6 media companies, 13 startups, 64 conversations and a total of 36 matches - that is the result of the MatchMaking Days that took place in VondelCS from October 25-27. The MatchMaking Days were organized by MediaMatters, the program that connects leading Dutch media companies with international, innovative startups and scale-ups.
Value proposition
After more than two days of brainstorming, reflecting and refining the value propositions, Friday afternoon October 27 was showtime for the 13 startups from 11 different countries. A broad group of decision makers from Dutch media companies, including BNNVARA, Talpa, ANP and Persgroep, took note of the innovative products and services with interest. After the presentations, there was quite a line at the planning board to schedule a conversation with the most interesting startups.
Of the startups that came to Holland, Ivy goes home with the most matches. This Norwegian startup transforms your existing digital content into a beautiful mobile user experience. No matter which CMS or API you use. The British company Krzana, a tool for digital news gathering, also attracted a lot of attention. AVROTROS, among others, is interested in further talking with this startup.
International guests
In addition to Dutch media companies, there were also international guests, including Vincent Peyrègne, CEO of WAN-IFRA, the worldwide organisation of news publishers. He called the MatchMaking Days 'impressive, inspiring and purposeful'. A delegation from Finland was also present: the magazine publisher A-lehdet.
Impressive, inspiring, purposeful startups MatchMaking Days in Amsterdam - Vincent Peyrègne, CEO of WAN-IFRA on Twitter
(Photo: a match between Norwegian startup Ivy and De Persgroep)
Enthusiasm
MediaMatters is very pleased with the second edition of the MatchMaking Days. Rick van Dijk: "The enthusiasm of startups, the positive feedback from the participating media companies and the wonderful atmosphere of VondelCS made the MatchMaking Days a great success. We are now going to supervise the follow-up conversations between media companies and startups. Hopefully, this will lead to lots of deals and innovative projects."
For a photo impression of the MatchMaking Days, click here. You can see a video impression of the event below.