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- 2017-11-24 20:16:58
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StartUP@Blagoevgrad's Logo, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
Young entrepreneurs from the Balkan region gathered at the ABF Sports Hall to develop their business ideas during the fourth annual StartUP Weekend Blagoevgrad 2017 organized by the StartUP@Blagoevgrad club. The event gathered 56 young people, who formed teams and worked on their joint startup projects. The competitors had to face one of the major challenges of the format - the time limit of 46 hours. The initial start of the event was 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov.10, and it concluded with the final presentations of each group of participants at 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12.
StartUP Weekend began with a presentation by the facilitator Ali Sohail at the ABF Sports Hall. Sohail gave a brief summary on the structure and the organization of the event. Later, each participant had to pitch their idea in one minute. By the end of the evening the competitors had split into eight teams. Over the course of the weekend, they had to come up with a minimum viable product (MVP) that would back up their business idea.
The teams received advice on how to develop and improve their ideas from specialists in different industries and business spheres during the second and third day of the event. Among the mentors were Arthur Pantelides, Assistant Professor at the Business department at AUBG, Stanislav Slavev, co-founder and Digital Media Director of Studio Underline, Viktor Andonov, president of DataArt Europe, Nikolay Chochev, founder and CEO of www.timag.eu, Trayan Kosev, co-founder of KGK Consulting, Dimiter Simov, Product Experience Expert at SAP, and Dilyan Dimitrov, founder of Eleven Ventures. The participants received suggestions on how to develop the strategic plan of their project, how to position their MVP, what legal issues their ideas may have, and what to prepare for their final presentation that weekend.
Knitbear discussing their business idea with one of the mentors. Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
Over the course of the weekend the eight teams developed different aspects of their business ideas. The final products of some of the projects included mobile applications, online platforms, service providence, and the creation of physical goods.
After a vote, based on the teams' final presentations at the BAC Auditorium, the jury of StartUPWeekend's fourth edition awarded first place to the developers of Cartner - Nikolay Babev, Katalina Dimitrova, Yana Aleksieva, Andrea Shipkovenski, Alexander Shipkovenski, and Dobrin Stoilov.
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Team Cartner working on their idea, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
Cartner introduces an uncommon channel of communication for advertising – placing promotional stickers on cars. The company offers to the everyday driver to utilize the external space of their vehicle by providing it to a company, which would use the area to attach promotional materials. Payment is determined based on criteria such as the physical condition of the car, its brand, model and year of production, and the undergone daily mileage.
TellMe is a mobile application that is designed to help the everyday decision-making process of the user. The user can upload an image on the network that is relevant to a problem they are facing. Other users can then vote on the choices presented to the person who posted the picture. The developers of the idea plan to profit from their creation through paid advertisements inside the application, affiliated marketing, paid surveys, premium membership options, and data selling.
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The designer of TellMe working on the team's project, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
KnitBear – a company, whose main product would be homemade knitwear. The developers of the idea plan on employing able crafts women from the Blagoevgrad area. The team behind the idea will sell the final products online, creating a direct link between the producer and the end consumer. The project's potential growth opportunities include distribution to other regions and countries, production material diversification, and customized design options.
SmokeX – an educational platform that would provide the user with information on existing electronic cigarettes (vapes) on the market and offer some of them for sale. The goal of the project is to develop a community of educated smokers.
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FamTrips discussing their idea. Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
FamTrips – a project that aims to help students with the choice of picking a university. The company plans to organize two-week trips in different countries, which will give customers the opportunity to visit prominent universities in chosen regions and experience the culture of the educational institutions.
Game Yourself – the mission of the company is to bring life to its customers' ideas and develop them in digital dimensions. The company is oriented around game development based on a unique design and storyline created by the user who has placed the order.
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NoQ discussing their idea with one of the mentors, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
NoQ – is a digitally based self-checkout system which customers use while shopping. Customers will have to scan the bar codes of each product they pick and enter the quantity they would like to buy, using their personal smartphone. Once they are ready to finalize their purchase, the application will issue a bar code, which the user has to scan at a self-checkout terminal upon payment.
Publishing Informer – a platform that would help authors connect with publishing houses. The platform would provide a database of printing houses and their user ratings, common royalty offers, and contact information. The project’s main customer base would be the publishing houses, which would like to be included in Publishing Informer’s list.
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Publishing Informer before the team disbanded, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
Over the course of the weekend, Publishing Informer was one of the projects that went through a number of structural changes. The team was the last one to be formed on Friday night. The group went over different suggestions presented by each individual member, as well as the mentors at the event. Unfortunately, due to issues with the team dynamics within the team, the majority of the members decided to quit the competition, leaving only one person, Momchil Simov, in charge of the creation of the groups business plan.
StartUP Weekend Blagoevgrad 2017 had some returning participates from last year, as well as some new young entrepreneurs, who were excited to be part of the event. Despite the internal issues some of the teams endured, most of the contestants had a positive opinion of the experience the event presented to them.
Justine Toms opening up the final presentations session, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
According to Justine Toms, owner of ABC Design&Communication and a jury member of the StartUPWeekend, the ideas presented were not tested enough. However, she attributes this to the small amount of time the teams had for developing their respective business plans. Nevertheless, she said she was fascinated with some of the projects.
Final Presentations, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
StartUP@Blagoevgrad's Logo, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
Young entrepreneurs from the Balkan region gathered at the ABF Sports Hall to develop their business ideas during the fourth annual StartUP Weekend Blagoevgrad 2017 organized by the StartUP@Blagoevgrad club. The event gathered 56 young people, who formed teams and worked on their joint startup projects. The competitors had to face one of the major challenges of the format - the time limit of 46 hours. The initial start of the event was 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov.10, and it concluded with the final presentations of each group of participants at 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12.
StartUP Weekend began with a presentation by the facilitator Ali Sohail at the ABF Sports Hall. Sohail gave a brief summary on the structure and the organization of the event. Later, each participant had to pitch their idea in one minute. By the end of the evening the competitors had split into eight teams. Over the course of the weekend, they had to come up with a minimum viable product (MVP) that would back up their business idea.
The teams received advice on how to develop and improve their ideas from specialists in different industries and business spheres during the second and third day of the event. Among the mentors were Arthur Pantelides, Assistant Professor at the Business department at AUBG, Stanislav Slavev, co-founder and Digital Media Director of Studio Underline, Viktor Andonov, president of DataArt Europe, Nikolay Chochev, founder and CEO of www.timag.eu, Trayan Kosev, co-founder of KGK Consulting, Dimiter Simov, Product Experience Expert at SAP, and Dilyan Dimitrov, founder of Eleven Ventures. The participants received suggestions on how to develop the strategic plan of their project, how to position their MVP, what legal issues their ideas may have, and what to prepare for their final presentation that weekend.
“This year we had many teams change their ideas completely after having the first session with the mentors," commented Victoria Pesheva, fourth-year student and president of StartUP@Blagoevgrad. "Some of them merged ideas – two teams became one. They have been working on getting some of the ideas of the person who pitched the original idea and some aspects from the other ones in order to so something better.”[caption id="attachment_37745" align="alignnone" width="1200"]
Knitbear discussing their business idea with one of the mentors. Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
Over the course of the weekend the eight teams developed different aspects of their business ideas. The final products of some of the projects included mobile applications, online platforms, service providence, and the creation of physical goods.
After a vote, based on the teams' final presentations at the BAC Auditorium, the jury of StartUPWeekend's fourth edition awarded first place to the developers of Cartner - Nikolay Babev, Katalina Dimitrova, Yana Aleksieva, Andrea Shipkovenski, Alexander Shipkovenski, and Dobrin Stoilov.
[caption id="attachment_37835" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Team Cartner working on their idea, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
Cartner introduces an uncommon channel of communication for advertising – placing promotional stickers on cars. The company offers to the everyday driver to utilize the external space of their vehicle by providing it to a company, which would use the area to attach promotional materials. Payment is determined based on criteria such as the physical condition of the car, its brand, model and year of production, and the undergone daily mileage.
TellMe is a mobile application that is designed to help the everyday decision-making process of the user. The user can upload an image on the network that is relevant to a problem they are facing. Other users can then vote on the choices presented to the person who posted the picture. The developers of the idea plan to profit from their creation through paid advertisements inside the application, affiliated marketing, paid surveys, premium membership options, and data selling.
[caption id="attachment_37840" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The designer of TellMe working on the team's project, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
KnitBear – a company, whose main product would be homemade knitwear. The developers of the idea plan on employing able crafts women from the Blagoevgrad area. The team behind the idea will sell the final products online, creating a direct link between the producer and the end consumer. The project's potential growth opportunities include distribution to other regions and countries, production material diversification, and customized design options.
SmokeX – an educational platform that would provide the user with information on existing electronic cigarettes (vapes) on the market and offer some of them for sale. The goal of the project is to develop a community of educated smokers.
[caption id="attachment_37747" align="alignnone" width="1200"] FamTrips discussing their idea. Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
FamTrips – a project that aims to help students with the choice of picking a university. The company plans to organize two-week trips in different countries, which will give customers the opportunity to visit prominent universities in chosen regions and experience the culture of the educational institutions.
Game Yourself – the mission of the company is to bring life to its customers' ideas and develop them in digital dimensions. The company is oriented around game development based on a unique design and storyline created by the user who has placed the order.
[caption id="attachment_37843" align="alignnone" width="1200"] NoQ discussing their idea with one of the mentors, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
NoQ – is a digitally based self-checkout system which customers use while shopping. Customers will have to scan the bar codes of each product they pick and enter the quantity they would like to buy, using their personal smartphone. Once they are ready to finalize their purchase, the application will issue a bar code, which the user has to scan at a self-checkout terminal upon payment.
Publishing Informer – a platform that would help authors connect with publishing houses. The platform would provide a database of printing houses and their user ratings, common royalty offers, and contact information. The project’s main customer base would be the publishing houses, which would like to be included in Publishing Informer’s list.
[caption id="attachment_37841" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Publishing Informer before the team disbanded, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
Over the course of the weekend, Publishing Informer was one of the projects that went through a number of structural changes. The team was the last one to be formed on Friday night. The group went over different suggestions presented by each individual member, as well as the mentors at the event. Unfortunately, due to issues with the team dynamics within the team, the majority of the members decided to quit the competition, leaving only one person, Momchil Simov, in charge of the creation of the groups business plan.
StartUP Weekend Blagoevgrad 2017 had some returning participates from last year, as well as some new young entrepreneurs, who were excited to be part of the event. Despite the internal issues some of the teams endured, most of the contestants had a positive opinion of the experience the event presented to them.
“I really like the idea of the startup challenge – making a business in three days. It is most probably the best experience I’ve had in AUBG,” pointed out Stoil Pramatarov, a third year student at AUBG taking part in the event for the first time. “StartUP Weekend is a nice opportunity to apply my skills and I consider the difference from last year,” shared Nikolay Babev, AUBG alumn and a former participant at StartUP Weekend Blagoevgrad 2016. “Now I have the experience from working in a big company, I’ve seen all of the business processes and how they work. Therefore I can say that I have a significant advantage compared to last year when I used to be a student.”[caption id="attachment_37845" align="alignnone" width="1200"]
Justine Toms opening up the final presentations session, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]
According to Justine Toms, owner of ABC Design&Communication and a jury member of the StartUPWeekend, the ideas presented were not tested enough. However, she attributes this to the small amount of time the teams had for developing their respective business plans. Nevertheless, she said she was fascinated with some of the projects.
“I strongly believe that those people will continue on working on [the projects] not just for the weekend but also up to the successful end,” shared Toms.Due to regulations imposed on the international format of the StartUP Weekend, there was no monetary price for the winners of the competition. However the team that was awarded third place, NoQ, received a 3D printed statue shaped like the logo of StartUP@Blagoevgrad, Access to Microsoft Assure, a voucher from nastani.bg, and a 20-minute Skype mentorship session with Ash Kumra, an entrepreneur from the USA. KnitBear, who came in second, were given the same prices with the addition of one month access to a co-working place provided by betahause and branded gifts from HPE and Pulsar. For placing first, Cartner's team won the same gifts as KnitBear, which were complemented by five tickets for Innovation Explorer and prices form Musala Soft. [caption id="attachment_37752" align="alignnone" width="2398"]
Final Presentations, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption]