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Most startup events optimise for attendance, but we think they should optimise for decisions. That was the thinking behind this year's The Impact Circle.   Instead of filling a room with as many startups and corporates as possible, we focused on making sure every conversation had a reason to happen. The 12 hosting corporate partners selected the startups they wanted to meet before the event, based on real business challenges they were looking to solve. 💡The result? Three days of conversations that went far beyond pitching.  Founders and corporate teams challenged each other's thinking in workshops, explored shared innovation priorities, and sat down for more than 100 pre-arranged one-to-one meetings designed to lead somewhere.  One comment from the week summed it up perfectly. As Lieven Deketele from Procter & Gamble pointed out, the real work starts long before an event begins. Defining the right challenge, identifying the right partners and preparing both sides properly is what gives collaborations the best chance of becoming real partnerships. The event is simply where months of work become visible. A huge thank you to everyone who made this edition of The Impact Circle possible, especially Mats Raes Andre Convents Mark Miller Jeppe Høier Ana Casaca Molun Zhang Momchil Sabev, LL.M.(KCL) Manuel Mendigutía Agnieszka Stasiakowska Ekke Van Vliet and all the founders, corporate teams and investors who shared their expertise over the three days. Now comes the part we're looking forward to most: seeing these conversations turn into pilots, partnerships and long-term collaboration.  For those working in innovation, we'd love to hear your perspective. #TheImpactCircle #OpenInnovation #CorporateInnovation #Startups #EUeic #LoveTomorrow 

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴.✨    The 5 EIC - European Innovation Council Circles ran side by side over the last two days, but the deals they started are only beginning.    55+ EIC-backed startups from 20 countries. 12 leading corporations: AB InBev, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Cargill, The Coca-Cola Company, Daikin Industries, Ltd., Galp, imec, JETRO - Japan External Trade Organization, JX Advanced Metals Corporation, Procter & Gamble, Puratos, and Tomorrowland.    Founders arrived prepared through the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme, a programme we proudly implement with Hello Tomorrow and EU-Startups. Corporates arrived with priorities mapped out in advance. Our job was to make sure every conversation was worth having.    "These are conversations that usually take months to arrange, so having them in a single afternoon was useful."— Martin Schichtel, Founder & CEO of KRAFTBLOCK (EIC Accelerator awardee)    The work doesn't stop here. Over the next six months, the EIC's Dealmaker Support will help startups and corporates finalise agreements and build lasting partnerships.    Matchmaking is what we do. This is what it looks like at scale.    Thank you to everyone who was in the room!    Read the full recap of the EIC Multi-Corporate Day at The Impact Circle 👇 https://lnkd.in/eTXzxnWf     #Dealflow #TheImpactCircle #LoveTomorrow #OpenInnovation #eicBAS

Europe has no shortage of innovation events. The Impact Circle is built around something harder to find: intentional matches, hosting corporates with a real mandate, and a format where the work starts before the room even opens. Five days away. Boom & Brussels. 22–24 July. Some insights on why it's one of Europe's most intentional spaces for corporate-startup collaboration 👇 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eUa7AzNt #TheImpactCircle #CorporateInnovation #OpenInnovation #Dealflow

⚠️ Corporate innovation challenge: “We’re looking for disruptive solutions that will transform the future.” Startups: Great… but transform what, exactly? 😅 A successful innovation challenge doesn’t need to sound enormous. It needs to make the right problem clear enough to solve. That means: 🎯 A genuine business need, not innovation for innovation’s sake 🧭 Enough context and direction for startups to understand the opportunity 🤝 An internal team that is ready to engage 🚀 A credible path from application to pilot, partnership or procurement Because attracting 100 startups is not necessarily a success. Attracting the right five, and creating the conditions for one great collaboration, might be. In his latest article, our Head of Corporate Partnerships, Vittorio Sambuy, shares what separates a well-designed corporate innovation challenge from a very impressive-looking collection of pitch decks gathering digital dust. 👀 Challenge accepted? 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e7jxh3KT #CorporateInnovation #OpenInnovation #StartupCollaboration #InnovationStrategy #VentureClient

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲⏳ Three days. One ecosystem. Here's a taste of what's coming: 📅 22 July — 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘆 (Dolce La Hulpe · Brussels) Opening by Momchil Sabev, Director EISMEA. Reverse pitches by the 12 hosting corporates. 70+ startup pitches. 10+ expert workshops. EIC Tech Report 2026. 📅 23 July — 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 (Boom) 'The European AI Edge' session with Eoghan O'Neil, Senior AI Policy Officer European Commission. 1-on-1 matchmaking. Startup pitches. Corporate innovation & Investors sessions. The Ultimate Celebration of Open Innovation. 📅 24 July — 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 & 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗗𝗮𝘆 (Dolce La Hulpe · Brussels) Open Innovation Roundtables. Investor & Corporate Insights sessions hosted by EUVC. Evening at Tomorrowland. ~500 curated leaders. 12 hosting corporates. Pre-scheduled matchmaking. And Tomorrowland. Full programme → https://lnkd.in/e6f3DFQE 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻? Take your seat 👇 https://lnkd.in/eAWbT2uM #TheImpactCircle #LoveTomorrow #OpenInnovation

Yesterday, the Dealflow.eu team had the pleasure of joining Galp’s Innovation Day, part of their Startup the Future programme. 🚀 Over the past months, we worked closely with the Galp team to identify and select some of the most promising startups for their innovation challenges, connecting high-potential solutions with real corporate needs. The day brought together startups, corporates, investors, and ecosystem players for a strong conversation on what it takes to turn innovation into action. 💡 A highlight was the roundtable featuring Manuel Andrade and Ana Casaca from Galp, Maria Victoria Hernandez Valcarcel from the EIC - European Innovation Council , Teresa Fiúza from Banco Português de Fomento, Victor Pacheco from Holcim, and Alexandre Teixeira dos Santos from Startup Portugal. Their discussion touched on a key point we see every day at Dealflow.eu: startup-corporate collaboration works best when there is a clear challenge, the right partners, and a structured path to implementation. 🤝 A big thank you to Galp for the trust and collaboration throughout this programme. Excited to see what comes next for the selected startups. #StartupTheFuture #CorporateInnovation #StartupCollaboration #OpenInnovation #EnergyInnovation #EuropeanStartups #InnovationEcosystem

The startups have been selected. 𝟳𝟱 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝟭𝟮 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺. → 5 EIC Circles · 55 startups → Consumer Insight-to-Innovation Circle · 10 startups → Supply Chain & Logistics Circle · 10 startups Hosting corporates: The Coca-Cola Company · Procter & Gamble · AB InBev · Cargill · Puratos · Galp · imec · Tomorrowland · JX Advanced Metals Corporation · Daikin Industries, Ltd. · Ajinomoto Co., Inc. · Port of Antwerp-Bruges The cohort is set. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 · 𝟮𝟮–𝟮𝟰 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆, 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗺 & 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘀. Invitation-only · curated by Love Tomorrow and partners. Join us in the room 👇 https://lnkd.in/eAWbT2uM #TheImpactCircle #CorporateInnovation #Startups

The startups have been selected. 𝟳𝟱 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝟭𝟮 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺. → 5 EIC Circles · 55 startups → Consumer Insight-to-Innovation Circle · 10 startups → Supply Chain & Logistics Circle · 10 startups Hosting corporates: The Coca-Cola Company · Procter & Gamble · AB InBev · Cargill · Puratos · Galp · imec · Tomorrowland · JX Advanced Metals Corporation · Daikin Industries, Ltd. · Ajinomoto Co., Inc. · Port of Antwerp-Bruges The cohort is set. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 · 𝟮𝟮–𝟮𝟰 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆, 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗺 & 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘀. Invitation-only · curated by Love Tomorrow and partners. Join us in the room 👇 https://lnkd.in/eAWbT2uM #TheImpactCircle #CorporateInnovation #Startups