Tehnopol Startup Incubator Demo Day was successful

On Tuesday, March 2nd, the Startup Incubator Demo Day was held with the support of the NOCCA project, where representatives of 9 companies presented their companies to investors. Best pitches were awarded.

“Estonia ranks first in the world in terms of unicorns per population, but in order for a start-up to grow into a unicorn, the surrounding area must support it,” says Kadri Tammai, Head of Startup Incubator. She explains the changed program: “Last year, we changed our incubation program to cohort-based and we accept start-ups from a new cohort almost every quarter. Our six-month program allows you to reach a scalable business model, fix contracts and financial models, and reach the market with your product through marketing and sales. After six months, the program can be extended for another 3 to 6 months to include the investment needed for the next jump. The time we invest in the development of our companies distinguishes us from acceleration programs. We really help start-ups think things through and do it with the help of mentors. ”

The next growth program that started last autumn has thus been completed and dreams have developed into real companies. 9 companies that completed the incubator program pitched their ideas to investors and were judged by a four-member jury, which included Helis Lipping (Tera Ventures), Taavi Rõivas (Auve Tech) and Ivar Siimar (Trind VC).

Envelope (formerly Smart Parking) was declared the winner and will be granted to have access to the Latitude59 conference and Demo area, and the other TOP teams were Unsinkable Robotics and Up Catalyst. The prize for these teams will be access to Latitude59.

Feelings right after pitching

According to a representative of the company that appeared first, Applysis, the nerve was big before the performance, but everything went well. “I really liked the in-depth questions I was asked based on the presentation,” said Shalva Avanashvili.

“I had heard everywhere that the Startup Incubator is a great opportunity for start-ups, and really – the experience was great, well worth it!” Shalva added that he considered the presence of extremely diverse variation of mentors to be most valuable throughout the program and that their advice was invaluable. Kristi Roosimägi, one of the founders of HoloFitZone, also calls participation in the Incubation Program an invaluable experience. With co-founder Silja Kõiv, they also took part in the Innovatsioonipesade Ideetalgud a few weeks ago, which they won with the rest of the Abu Dhabi team! “If you can’t do it one way, you can do it the other way!” is Kristi convinced.

Traditionally, the Startup Incubator has recognized those start-ups that make a significant investment during the program. Start-up Aufort, which recently brought in 200,000 euros in funding got a traditional golden hockey stick for it. The company’s CEO Bert-Ken Raudberg: “We are pleased to continue cooperating with Tehnopol for the next six months. Everything has happened very quickly and we are glad that there has been great interest in us. Time will tell what happens next! ”

The event was partly held thanks to the NOCCA project, which supports the creation of sustainable and resource-efficient startups from the Central Baltic region. The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (Central Baltic Interreg Program 2014-2020).