#Eventtip
With RISE in STARTUPLAND, Cologne will once again become the scaleup capital of NRW. From March 16th to 22nd – around our third STARTUPLAND (March 18th) – dozens of startup, VC and entrepreneurship events will take place again.
From March 16th to 22nd, 2026, Cologne will be transformed with the RISE in STARTUPLAND back to the scaleup capital of NRW. For a whole week, everything revolves around startups that have already successfully completed the initial growth phase and now want to scale further.
RISE in STARTUPLAND is an annual week of events centered around our STARTUPLAND Conference (March 18th), which is organized jointly by the various actors in the Cologne startup ecosystem. The format is aimed at scaleups, investors, corporates and everyone who actively promotes the growth of innovative business models.
When startups grow up: Innovation & scaling in focus
A focus of RISE is technology, scaling and future topics for growing companies. The target group are tech-oriented startups and scale-ups that want to tackle concrete growth hurdles – with AI coding hackathons, exit strategies and international specialists.
RISE in STARTUPLAND: These events advance your scale-up
48 hours of AI power: From code to prototype (March 20 – 22, 48 hours)
STARTPLATZ is hosting the technology event: “Develop AI-supported products in 48 hours: Apply state-of-the-art AI engineering patterns (Vibe/Agentic Coding, n8n) with real data and transform them into production-ready prototypes.” The event promises “solid results that you can build on immediately.” Cost: 90 euros plus VAT.
Exit preparation without any nonsense (March 19, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
YPOG brings together “ambitious founders and CxOs who are ready to move from hustle mode to value mode.” Topics include “tax stories that increase company values instead of jeopardizing deals, governance and compliance structures that investors trust”. The promise: “No theory. No nonsense. Only what really counts.”
Attracting international talent in a legally secure manner (March 19, 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
The IHK Cologne deals with an often overlooked scale-up topic: “How can selected foreign skilled workers, trainees or experienced employees enter Germany in a legally secure manner?” Experts from the Central Office for Skilled Immigration NRW, the Cologne Employment Agency and the Cologne Immigration Office provide practical answers.
Register now and get started
Click here for free registrations for Smart Funding, Angel Investing and Cash & Kölsch
STARTUPLAND: one day, unlimited opportunities
+++ Our third STARTUPLAND Conference will take place on March 18th at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne. A fascinating journey into the startup scene awaits you again – with lectures from successful founders, educational interviews and pitches that inspire. More about STARTUPLAND
Startup jobs: Looking for a new challenge? In ours Job exchange You will find job advertisements from startups and companies.
Photo (above): STARTUPLAND