Last week we attended Startup Grind, a two day, action packed conference, supporting and inspiring startups from across the world. The event was attended by investors, potential partners and a host of forward-thinking startups, and was the perfect platform for us to launch the new Zinc brand (more on this in our next post).

In addition to a full day of meetings to discuss various collaborations and opportunities, Luke took to the main stage to deliver Zinc’s one minute pitch, and was also chosen as one of only five startups to speak on the Startup Grind Startup Court stage, where Luke participated in a Q&A with the judges.

CEO, Luke Shipley pitching on the main stage to 400+ attendees

Our most exciting news to share from the event is that Zinc has been announced as one of 20 companies to be inducted into the 2018 Class of Startups (a round of applause please).

An elite selection of pre-seed and seed stage companies were hand picked from over 100 cities in Europe, Asia and Africa and Zinc was considered amongst several thousand startups. Of these, 50 were elected to represent the Startup Grind community across 80 countries. From those, the top 20 (including us), have been inducted into the Europe Startup Program for 2018. We are delighted at this early recognition and confidence in our business.

Zinc was chosen as a Top 5 startup to speak on the Startup Grind Startup Court stage.

Derek Andersen, Founder and CEO of Startup Grind, had some kind words to share: “Our class of startups have incredible talent, potential, disruptive technology, and opportunistic markets. In working with them, our goal is to help get these startups to that next level of innovation, strategic intent and growth.”

Through the program we’ll have access to mentors, investors, and a host of other resources within the Startup Grind network. As we continue to push forward in developing a truly innovative product, we will be taking full advantage of the opportunities the Startup Grind community can bring.

CTO Peter Brooke and CEO Luke Shipley donning the new Zinc swag

After such a productive couple of days at the conference, which was a great platform to officially launch our new brand, we’ve come away with more connections and even more ideas. We look forward to sharing them with you over the coming months. Stay tuned.