Tornado-Insider. Are anyone going to the UpStart Europe event in Amsterdam this year? I was there two years ago in 2000 when the dotcom optimism was still riding high in Europe. The moods and sentiments are so much different now. It is perfectly acceptable today to ridicule for excess and naivete the same Internet entrepreneurs that were everybodys hero two years ago. Nevertheless, Europe
needs these entrepreneurs! And today the entrepreneurial spirit needs to be nurtured and promoted more than two years ago. So, now events like UpStart Europe are more important today and should be supported.

My problem with UpStart Europe is, however, that I don’t know whether it is going to take place and not. The coordinators – Tornado-Insider – is rumored to have gone into bankruptcy (Disclaimer: Readers should regards this information as only a rumor the truth of which the reader should verify himself before relying on it). The Tornado-Insider web-site does not mention any bankruptcy proceedings and suspension of payments.

Good people, however, have been leaving Tornado-Insider. I got this e-mail from a friend of mine – Torben Tackle-Jensen – who has had a key position at Tornado-Insider:

Since joining Tornado Insider in 1999, I have had the privilege to meet and work with many of you in the US and across Europe. Most of us at Tornado Insider will look back on our “Tornado years” as a very special era full of euphoric highs, challenging lows but most of all with a satisfying feeling of having contributed positively to the development of Europe’s entrepreneurial community.

I am now looking for new opportunities within the technology/media/investment sectors and would be grateful for any lead or contact. Also feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone you think may be interested in my availability. Please visit my website for more information and full CV: http://www.btinternet.com/~ttakle_jensen.