startups.com. The aim is to bring together around 300 entrepreneurs, investors, and blockchain technology service providers from across Europe and to foster relationships on November 15, 2018, on the campus of Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.

The event will showcase a pitch battle for a selection of the hottest European blockchain-based startups with a prize package. It will also count on the participation of high-profile entrepreneurs and investors among our speakers. The one-day event is a fantastic opportunity to network, and a is an ideal meeting point for aspiring entrepreneurs and investors who want to build blockchain companies.

Vanessa Grellet is a Global Executive with over 17 years of expertise in the Financial Services and Tech industry. At ConsenSys she focuses on Enterprise and Strategic initiatives including the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), the Accounting Blockchain coalition (ABC) and leads the Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition (BSIC).

Marjan Delatinne, Ripple’s Global Head of Banking is an entrepreneurial business developer with a strong track record of leading large-scale commercialization and a proven innovative ability to generate new revenues in competitive and challenging environments. Strong ability to develop effective strategies and directing major initiatives from conceptual to implementation. Part of Women in Fintech Power list 2017.

Nikola Stojanow, the Chief Business Development Officer of æternity, has extensive experience working in business development roles in Germany, Eastern Europe, MENA, Asia, and the Pacific. He has developed and consulted on numerous international projects for almost a decade. A passionate believer in the unlimited possibilities of blockchain technologies, Nikola joined aeternity nearly two years ago when the company was in its early development stage.

Sven Laepple is the founder of ASTRATUM and founding member of the German Blockchain Association. Previously, he co-founded with Outlier ventures Blockchain Angels Germany and BLUE C AG ( IPO in 2000). Sven has an MBA from the University of Mannheim, studied cryptocurrency at the University of Nicosia and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) blockchain and smart contracts as well as fintech and future commerce.

Patrick Lowry is the CEO and a Managing Partner of Iconiq Holding. He was a member of the Deutsche Börse Venture Capital team, DB1 Ventures, where he developed a strong passion for blockchain technology and alternative financing methods. He has a decade of financial industry experience, including as an associate at Graham Partners, a private equity fund, and PwC as an auditor of private equity, hedge, and mutual funds. Patrick currently advises multiple ICO projects and is an avid crypto-investor.

Thomas Hessler is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor focussing on blockchain businesses. He is the co-founder of zanox (global market leader for performance-based online marketing with 400 employees and USD 300 million turnovers), Globumbus (foundation to support Entrepreneurship) and UFOstart having invested in about 200 startups.

Marc Taverner is the Global Ambassador for Blockchain at Bitfury where he put in practice his 18 years of experience working with market-leading, global technology companies. He is also the founder of a successful modem distribution company. Marc has held sales leadership roles with many leading technology companies, including the world's largest provider of unified communications services and market leaders in educational technology solutions.

Sergio Pereira is the co-founder and CTO of Tech HQ. He has several years of experience as a CTO and Consultant for both startups and global corporations. Together with his clients, he crafts and architects Blockchain systems, and brings such innovative solutions either in Public or Consortium ecosystems. Sergio believes Blockchain based systems can bring more accountability and transparency and transform our perception of Trust, which can make our world a better place. The disruptive use cases are endless and Sergio works with his motley crew of engineers to architect and roll them out across industries.

Timo Dreger is leading the strategy and investor relations at MyBucks, the leading FinTech player in Africa. He has a passion for innovative business models and due to his diverse experience, he is able to understand and bring together corporations, founders and investors alike. Timo worked as a Head of Digital at Helvetia Insurance, as an MD & early-stage investor at Christian Angermayer’s family office Apeiron Investment Group and as a VP Insurance at Commerzbank backed FinTech startup.

Klaudius Heda is an international counsel in the Finance Department of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, based in the Frankfurt office. He focuses on financings and restructurings, capital markets transactions and corporate law. Mr. Heda represents corporate entities, private equity sponsors and financial institutions in a wide range of cross-border transactions. He has extensive experience in corporate financing, intra-group financial transactions, structured finance transactions, and real estate financings.

Prof. Dr. Philipp Sandner is head of the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. The expertise of Prof. Sandner, in particular, includes blockchain technology, crypto assets, initial coin offerings (ICOs), digital transformation and entrepreneurship. The center advises companies concerning their blockchain activities, e.g. the first European crypto fund or startups in Consensys’ Token Foundry program. Prof. Sandner is a member of the FinTechRat of the Federal Ministry of Finance and also engaged in the Blockchain Observatory established by the European Union and, additionally, founding member of the German Blockchain Association e.V. and the Multichain Asset Managers Association.

Day 1, 30 January 2018