Finalists of the already 10th traditional competition Startup of the Year pitched to the expert jury in Ljubljana today. Startups AgiliCity, Optibar, Potenza Innova, 45HC, Fastcast and Viar tried to convince the jury that their achievements stand out amongst the new generation of innovative Slovenian entrepreneurs and deserve the title Startup of the year 2017.
The expert jury of this year’s Startup of the Year consisted of Mateja Lavrič (Kolektor Ventures), Jure Mikuž (RSG Kapital), Bošjtan Bregar (Marg), Damjan Slapar (Iskratel), Gregor Rebolj (Kyuriosity) and Niko Klanšek (BizMe). The jury chose the startup of the year according to the following criteria:
- product (company has successfully confirmed the value of its products on the market, which is reflected in the number of the first users and their growth),
- team (company is led by a competent, dedicated and well-organized team with a clear vision and complementary knowledge and experiences),
- potential for successful business and growth (company has an innovative business model, based on tested hypotheses, has at least some unfair advantage, has a sufficiently big and growing market, and shows results that are seen in big profits, number of employees, profitability, and the likelihood for disrupting the industry or market niche).
Before they gave the final assessment of this year’s Startup of the Year finalists, the jury members took some time to discuss the pitches. The discussion revolved around the disruptiveness of individual solutions, size of markets and business models, but jury members also highlighted certain dangers that the startups could face.
And which startup showed the most promise in all fields of assessment and earned the title of the Startup of the Year 2017? You’ll find out on 10 May in the evening part of this year’s PODIM Conference!
The winner will receive personal consultation by the partner of the elite accelerator 500 Startups, Marvin Liao, and an all-inclusive package for the Pioneers Festival in Vienna.
