Brussels seems to be a city with plenty of energy bubbling just below the surface. This was most clear when our leisurely walk from the grand and impressive Leopold Park (right by the European Parliament) to Wednesday’s meet up at BeCentral by Central Station was interrupted by an afternoon rave taking place in Brussels Park.

A similar energy could be found bubbling away within the Belgium lawtech scene. On the surface, Belgium appears to have a greener law tech scene than our previous destinations – a perception affirmed by many of the people we spoke to and interviewed. Other giveaways included the relative lack of women founders we met (synonymous with early tech markets, and, somewhat sadly, much of the #LGRoadTrip), and the fact that our event co-hosts, Brussels Law Tech, had only been going for 6 months.

And yet, there were reasons for excitement. Firstly, we were impressed by the quality and turn out of the event (many were running successful fully-bootstrapped start ups, and 30-odd attendees is pretty good considering there had been a terrorist incident next door just the day before). Secondly, the all-important regulatory framework appears favourable to the startups we met. And thirdly, with the EU Summit taking place while we were there (Betty was somewhat dwarfed by surrounding TV vans), and 3 languages to deal with as standard, startups in Belgium seem to have international thinking in their DNA.

Our 8 interviews and 4 start up pitches were as impressive as ever – thanks to Julian and Aurore for judging, and congratulations to all the startups who pitched for earning their travel grants to the Legal Geek Conference on October 17th.

Now to find some bubbles of our own – stay tuned with #lgroadtrip, and see you in Paris/London!