Europe’s “craziest” annual startup festival PIRATE Summit is coming to an end after more than a decade’s run. The last conference is scheduled to take place on June 27 to 29, 2023, in Cologne, Germany.
Manuel Koelman, CEO of the summit’s organiser PIRATE.global, tells Silicon Canals that the decision to end the event is related to his personal life. Koelman says event organisation is time intensive and reduces opportunities to be with his children.
Koelman initiated PIRATE Summit in 2010 with seven other colleagues. According to Koelman, they started PIRATE Summit because there was no “cool” tech event in the region at that time. But he acknowledged that the startup market is different now from back then.
He says the first summit was memorable, and participants encouraged them to hold future events. But over the years, other founders have dropped out of the programme to focus on their own ventures.
Pirate mentality
PIRATE Summit differs from most other tech conferences because it cultivates a “pirate mentality” among industry players.
“Be authentic. Be yourself,” says Koelman. “Don’t try to overhype what you do. And give, give, give. Just be generous. Try to go there with a paying-it-forward attitude. Giving first because that makes it [very pleasant] for everyone.”
The summit stresses that all attendees are equal. Speakers and regular participants contribute to the event. Koelman says it helps to create a “level playing field.”
Aspiring entrepreneurs get opportunities to talk with founders of successful ventures at the summit. These founders are encouraged to share their experiences to inspire growing startups. Koelman says he does not want the “good stuff” to only happen in closed circles.
Koelman brought up other house rules applied at PIRATE Summit that emphasise its casual nature. All participants are on a first-name basis throughout the event. Per its “ARRR” house rule, attendees can dress up how they want to at the conference.
Quirky traditions
The English-only conference gathers over 1,000 participants, hundreds of global startups, investors and company executives annually. Besides numerous masterclasses and discussion panels, participants can also enjoy various quirks the event has to offer.
Take the summit venue, for instance. PIRATE Summit is held in a repurposed factory called Odonien, which has hosted the event since its inauguration. Koelman says the venue is “awe-inspiring” with its unique displays. The owner, who is an artist, has placed old cars, a satellite, a helicopter as well as other items on the venue.
“It’s basically a scrapyard turned into an artist location,” says Koelman.
In addition, Cologne is the home to the yearly Cologne Carnival. People often compare PIRATE Summit to Burning Man, an annual event held in the U.S. to celebrate artistic expression due to a particular tradition inspired by the carnival.
Every year, PIRATE Summit participants burn certain items and reflect on their past — like what people do in Burning Man and Cologne Carnival. Koelman says it is one of the event’s highlights for him. The burning session will also be a major part of the last conference as the organiser chose #BurnToRelearn as the main theme.
Koelman puts a lot of pride in the plans he has for the final conference. One radical change is that participants can expect more women representation in this year’s event.
“So a lot of female entrepreneurs, we have a female founder programme where we give out free tickets to female founders,” says Koelman. “We did that this year. I also wanted to get a high rate in terms of speakers and a high rate in terms of female investors.”
On a high note
Despite the success, Koelman revealed that there is little to no financial return from the event because it is not the main concern for the organiser. The PIRATE.global founder admitted that he tried to find someone to take over his spot, but to no avail.
“It’s unsurprisingly [difficult] to hand something over and ask someone else,” says Koelman. “So I didn’t find a successor, and I wanted to turn it into a foundation, [but] that didn’t work out.”
Going forward, despite leaving the summit behind, Koelman plans to focus more on developing PIRATE.global. The company participates in several key sectors, including venture capital and human resources.
“I think it’s the best thing to end on a high note,” he says. “I have certain responsibilities that I’m not going to give up [and] the Pirate Group is more than just Pirate Summit. … I like to get my hands dirty, but I will most likely do something calmer than Pirate Summit.”
