Startup Europe Awards

Tag: SEUA17

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StartUp Europe Awards winners will be honored in the Startup Europe Summit 2018 in Sofia

Ceremony Startup Europe Awards
  • The awards ceremony chaired by the Commissioner Mariya Gabriel will be held in Sofia between 14 and 15 November 2018.
  • 134 startups from 16 countries opt to be recognized as the best in any of the 18 StartUp Europe Awards categories.
  • Finnova’s StartUp Europe Accelerator will have a stand and will provide the startups with a workshop on accessing 2.5 million euros from Horizon2020.
  • The event will gather more than 400 leaders from the European entrepreneurial ecosystem ranging from investors, CEOs, accelerators to European authorities and technological journalists.

 

 

Brussels, 18 October 2018. StartUp Europe Awards, an initiative of the European Commission and the Finnova Foundation, will give recognition to the European winners in the Startup Europe Summit 2018 framework, in a ceremony chaired by the European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel, and the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boiko Borísov.

Moreover, it will count with the presence of prominent figures in the entrepreneurial world such as Simon Schaefer, Factory founder and CEO, president of Startup Portugal and angel investor in Europe; and Anja Monrad, Dell EMC CEE vice-president and general manager, and Chair of the Commission’s Governing Board of the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition.

Startup Europe Summit in its annual event will address technological leadership, financing of European ecosystems (more than 10 billion euros in the pipeline) and business growth. During November 15, the founding startup leaders, technological leaders and authorities will share knowledge and perspective of the requirement for building successful startups.

Finnova, as a Startup Europe partner, and through its StartUp Europe Accelerator programme, will provide startups with information on the funding opportunities offered by Europe (up to 2.5 million euros), European communication and networking in a workshop, and will also have a stand where it will provide tailor-made information.

“Many startups do not know all that Europe can offer them and it is our mission from StartUp Europe Accelerator to guide them to request up to 100 billion euros that the European Commission will distribute in the next Horizon Europe period only for innovation” says Juanma Revuelta, director of Finnova.

The 17 Spanish startups opting to be recognized as the best in Europe in one of the 18 StartUp Europe Awards categories are: Kowat, Solatom, Broomx Technologies, Tyris Software, Zapiens, Gamco, Plactherm, Wide Eyes, Bnext, Uncovercity, Miracoil, WeTech, Welegal, Azahar Management, Eyesynth, Fuvex, and HomySpace.

StartUp Europe Awards of the European Commission and Finnova is an open innovation methodology that encourages collaboration between the public sector and businesses in the promotion of innovative initiatives. Its aim is to help create alliances that allow entities and support programmes for entrepreneurs to be added to local partners and to be a communication tool for society.

The StartUp Europe Awards ceremony will be divided in two sessions: one, on 14 November during the welcome dinner and the second on 15 November during Startup Europe Summit. On the day of the Summit the startups will have a stand to promote themselves and approach customers and potential investors. In addition, PropTech House will present the call Proptech StartUp Europe Awards for startups that offer solutions to the real estate sector. The complete agenda of Startup Europe Summit 2018 can be consulted here. Registration to participate is free and compulsory and must be done here.

Startup Europe Summit will give attendees the opportunity to learn about European funding opportunities directly from Brussels, with more than 10 billion Euros in the pipeline, the EU is becoming the main investor in Europe! In addition, networking with key decision makers and technology leaders within the EU, especially in the Central and Eastern Europe and Western Balkans regions; and having access to commercial agreements with corporations, investors and public administrations for startups and scaleups.

 

For more information:

www.finnova.eu

www.startupeuropeawards.eu

www.startupeuropeclub.eu

 

Press contact:

Catalina Valencia

eustartup@finnova.eu

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TUTORED is the Italian winner of ED-Tech category

Country: ITALY

Category: ED-Tech

Project Aim: revolutionising the market of employer branding and recruiting for the young millennials, through a social platform.

What’s TUTORED and what does it do?

TUTORED is a social platform that is revolutionising the market of employer branding recruiting for the young millennials.

In our platform we have two main actors: students and companies. Our community is composed by 300k registered students and new graduates in Italy.

TUTORED’s users can:

  • Interact every day by exchanging useful information about exams, university protects and tutoring.
  • Create their own professional profile and apply to job opportunities of our clients.

Our clients are big companies interested in improving their employment brand activities and hiring the best young talents. Each company has a personal profile to publish new job opportunities like internships, entry-level positions and graduate programs.

What did Tutored accomplish?

We launched our business model five months ago and, in this short period of time, we have closed many contracts generating more than 230k Euro in revenues. Our clients are BNP Paribas, UniCredit, PwC, LIDL, Allianz, Decathlon, Microsoft and others.

Next steps are:

Generating 500k euro in revenues for 2018 and becoming international in 2019.
About investments, we raised 1.1M euro from two Italian venture capitals in 2016 and we want to open our series A investment in 2019.

CEO’s testimony:

“Founders of TUTORED are university students that have built a service for university students. For this reason, I’m so proud of us for being the winner of SEUA17 Italy in the category of EdTech” – Gabriele Giuliano, CEO and Co-Founder of TUTORED.

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STKTK is the Polish winner of Gastronomy category

Country: Poland

Category: Gastronomy

Project Aim: providing tools for fast and precise stocktaking for bars, restaurants and cafes. By uploading data automatically to the cloud by connecting your phone to the Bluetooth scale, the tasks schedule for employees and the control of the company’s workflow will be then easily made by the manager.

What is the problem to solve?

We think that some of the difficulties that restaurants owners and managers face get neglected by technology companies. One of them is beverage stocktaking.

It’s extra hard for gastronomy business to deal with their stocktaking. Not only they have to account for all the bottles they have in inventory, but they also must calculate the amount of liquid left in open containers. It’s important to get that right, and there are not many technologies that can help with that

What does STKTK do:

STKTK is an innovative stocktaking solution for gastronomy business. Using newest technologies (Bluetooth low energy, cloud, real-time data) we created a multi-platform application, which makes managing a bar, café or restaurant easier, less time consuming, automated, and much cheaper.

The main goal of STKTK is providing tools for a fast and precise stocktaking. All you need is connect a phone to our Bluetooth scale. Stocktake data will be automatically uploaded to the cloud, so it can be analysed on any computer or mobile device by the manager of the owner.

Stocktaking is a long and laborious process. It requires at least one working day. Traditional solutions are time consuming and expensive.

With STKTK restaurant owner gets access to our platform and smart scale. The measurement takes only a few seconds, and our algorithms guarantee its accuracy. The data is immediately sent to the cloud. This way you always have access to them, no matter where you are or wat device you are using.

STKTK also helps you generate and manage restaurants documents. That is the end of paper orders or reports. The owner can inspect the records online and download them in Excel format.

CEO’s testimony:

We are delighted with the recognition our idea received. Most of the StartUp’s in the space focus on consumer side problems, like food delivery, table bookings or restaurant ratings. We think that some of the difficulties that restaurants owners and managers face get neglected by technology companies. One of them is beverage stocktaking. Winning SEUA17 Poland in the category of Gastronomy means for us that we are not the only ones that recognize the issue and what we are going in the right direction.

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SPECPRAWNIK.PL is the Polish winner of Legal category

Country: Poland

Category: Legal

Project Aim: broadening access to justice for everybody.

What does SPECPRAWNIK.PL do:

SPECPRAWNIK.PL is a marketplace for people searching for lawyers. We provide users with innovative ways of presenting lawyers and their specialization, experience, reviews and certificates. Our solution enables customers to receive from lawyers a free legal advice, both online and over the phone. We also offer a convenient system with ready-to-buy legal services. The reason we wanted to join SEUA is to present our solutions, which aims to broaden access to justice for everybody.

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SOLE COMMUNICATION NETWORK is the Macedonian winner of IoT category

Country: Macedonia

Category: IoT

Project Aim: developing a platform that gives SMEs the opportunity to develop a tailor-made solution faster and cheaper than if it would be developed by an IT company.

What is the problem to solve?

Imagine you are running a company which is in purchasing a business application. You have two options: developing your own custom-made solution or implementing some of the existing out-of-the box applications.

If you decide to develop a customized solution, you will face two problems:

  • Development process is very long and therefore you will get a very expensive offer.
  • You will have significant costs for maintaining and upgrading the system.

Because of this, the custom-made applications market is an exclusive club of bi players, and SMEs simply cannot afford such solutions.

What SOLE COMMUNICATION NETWORK do:

We developed a platform that will give SMEs the opportunity (by themselves, with our help or with the help of third party consultant) to develop a tailor-made solution at least 10x faster, and thus a minimum of 10x lower initial costs than if it would be developed by conventional IT company.

Our solution SOLENET is a SaaS platform with an integrated app builder that allows fast development of tailor-made apps simple as stacking lego blocks.

The client ultimately receives an integrated application that fully meets its needs, available on all platforms, supported by all languages, easily upgradable and with zero maintenance costs.

Our market is costum-build software, a market that is experiencing a real boom with a growth of 33% per year, reaching in 2015 to 136B USD, and representing 3/5 of the total application market in US.

The market we want to focus on is SMEs regionally, US and EU.

Revenue will be generated:

  • Customizing application or order.
  • Monthly subscription per user and device.
  • Pay-as-you-go subscription to used services according to the price list.

Costumers will be acquired:

  • Direct sale.
  • Global distribution network .

CEO’s testimony:

StartUp Europe Awards is a chance for us to promote our solution in the heart of Europe, in front of people who share similar values and with ability to help our company to fulfil our mission and vision for open and digitally connected business world.

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HYPER POLAND is the Polish winner of Green Category

Country: Poland

Category: Green

Project Aim: travelling is a necessity and an essential part of life. Transport models have become more complex and individualized. The solution developed by HYPER POLAND aim at revolutionizing transports of the 21th century – ultra fast, affordable and completely Green.

What’s HYPER POLAND:

Hyper Poland is a multidisciplinary team of experts (engineers, architects, and business developers) working on the development of a new model of transport: a vacuum train called The Hyperloop. The goal of our startup is to create technical solutions, conditions and specifications for new technologies that are indispensable for launching the first line of Hyperloop in Europe.

What does HYPER POLAND do:

We want Poland and Europe to have their own contribution to the development of the foundations for this new technology, and to be one of the pioneers by constructing the first commercial Hyperloop line. To implement the whole Hyperloop system, new technologies are necessary that require new innovative ideas and solutions from many fields of science. They can be developed in Europe by European enterprises and scientific institutions.

Hyperloop combines the advantages of trains and aircrafts, and the same time eliminates the disadvantages of currently dominant means of transport. In a globalized world, transport of people and goods is fastly growing, but the current infrastructure is not able to meet the increasing demand for transport services. Both, passenger and freight hyperloop vehicles move in tubes with low vacuum conditions and thus can reach speeds of up to 1,200 km/h, while consuming up to 1.000 times less energy than in the normal atmospheric conditions at sea level. The vehicles will move without contact to the ground, using magnetic levitation and air bearings, accelerating and stopping using linear motor.

Power systems will include renewable sources, i.e. perovskite solar cells, and more efficient wind turbines (up to 50-60% of energy generated for hyperloop tubes) and will be integrated with dedicated energy storage systems via intelligent, partially al-based, energy management system that will optimize the power consumption. Autonomous pods will have real-time energy optimization of velocity profiles that will bring additional energy savings.

With its door-to-door approach, hyperloop serves the exact transport demand and therefore eliminates inefficient decelerations and accelerations for unnecessary stops. Hyperloop can be defined as an ultra-fast fully electric intercity metro for passengers and goods, which can contribute to a significant reduction of traffic with gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks between cities and therefore have a positive impact on the environment. Furthermore, hyperloop will produce less noise pollution.

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ZWERYFIKUJFIRME.PL is the Polish winner of Fintech category

Country: Poland

Category: Fintech

Project Aim: Verifying companies credibility based on more current (1 month old) and reliable (source of data about transactions) data. The whole process is automated and machine learning algorithms are introduced.

What is the problem to solve?

In our core team, we combine strong financial and IT skills. We have two statutory auditors and Data scientist on board. Basing on our experience in corporate finance we are aware that there is an information gap on the market about the financial standing of micro and small companies in Poland. Our innovative products can solve this problem.

What does ZWERYFIKUJFIRME.PL do:

In ZWERYFIKUJFIRME.PL, we analyse financial data from Standard Audit File for Tax (SAF-T) to conclude about current standing of companies. Standard Audit File for Tax is an international OECD standard introduced in seven European countries so far.

What did ZWERYFIKUJFIRME.PL accomplished?

We have already entered the market with a product for statutory auditors – a tool to support financial audit process. Right now, we are developing our products for financial institutions in cooperation with one of the biggest banks in Poland. We are working as well on an internet platform for companies seeking reports that automate most time-consuming audit procedures.

It is the first time in the history when there is such huge amount of unified financial data available. We wait for the chance to be the first player on this market.

On What ZWERYFIKUJFIRME.PL is currently working:

We are currently working on four innovative concepts (all of them are based on the same mechanism):

  1. Intermediation between companies seeking to verify counterparty’s credibility: we will provide reports summarizing main financial indicators of verified company retrieved from its SAF-T files.
  2. A reliable certification program for companies: basing on data from SAF-T files, we will present a list of financial data characterizing company that seeks our certificate to prove its credibility.
  3. A tool to assess creditworthiness both potential clients and for periodical credit standing review of debtors: having more current data about clients, the financial institution will be able to react quickly to worsening situation of debtors. Moreover, as a response to the new requirements of IFRs 9, we offer a possibility to monitor current standing of borrowers and apply prospective look in establishing impairment of loans basing on most current and reliable data from SAF-T files.
  4. Tools to support financial audit process, both internal and external: we offer excel reports that automate most time-consuming audit procedures.

CEO’s testimony:

For me as CEO of Zweryfikujfirme.pl, winning StartUp Europe Awards 2017 in FINTECH category in Poland shows that our business idea has gained recognition. It gives me the certainty that we can successfully solve real problems that our clients are facing, and we can provide them with the most desirable commodity in XXL century – with most current information.

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MYSPIRULINA is the Bulgarian winner of E-Health category

Country: Bulgaria

Category: E-Health

Project Aim: producing a bioreactor designed to cultivate the spirulina at home, very easily and without the need for additional knowledge or equipment. In this way, each person can satisfy his or her needs by acquiring direct spirulina at home using our small and stylish device.

What is the problem to solve?

In the recent years, the problem of unhealthy nutrition has increasingly come to the fore in the form of various analyses and articles on obesity, as well as an increase in number of diseases and clinical conditions caused by the food we consume and the lifestyle that we have. At the same time, the topic of the food itself – its origin and quality – is becoming more and more current. There is also more and more talk about different kinds of super foods and nutritional supplements that aim to enrich the intake of different nutrients and improve our diet.

What does MYSPIRULINA do:

One of that super foods is the Spirulina alga, and we are producing a bioreactor designed to cultivate the spirulina at home, very easily and without the need for additional knowledge or equipment. In this way, each person can satisfy his or her needs by acquiring direct spirulina at home using our small and stylish device. On the one hand, this guarantees the quality if the product and the fact that, unlike the dry Spirulina, which has undergone multiple treatments and has lost up to 60% of its qualities, the fresh one is fit for direct use and does not lose its qualities. What is more, the fresh one has a pleasant taste compared to the dry one.

So, what exactly Spirulina is and why is it defined by the UN as the superfood of the Future? This alga is potentially of great importance for human nutrition because of the overall nutritional qualities, over 100 Nutrients, of which: 60-70% protein, all essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals (iron, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iodine, selenium and zinc), unique pigments, omega-3 and omega6 fatty acids, etc.

The quality and nutritional value of spirulina makes it suitable for use by all people, but our focus is people interested in healthy eating and healthy lifestyle, vegetarians and vegans, as well as people with an active lifestyle who regularly exercise.

CEO’s testimony:

The Bulgarian start-up ecosystem is rapidly developing during the past few years and we are proud to be selected as winners of the national StartUp Europe Awards 2017 and represent Bulgaria in the E-health category at the Final.

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MIRACOIL is the Spanish winner of Energy category

Country: Spain

Category: Energy

Project Aim: Converting several types of waste as feedstock into high-quality second-generation advanced biodiesel. This technology is known as thermos-mechanical cracking process (TMCP). The challenge remains to develop techniques that are economical and easily replicable, avoid environmental pollution and risks for human health, and reduce carbon emissions, just as promoting the circular economy in recovering the value from the waste.

What is the problem to solve?

Over the recent years, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management has been fast evolving from the conventional methods of landfilling, open-air burning, dumping in oceans, to more sophisticated methods. In addition, the enormous environmental and economical downsides of landfilling have reached the top of waste policy agenda and they are looking for alternatives to minimize landfilling, where policies tend towards zero-landfill and circular economy development. Similarly, treating MSW through incinerators which generate energy have proven to be seriously damaging to human health as carcinogenic dioxins are not eliminated even when sophisticated and very expensive filters are deployed. The challenge remains to develop techniques that are economical, easily replicable, avoid environmental pollution and risks for human health and reduce carbon emissions, while promoting the circular economy in recovering the value from the waste. MIRACOIL has been working for the last six years to change the way we treat and eliminate waste.

What does MIRACOIL do:

MIRACOIL commercializes a patented new technology that can convert several types of waste as feedstock into high-quality second-generation advanced biodiesel. This technology is known as thermos-mechanical cracking process (TMCP). The company’s vision agrees with environmental objectives to minimize waste generation, avoiding landfilling and incineration, and convert waste into a resource; in this case, a synthetic secondary fuel to substitute fossil fuels. The key innovation of the TMPC system lies in obtaining liquid hydrocarbons by cleavage of carbon and hydrogen molecules using various organic biomass waste feedstock.
The TMCP is a clean, efficient and flexible technology, an alternative to the current linear production-consumption system, reintroducing waste in the economic cycle, treating it locally and extending its life cycle. Thus, it contributes significantly to reduction of landfilling and encourages energy independence. Compared with competing solutions, TMCP is more profitable than competitive technologies that often have higher operational costs compared with the income they generate. TMCP’s disruptive technology presents numerous advantages over other existing waste treatment and disposal systems. A TMPC’s technology removes a broad range of waste treatment and disposal systems. A TMCP’s technology removes a broad range of waste (up to 85%) without the need to separate the input materials (except for glass, metal and recycled materials).

What MIRACOIL will do in the future:

In 2018, in Spain, MIRACOIL will manage the construction of the first demonstration industrial plant of the TMPC technology for the treatment of urban solid waste and plastics. At the same time, we will plan the commercial diffusion for the installation of other plants in Europe, Latin America and Africa.

What does Europe represent for the company?

Europe is for MIRACOIL a great opportunity to spread a disruptive, cleaner and more efficient technology than the current ones, internationalize its use and achieve collaborations that pursue the same objectives of environmental protection, solid waste disposal, oils, hospital waste and plastics for avoid that they end up contaminating the aquifer and marine environment and obtain funding for treatment plants and dissemination actions.

CEO’s testimony:

For me as CEO, this recognition is a reward for the effort applied by the technologist and the MIRACOIL team for the last five years and an opportunity to spread the usefulness of TMCP Technology.

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PREGNABIT is the Polish winner of the E-Health category

Country: Poland

Category: E-Health

Project Aim: supporting health care professionals to bring every pregnancy to the happy end.

What does PREGNABIT do:

Early detection of threats to mother and baby, including through CTG measurements, may have a real impact in quicker medical response during pregnancy. PREGNABIT system enables CTG monitoring of pregnant women at anytime and anywhere. Our mission is to support health care professionals, to bring every pregnancy to the happy end.

CEO’s testimony:

StartUp Europe Awards 2017 recognition is very important to the whole Pregnabit Team. We work very hard to bring every pregnancy to the happy end. We strongly believe that StartUp Europe Awards 2017 will help us to fulfil our mission.