Starting your own startup – that is the dream of many young people who want to realize themselves, improve the world, and simply be their own boss. For this purpose, borek.digital hosted the Startup Weekend in Braunschweig from April 26–28, 2019. The goal was to develop a startup concept with market readiness from an initial idea within one weekend – or more precisely: within 54 hours.
On Sunday evening, the freshly assembled teams were able to present their first results at the Pitch Night. A step ahead were the teams from the borek.digital accelerator program, who also got to pitch their startups. These teams had already been working on their startups for some time and were successfully admitted into the accelerator program, which is run in cooperation with the Chair of Entrepreneurship at TU Braunschweig and Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences. The 3-month program includes, in addition to a marketing budget, coaching and mentoring to help bring the idea to market readiness.
It was already the fourth Pitch Night of its kind organized by borek.digital, and the largest Pitch Night in Northern Germany. In Braunschweig, thanks to numerous sponsors, a local startup scene has now been successfully established. One of these sponsors once again was the i-unit group. The expert jury, which had the honor of awarding the best ideas and pitches, was top-class: alongside our board member and Managing Partner Torben Seikowsky, jury members included organizer Richard Borek, Silicon Valley Entrepreneurship Hub representative Prof. Dr. Reza Ashgari, and Clemens Hofmann, Head of Digital Roadmap at Deutsche Bank.
Since the team is the success factor of any startup, the winners received, among other things, a consulting voucher from profil² on the topic of “Team Fit.” The workshop focuses on distributing tasks and responsibilities within a newly formed team according to each person’s strengths and weaknesses. Many startups fail in the early stages because the roles do not align well with the individuals’ personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. It is therefore especially important for newly founded startups to address this issue carefully.
Among the accelerator teams, the startup “Amberskin” took first place. “Amberskin” develops a leather-like material from yeast fungi that is completely vegan yet highly durable. It is intended primarily for luxury applications, such as yachts or private jets. We are looking forward to a workshop with the two founders of Amberskin. Second place went to “woze”, which aims to modify glasses so that they no longer fog up, including ski goggles. Third place went to “weMake,” which is developing an app that matches people’s skills and abilities with the needs of others, enabling anyone to offer or request help within a broad network. All six accelerator startups had already begun implementing their business ideas and presented their first prototypes or apps.
This was, of course, not yet the case for the fresh Startup Weekend teams. Nevertheless, it was impressive to see how far some teams had come: some had already developed first websites or prototypes of their products. First place went to the team “UrTurn,” which aims to develop an app allowing people to request their favorite songs at clubs. Users place an offer via the app stating how much they would pay for a song, and the DJ receives a commission if they play it. This way, no one ever has to leave the club disappointed because their song wasn’t played. We are pleased to support this exciting idea with our consulting voucher.
Second place went to the eggnog enthusiasts from “Engelsegg.” Their vision is to bring grandma’s eggnog recipe into trendy clubs and bars in Braunschweig and, later, across Germany, giving eggnog a better reputation among young people.
Third place was awarded to “#skindition,” a skincare consulting platform. Using a special camera, the platform determines skin type and then designs an individual care package based on that information.
In addition, the jury awarded a prize for the best, or in this case the most important, pitch. The team “Beer Pong Clean” set out to keep beer pong balls clean with a self-built washing system. During the pitch, the jury members even got to play beer pong themselves and test the washing machine.
After the pitches, participants enjoyed an extensive networking party. Organizer Richard Borek provided plenty of food and drinks. It was a sociable conclusion to an intensive Startup Weekend. We look forward to exchanging ideas and providing coaching with the teams of “UrTurn” (request app) and “Amberskin” (vegan leather) and wish all other Pitch Night participants much success!
