Venture Day Minsk is premier Eastern European Conference focused on startups and technology
Speakers 2018
Keynote speakers

Peter Vesterbacka
Co-founder @Lightneer
Peter Vesterbacka
Co-founder @Lightneer
Peter Vesterbacka, cofounder at Lightneer, and ex-Rovio marketing guru. Peter Vesterbacka is the Mighty Eagle of Angry Birds, the founder of Slush and MobileMonday.
Peter Vesterbacka
Co-founder @Lightneer

Mike Butcher
Editor At Large @ TechCrunch
How to Scale Your Startup Internationally
Mike Butcher
Editor At Large @ TechCrunch
Mike Butcher is Editor At Large of TechCrunch, the biggest breaking news site about the world’s hottest tech companies. Mike has been named one of the most influential people in technology in surveys by The Daily Telegraph, GfK NOP, The Independent, Wired
Mike Butcher
Editor At Large @ TechCrunch
“I’m excited to be at #VentureDayMinsk in, yeah, Minsk! A tonne of talent here, (& the home of MSQRD, acquired by Facebook)”
Speakers 2019

Tania Marinich
Co-founder & CEO @ BELBIZ Group of Companies
Tania Marinich
Co-founder & CEO @ BELBIZ Group of Companies
Prior to Belbiz Tania spent 8 years with the International Finance Corporation leading various projects for private sector development within IFC advisory activities. Tania received her International Executive MBA degree from IE Business School in Madrid
Tania Marinich
Co-founder & CEO @ BELBIZ Group of Companies

Firat Isbecer
Co-founder & CEO @Commencis
Firat Isbecer
Co-founder & CEO @Commencis
Entrepreneur&seed investor. He co-founded Pozitron, one of Europe’s fastest growing mobile software company focused on digital banking, which was acquired by London-based fintech star Monitise plc in 2014. Firat joined Monitise as the MEA Managing Director, and after this company was acquired by financial services tech giant Fiserv Inc, he left Monitise and founded Commencis to help leading brands grow and scale in digital. Isbecer is also an active seed investor with 40+ seed investments in 11 different countries and member of Galata Business Angels, Turkey’s first angel investor group. He was selected into Fortune Turkey’s 40 under 40 list numerous times.
Firat Isbecer
Co-founder & CEO @Commencis

Max Gurvits
Director for CEE, CIS, and MENA @Cross Border Angels
Max Gurvits
Director for CEE, CIS, and MENA @Cross Border Angels
A lawyer turned entrepreneur and serial investor. Max co-founded and exited the first online legal service company in the Netherlands, followed by a brief stint as an investment banker. He was on the founding team of Eleven Startup Accelerator in Sofia, the largest acceleration program and seed fund in the Balkans region, and later of an angel investment syndicate called Teres Angels. Max also co-founded CCC Startups, a global network focused on supporting ecosystem-building across Eastern Europe and Middle East.
Nowadays, Max turned to helping teams avoid the mistakes he made before. At Cross Border Angels he bring top regional companies in touch with angel investors from all across the world.
Max Gurvits
Director for CEE, CIS, and MENA @Cross Border Angels

Ehud Levy
General Partner @Canaan Partners Israel
Ehud Levy
General Partner @Canaan Partners Israel
Entrepreneur, investor and operator, established a leadership position in the Israeli mobile sector market.
Prior to co-founding Canaan Partners Israel, an early-stage venture capital firm, Ehud spent seven years as a Managing Partner at Vertex Venture Capital. He also co-founded Ki-Bi Mobile Technologies, mobile content company (acquired by Emblaze), and served as COO and CFO of Telegate, telecommunications company (acquired by Terayon (TERN)). Prior to founding Ki-Bi, Ehud was a director and partner at STI Ventures, a venture capital firm.
Until 2007, Ehud is private equity investor and investment banker in New York and Tel Aviv, serving on the boards of directors of several technology companies. Among his successful investments, Ehud identified Waze as a bright star from the start, invested the company and served on its board of directors until acquisition by Google 1,3$ B.
Ehud Levy
General Partner @Canaan Partners Israel

Robert Neivert
Venture Partner @500 Startups
Robert Neivert
Venture Partner @500 Startups
Ex-executive for startups having founded or worked at eight companies with four exits and four companies still operating. Raised $6+ million in funding as CEO (Fididel and HighlightCam) from Intel Capital, NTT DOCOMO, Quest Venture Partners, K9 Ventures and others, was CEO and board member of two venture-funded startups. Moreover, Robert held the position of Executive in Residence at Quest Venture Partners. Currently, he is a Venture Partner at 500Startups running the blockchain program, a mentor/advisor for Cardinal Ventures, Stanford iFarm, and Stanford’s Treehacks program as well as an executive advisor for over 15 funded startups with a broad domain of expertise in products, marketing and operations.
Robert Neivert
Venture Partner @500 Startups
Investors 2018

Ryan Wang
Founding Partner at Outpost Capital
Ryan Wang
Founding Partner at Outpost Capital
Ryan Wang
Founding Partner at Outpost Capital

Maria Barsuk
EBRD Venture Capital
Maria Barsuk
EBRD Venture Capital
Maria Barsuk
EBRD Venture Capital

Fabian Sepulveda
Managing Partner at The Madeleine Group Ab, & Partner at Courage Ventures Funds
Fabian Sepulveda
Managing Partner at The Madeleine Group Ab, & Partner at Courage Ventures Funds
Fabian Sepulveda
Managing Partner at The Madeleine Group Ab, & Partner at Courage Ventures Funds

Can Saracoglu
Founding Partner String Ventures
Can Saracoglu
Founding Partner String Ventures
Can Saracoglu
Founding Partner String Ventures

Yury Melnichek
Founding Investor @ BulbaVentures
Yury Melnichek
Founding Investor @ BulbaVentures
Yury Melnichek
Founding Investor @ BulbaVentures

Anton Vasiliev
Chief Investment Officer at RBC, Deputy Director аt InfraFund
Anton Vasiliev
Chief Investment Officer at RBC, Deputy Director аt InfraFund
Anton Vasiliev
Chief Investment Officer at RBC, Deputy Director аt InfraFund

Alexei Kanunnikov
Chief of investment direction at InfraFund
Alexei Kanunnikov
Chief of investment direction at InfraFund
Alexei Kanunnikov
Chief of investment direction at InfraFund

Volodymyr Nesterenko
Managing Partner at Digital Future
Volodymyr Nesterenko
Managing Partner at Digital Future
Volodymyr Nesterenko
Managing Partner at Digital Future

Oleksii Vitchenko
Founder at Digital Future
Oleksii Vitchenko
Founder at Digital Future
Oleksii Vitchenko
Founder at Digital Future

Cyril Golub
CEO, co-founder at Aheadworks
Cyril Golub
CEO, co-founder at Aheadworks
Founding member at Belarusian Business Angels Network
Founding member at LitBAN
Cyril Golub
CEO, co-founder at Aheadworks

Zoltan Szalas
Venture Partner at Starta Accelerator and Co-Founder & CMO at Croissant
Zoltan Szalas
Venture Partner at Starta Accelerator and Co-Founder & CMO at Croissant
Proven entrepreneur and product marketer with extensive experience in technology, marketing, and strategic partnerships. He is the Co-Founder & CMO of Croissant, a the world’s leading digital coworking pass that is in over 20 cities with over 10,000+ customers worldwide. He is also an avid crypto investor and the Founder of Zaruti, a savings account for cryptocurrencies. Recently joined Starta Accelerator as Venture Partner.
Zoltan Szalas
Venture Partner at Starta Accelerator and Co-Founder & CMO at Croissant

Sergey Vasilev
Co-Founder, Managing Partner at Starta Ventures
Sergey Vasilev
Co-Founder, Managing Partner at Starta Ventures
Sergey Vasilev
Co-Founder, Managing Partner at Starta Ventures

Valery Astrinski
BBAN
Valery Astrinski
BBAN
Valery Astrinski
BBAN

Arvydas Bložė
Investment Manager, Practica Capital
Arvydas Bložė
Investment Manager, Practica Capital
Practica Capital: 24m EUR under management, raising 40m EUR VC fund.
Arvydas stage focus: pre-seed, seed, tech, incubation & acceleration.
Arvydas Bložė
Investment Manager, Practica Capital

Donatas Keras
Founding partner, Practica Capital
Donatas Keras
Founding partner, Practica Capital
Practica Capital: 24m EUR under management, raising 40m EUR VC fund.
Donatas stage focus: seed, early stage, tech
Donatas Keras
Founding partner, Practica Capital
Startup Competition 2019
Pitch contest for global-minded startups
Take a stab at Venture Day main scene, present your project in front of a panel of international investors, entrepreneurs, and experts and win mind-blowing prizes!
Requirement for startups: global product with a traction by the competition date and looking for investments more than 0.5mln
Application deadline is March,18!
Startup Fair
Stand out from the crowd and showcase your startup!
Startup Fair is the meeting place of most promising projects, tech talents, potential customers and international investors.
Exhibit your startup with individual booth to get exposure and create buzz around your brand!
Wanna be in? Email our community manager Olga at o@imaguru.by or apply here
20% off for participation until March, 1!
Venture Day Minsk is premier Eastern European Conference focused on startups and technology
Speakers 2015-18

Robert Riley
U.S. Charge d'affaires to Belarus
Robert Riley
U.S. Charge d'affaires to Belarus
Robert Riley
U.S. Charge d'affaires to Belarus

Kai Mykkänen
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland
Kai Mykkänen
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland
Kai Mykkänen
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland

Jamy T. Nigri
Co-founder @BDXcoin.com
Jamy T. Nigri
Co-founder @BDXcoin.com
Cofounder BDXcoin.com. BDXcoin.com is a platform run by one of the Europe’s leading brokers BDSwiss with a kind of gamification which has everything to conduct pre ICO and ICO.
Jamy T. Nigri
Co-founder @BDXcoin.com

Patrick Halford
Nordic Robotics and Drone Ecosystem Director @ IBM
Patrick Halford
Nordic Robotics and Drone Ecosystem Director @ IBM
Having worked at IBM for over 15 years, Patrick Halford is a frequent speaker widely experienced in the ecosystems approach of disruptive technologies and in the business applications of these technologies. With a special focus on robotics, drone technology and healthcare ecosystem advancements, Patrick is a true tech advocate, helping the world solve complex challenges across industries. A guy literally bringing the future to our doorsteps.
In his talk Patrick will help you picture the world we’re moving towards thanks to all new technologies out there, and teach you how global ecosystems can come in handy. He will also let you in on some concrete tools he uses in actual client work.
Patrick Halford
Nordic Robotics and Drone Ecosystem Director @ IBM

Eugene Nevgen
CEO & Co-Founder @ MSQRD
Eugene Nevgen
CEO & Co-Founder @ MSQRD
Eugene Nevgen
CEO & Co-Founder @ MSQRD

Arkadiy Dobkin
Founder & CEO @ EPAM
Arkadiy Dobkin
Founder & CEO @ EPAM
After working for several years as a programmer he started his first private software company. In 1991, after immigrating to the United States, he held technical and leadership positions in big companies before focusing on developing EPAM.
Arkadiy Dobkin
Founder & CEO @ EPAM

Sergey Gonchar
CTO & Co-Founder @ MSQRD
Sergey Gonchar
CTO & Co-Founder @ MSQRD
Sergey Gonchar
CTO & Co-Founder @ MSQRD

Ken Singer
Head of entrepreneurship and tech center @ UC Berkeley
Ken Singer
Head of entrepreneurship and tech center @ UC Berkeley
Ken is a serial entrepreneur, technology executive, university lecturer, and director/advisor to numerous startups in the US and Europe. A 14-year veteran of the mobile industry, Ken created solutions spanning all forms of mobile technology and has founded or co-founded five companies in the mobility space. Ken was the co-founder and CEO of AppCentral, the first enterprise app store to let companies distribute mobile applications to their employees’ iPhones, iPads and Android devices. Ken successfully led the company through difficult market conditions and several rounds of venture financing.
Ken Singer
Head of entrepreneurship and tech center @ UC Berkeley

Kiryl Chykeyuk
Co-founder @ Kino-mo
Kiryl Chykeyuk
Co-founder @ Kino-mo
Kiryl Chykeyuk
Co-founder @ Kino-mo

Yury Melnichek
Founding Investor @ BulbaVentures
Yury Melnichek
Founding Investor @ BulbaVentures
Yuri Melnicek is a Belarusian IT entrepreneur, a partner of Bulba Ventures. The founder of MAPS.ME (sold to Mail.Ru Group in November 2014) and AIMATTER (sold to Google in August 2017).
Yury Melnichek
Founding Investor @ BulbaVentures

Rupert March
Developer and Platform Experience Director for the CEE region @ Microsoft
Rupert March
Developer and Platform Experience Director for the CEE region @ Microsoft
Started his IT career as a Cobol developer, working for 3M UK. He moved into sales with 3M and progressed into the specialist datacomms industry. In 2002, he progressed to Microsoft CEE HQ as the regional partner lead. Currently Rupert March is the Developer and Platform Evangelism Director for the Multi Country Region and also manages the regions Business Resource Group.
Rupert March
Developer and Platform Experience Director for the CEE region @ Microsoft

Al King
Global Brand Director @ WARGAMING.NET
Al King
Global Brand Director @ WARGAMING.NET
International marketing professional with extensive experience in games, online and home entertainment marketplaces gained in market leading organisations. Fully rounded Marketeer with knowledge of all areas of the discipline including digital. Have launched multiple chart topping titles in numerous markets. Very professional attitude. Natural and charismatic leader. Award winning innovator. MBA. BAFTA member. Outstanding contacts in entertainment, media & technology sectors. Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Al King
Global Brand Director @ WARGAMING.NET

Gary Stewart
Director @ Wayra UK
Gary Stewart
Director @ Wayra UK
Director of Wayra UK (cohorts of 20 for-profit businesses in which Telefónica invests as a minority shareholder) and Wayra UnLtd. (cohorts of 10 social ventures in which Telefónica and the British Cabinet Office invest as minority shareholders)
* Former director of Wayra Spain, overseeing academies in both Barcelona and Madrid. Helped Spanish start-ups to raise more than $13 million (and counting) over the last 18 months.
* Redesigned and relaunched IE Business School’s accelerator for MBA students, and taught entrepreneurial management courses to MBAs.
* Proactive entrepreneur. Co-founder of nuroa.com, an Internet start-up based in Barcelona, Spain that has raised over €4 million in financing.
* Results oriented, highly creative, out-of-the-box strategic thinker with strong orientation toward understanding customer behaviors.
* Yale-trained lawyer with first-class experience in top global law firms. Specialized in mergers and acquisitions and securities law.
Gary Stewart
Director @ Wayra UK

Can Saracoglu
Founding Partner @String Ventures
Can Saracoglu
Founding Partner @String Ventures
Serial entrepreneur with three exits — two as a co-founder and one as a VC.
Can co-founded Litespell, a next generation interactive marketing communications agency with full-service capabilities.
He’s the founding partner of String Ventures, a pre-seed/seed VC fund, which invests in disruptive startups in Silicon Valley and a region that stretches from Berlin to Moscow — he’s running String Ventures’ Istanbul Office.
Can Saracoglu
Founding Partner @String Ventures

Maria Barsuk
EBRD Venture Capital
Maria Barsuk
EBRD Venture Capital
Maria is an Investor at EBRD Venture Capital team, a €100 million dedicated fund which invests in early and growth stage technology companies in Central and Eastern Europe, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East and Northern Africa. Here she mainly works on origination of investments, deal execution and portfolio management. Previously Maria was a CEO of one of the most successful start-ups in Ukraine and fifth largest microstock agency in the world – Depositphotos, Inc. headquartered in New York and the EBRD portfolio company. Maria’s other experiences include consulting with PWC, working in Private Equity as well as holding a number of CFO positions in telecom and tech companies. Maria completed Executive MBA program at London Business School.
Maria Barsuk
EBRD Venture Capital

Fabian Sepulveda
Managing Partner at The Madeleine Group Ab, & Partner at Courage Ventures Funds
Fabian Sepulveda
Managing Partner at The Madeleine Group Ab, & Partner at Courage Ventures Funds
Fabian has 20+ years of working experience in Engineering, Management Consulting and Investment Banking with the likes of Lucent Technologies, A.T. Kearney and JP Morgan.
For the past ten years, he has been actively involved in Finland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem as an entrepreneur, startup coach, Lean Launchpad® trainer, Business Angel and Venture Capitalist. Fabian also helps established organizations adopt Lean Startup practices and Customer Development and teaches numerous venture related courses at Aalto Executive Education, and other universities. He has co-founded three companies: eyescubed, (automotive technology); Courage Ventures Consulting (Entrepreneurial Training); and most recently, he co-founded Courage Ventures Funds, a Venture Capital firm investing in Health, Education, and Environment verticals.
Fabian has a BSc in Electrical Engineering, an MSc. in Finance and a PhD in International Business (Entrepreneurship).
Fabian Sepulveda
Managing Partner at The Madeleine Group Ab, & Partner at Courage Ventures Funds

Hrish Lotlikar
Co-Founder & CBDO @The Rogue Initiative, Co-Founder @SuperWorld
Hrish Lotlikar
Co-Founder & CBDO @The Rogue Initiative, Co-Founder @SuperWorld
Hrish Lotlikar
Co-Founder & CBDO @The Rogue Initiative, Co-Founder @SuperWorld

Michael Rumiancaŭ
CEO and Co-Founder @FriendlyData, Inc.
Michael Rumiancaŭ
CEO and Co-Founder @FriendlyData, Inc.
Michael Rumiancaŭ
CEO and Co-Founder @FriendlyData, Inc.

Vasilyi Shinkorenko
Co-Founder & CEO @Storyline
Vasilyi Shinkorenko
Co-Founder & CEO @Storyline
Vasilyi Shinkorenko
Co-Founder & CEO @Storyline

Sander Gansen
Chairman of the Board at Robotex
Generating the next 50000 robotics startups by bringing 4-year-olds to tech events
Sander Gansen
Chairman of the Board at Robotex
Sander Gansen
Chairman of the Board at Robotex

Ryan Wang
Founding Partner at Outpost Capital
Ryan Wang
Founding Partner at Outpost Capital
Ryan Wang, founding partner of Outpost, an early stage VC fund based in SF and Beijing focusing on VR and Blockchain investments. They invested into unicorn Jingtum and MOAC, a top 30 tokens by marketcap. Please book your ticket for Venture Day Minsk to secure discussion about Blockchain 3.0.What’s after ethereum, what’s driving the next wave and what’s the real-world adoption of the blockchain technology.
Ryan Wang
Founding Partner at Outpost Capital

Merilin Lukk
Startup Visa Project Manager at Startup Estonia
Baltic Startup Ecosystem Overview
Merilin Lukk
Startup Visa Project Manager at Startup Estonia
Merilin Lukk
Startup Visa Project Manager at Startup Estonia

Olga Balakina
Former Chief Global Operations at Slush
Olga Balakina
Former Chief Global Operations at Slush
Changing entrepreneurial culture Globally.
Olga Balakina
Former Chief Global Operations at Slush

Dennis Uitz
BDXcoin Co-Founder | Crypto Investor
Alternative Business Financing through ICO and in Difference to IPO
Dennis Uitz
BDXcoin Co-Founder | Crypto Investor
Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a proven track record. Experienced Private Equity investor with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. Skilled in Negotiation, Business Planning, Sales, Entrepreneurship, and Venture Capital. Strong business development professional, graduated from LSE.
Dennis Uitz
BDXcoin Co-Founder | Crypto Investor

Zoltan Szalas
Venture Partner at Starta Accelerator and Co-Founder & CMO at Croissant
Zoltan Szalas
Venture Partner at Starta Accelerator and Co-Founder & CMO at Croissant
Proven entrepreneur and product marketer with extensive experience in technology, marketing, and strategic partnerships. He is the Co-Founder & CMO of Croissant, a the world’s leading digital coworking pass that is in over 20 cities with over 10,000+ customers worldwide. He is also an avid crypto investor and the Founder of Zaruti, a savings account for cryptocurrencies. Recently joined Starta Accelerator as Venture Partner.
Zoltan Szalas
Venture Partner at Starta Accelerator and Co-Founder & CMO at Croissant

Viktoryia Mikhnevich
Senior Associate, Corporate and M&A at Sorainen
Viktoryia Mikhnevich
Senior Associate, Corporate and M&A at Sorainen
Viktoryia is advising on acquisitions in Belarus’ evolving IT sector, providing legal support from the stage of attracting the investor till the exit. She has an extensive experience in cross-border transactions and creation of joint ventures in Belarus, mostly specializing in merger clearance of the transactions, legal due diligence of the targets, and advising on transactional matters, including elaboration of the deal structure and preparation of the underlying documentation.
Recognised in Corporate and M&A categories by the Legal 500 and IFLR 1000 (respected directories analysing the capabilities of law firms across the world).
Viktoryia Mikhnevich
Senior Associate, Corporate and M&A at Sorainen

Olga Barreto Goncalves
Chief Start-Up Instigator
Baltic Startup Ecosystem Overview
Olga Barreto Goncalves
Chief Start-Up Instigator
8 years of international experience in dynamic working environment with diverse clientele from both corporate and development sector. Lived, studied and worked in 5 countries. Entrepreneurial impact-oriented mindset, developed sense of responsibility and high level of dedication.
Expertise: Start-ups, Entrepreneurship and Inclusive Businesses, CSR and Sustainable Operations, Corporate Finance, Financial Modelling and Analysis, Risk Evaluation and Management, Corporate Strategy,
Project Coordination and Management, Planning and Budgeting, Event Management
Olga Barreto Goncalves
Chief Start-Up Instigator
Partnership
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