{"id":169094,"date":"2024-12-16T16:11:56","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T14:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/?p=169094"},"modified":"2024-12-19T10:24:35","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T08:24:35","slug":"startup-story-claricy-x-tehnopol-startup-incubator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/startup-story-claricy-x-tehnopol-startup-incubator\/","title":{"rendered":"Startup story: Claricy X Tehnopol Startup Incubator"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tehnopol Startup Incubator organizes several specialized accelerators throughout the year to support early-stage companies and help them build connections and enter the market. One of these is the AI accelerator, which is for startups developing AI-based solutions. One of the participants in this accelerator was the startup Claricy. Let\u2019s get to know them better!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claricy<\/a> develops behavioural analysis and educational technology called IRIS-X. This technology enables people to understand and improve their financial behaviour through psychological analysis and personalized behavioural financial advice. Since April, the company\u2019s team has participated in a total of four business accelerators and started applied research in collaboration with psychology experts from Tallinn University \u2013 all to ensure that the technology, built on a delicate topic, is based on real needs and scientifically proven methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johanna Stina Haar<\/strong>, CEO and founder of Claricy, is the visionary behind the idea. With a Bachelor\u2019s degree in accounting and a Master\u2019s degree in IT management, she has gained practical experience in both fields, which she has applied to entrepreneurship for nearly three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Johanna Stina, the founders of IRIS-X include her brothers, Mikk Kalma<\/strong> and Kristjan Kalma<\/strong>. Mikk has nearly 20 years of experience in IT management, which has given him a strong foundation in creating IT infrastructures and ensuring security. His critical thinking provides the team with a grounded perspective. Kristjan has worked as a digital product manager for almost nine years, and his skills in time management and leading development teams ensure a clear focus and alignment of technologies with the business vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johanna Stina introduced the startup and their plans for the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you come up with the idea to\u00a0create\u00a0a startup?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince all the founders have a technical background, it\u2019s in our nature to use technology to solve problems. We\u2019ve spent evenings brainstorming different business ideas and discussing services that have fallen behind with outdated technology. Due to working in the same field, helping, supporting, mentoring, and exchanging ideas with each other has been part of our daily communication on Discord for many years \u2013 starting a joint company was only a matter of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What have been the biggest challenges\/failures and the biggest wins so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe biggest challenge has been securing funding for the research. Our first application was met with a negative response, but thanks to strong motivation and determination (or perhaps stubbornness), it eventually resulted in a positive outcome. This turned our greatest challenge into our greatest victory. In addition to securing research funding, another significant victory has been participating in the Tehnopol AI accelerator, as it truly sped us up from 10 km\/h to 100 km\/h. After participating in the AI accelerator, both the company and its team have undergone remarkable development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What sets your startup apart from competitors?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe founding members of IRIS-X are people who trust each other the most as business partners. We know each other\u2019s strengths and personalities inside and out, which is why our ability to work together has already proven itself\u00a0(and a\u00a0good sense of humour helps us overcome all obstacles).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, the idea behind IRIS-X is built on a solid foundation of research. We have an excellent collaboration with Tallinn University, supported by Ingrid Hindrikson from the university\u2019s side, and psychologists Aleksander Pulver and Kadi Liik, who are actively working on the research. Their contributions to the solution we are creating are of immense value. You can read more about the ongoing research here<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why\u00a0did you choose\u00a0Tehnopol Startup Incubator?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince we use AI solutions in our technology, applying to the Startup Incubator\u2019s AI accelerator was a logical step. We knew the accelerator was specifically focused on the development of AI solutions, and since the field is still so new, we have a lot to learn from it. The AI accelerator also supported us with equity-free funding \u2013 every euro is valuable for an early-stage startup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where do you see your startup in 1 year? And where in 5 years?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn one year, it\u2019s \u201cgame on\u201d \u2013 by that time, we will have hundreds of initial test users who will help us gather objective feedback for further service development. Additionally, by then, our first research study will be completed, we will have secured funding, will continue to invest in research and development, and we will have expanded the team by at least 10 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In five years, we will already be on the international market. By that time, we will have irreversibly changed the world of financial advice, becoming the leading providers of behavioral finance solutions in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is the next\u00a0(Estonian)\u00a0unicorn?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to say who might get ahead of us. We definitely see potential in solutions for the medical field \u2013 since the public sector in Estonia is quite receptive to new IT solutions, piloting medical solutions in this region is likely easier. Additionally, the competition between the public and private sectors in this field seems smaller, but the demand for IT solutions remains high.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which books\/podcasts\/publications and influencers in your field do you follow and would recommend to other aspiring entrepreneurs?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHuberman Lab; Lex Fridman Podcast; the book \u201eThe Billion Dollar Secret\u201c and Diary of CEO.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d get a chance to meet with Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, what would you ask them?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirst, I would conduct user interviews with all the aforementioned individuals to identify potential collaboration opportunities and understand what financial problems they might be facing. Then, I would also seek funding\u00a0from them\u00a0to develop\u00a0IRIS-X.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Next, we are inviting startups to apply for the Startup accelerator<\/a><\/strong>. It\u2019s often said that if you go alone, you\u2019ll get there faster, but if you go together, you\u2019ll go further. The Tehnopol Startup Incubator accelerator supports your tech startup on its journey to becoming investment-ready. We offer the best and most high-quality program in the region, as well as expert advice for scaling your startup. 10 carefully selected companies will join the 6-month accelerator. Read more here<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Tehnopol Startup Incubator organizes several specialized accelerators throughout the year to support early-stage companies and help them build connections and enter the market. One of these is the AI accelerator, which is for startups developing AI-based solutions. One of the participants in this accelerator was the startup Claricy. Let\u2019s get to know them better! […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":169080,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[182,183,200],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startup-incubator","category-smart-technologies","category-artificial-intelligence"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169094"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169187,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169094\/revisions\/169187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}