Elevator Pitch Day: 10 tech start-ups pitched their businesses in 60 seconds, live, in the elevator at BCR headquarters

• InnovX-BCR, the business accelerator dedicated to technology start-ups, held a new edition of the most interactive way to present a business: Elevator Pitch Day. The entrepreneurs’ challenge was to present their business idea in just 60 seconds, live, in an elevator at the BCR headquarters.
• 10 start-up technology businesses presented their business and what differentiates them from their competitors, in front of an extended BCR team, but also other top executives from partner companies such as eMAG, Johnson&Johnson, Deloitte, Telekom Romania, TDCX, Netopia Payments, Booking Holdings, as well as before the representatives of the Federation of the Hotel Industry in Romania and the National Cyber Security Directorate.

The InnovX-BCR finalists from the Start-ups group, made up of 10 technology companies with a turnover or funding between 50,000 euros and 500,000 euros, reached the post-acceleration stage after completing a training Bootcamp of six weeks. At this stage, they received feedback from a team of top executives at the Elevator Pitch, which took place in physical format on Monday 24 April at BCR’s headquarters in The Bridge building.

To present their businesses and what differentiates them in the market, each of the 10 technology companies had 60 seconds in the elevator of the BCR The Bridge building, this presentation was followed by a 5-minute Q&A session, chaired by Thomas Kolarik, COO BCR. The next stage is the Demo Day event, when entrepreneurs will present their business to potential investors.

“It’s great to see how both corporations and startups continue to build an open relationship that gives us the opportunity to learn from each other how to cooperate better. For us, cooperation is the main foundation for an innovation platform: startups can benefit from resources, access to customers and eventually corporate funding, while corporations need to innovate to stay ahead of competitors and change from the market, but also to access new technologies. We have seen more than 171 startups accelerated in InnovX in the last 4 years and, together with our internal digital transformation process, we can say that we are a totally different company, precisely because we rely on this learning process. Through this process of co-creation with startups, we are able to drive growth and innovation within BCR, digitize the supply chain, develop sustainable operations and use automation and AI to increase efficiency while providing support , learning and mentoring startups”, stated Thomas Kolarik, Chief Operating Officer BCR & Chairman of the Elevator Pitch.

The 10 start-ups that submitted pitches developed businesses in various fields, from health, FinTech, cybersecurity, transport, HoReCa, MedTech, EdTech and sports.

• dMonitor (Bucharest) – search engine for people with public exposure, which automates the process of ensuring compliance with the financial regulations in force (KYC, AML)
• Dateligens (Bucharest) – Big Data security platform, a SaaS and On Premises solution focused on providing an industrial quality, scalable and fully configurable Big Data flow management platform.
• Jogga (Bucharest) – social application for athletes, connecting locations, coaches and professional athletes.
• Cautcurier.ro (Timișoara) – smart label that monitors parcels in real time (location, shock, security, temperature and humidity), to streamline the logistics chain and reduce CO2 consumption.
• TapTasty (Oradea) – private sales channel through mobile applications and customized websites. Through machine learning, it provides insights to optimize the supply chain and create effective marketing strategies.
• HealthFluencer (Bucharest) – platform that uses AI to connect health and personal care brands with the right influencer.
• Firstserved (Greece) – application that connects users with the right restaurants and menus based on their gastronomic, dietary and nutritional preferences.
• ContApp (Bucharest) – accounting solution that simplifies accounting processes, from invoicing to tax compliance, generating annual reports and tracking transactions.
• SkillBrain (Timișoara) – educational platform, which facilitates the development of IT skills and the possibility of professional reorientation in this industry.
• Kidprenor (Cluj-Napoca) – integrated physical and digital ecosystem that changes the way children interact and learn notions about economics and entrepreneurship.

“InnovX-BCR, the program dedicated to technology businesses, has accelerated more than 171 innovative companies with the completion of the bootcamp dedicated to the Start-ups 2023 cohort. The Elevator Pitch stage precedes the event that brings the businesses in front of investors, and yesterday’s event was another step towards consolidation, from evaluating the business model to realizing and overcoming the challenges that can be amplified once you scale. The perspectives and evaluations of the jury showed what are the strengths that entrepreneurs should focus on”, said Diana Dumitrescu, CEO of InnovX-BCR.

The start-ups received feedback and guidance from a jury consisting of: Thomas Kolarik – COO BCR & Chairman of the Elevator Pitch, Bogdan Cernescu – Head of Corporate Coverage BCR, Ramona Kurko – Deputy Managing Director Corporate Coverage BCR,

“InnovX-BCR, the program dedicated to technology businesses, has accelerated more than 171 innovative companies with the completion of the bootcamp dedicated to the Start-ups 2023 cohort. The Elevator Pitch stage precedes the event that brings the businesses in front of investors, and yesterday’s event was another step towards consolidation, from evaluating the business model to realizing and overcoming the challenges that can be amplified once you scale. The perspectives and evaluations of the jury showed what are the strengths that entrepreneurs should focus on”, said Diana Dumitrescu, CEO of InnovX-BCR.

The start-ups received feedback and guidance from a jury consisting of: Thomas Kolarik – COO BCR & Chairman of the Elevator Pitch, Bogdan Cernescu – Head of Corporate Coverage BCR, Ramona Kurko – Deputy Managing Director Corporate Coverage BCR, Ionuț Stanimir – Head of Marketing & Communications BCR, Daniel Nanu – Regional Director Retail BCR, Bogdan Axinia – Managing Director eMAG Ventures, Georgiana Cosoveanu – Director Government Affairs & Policy Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson&Johnson Romania, Daniel Mereuță – Country Director TDCX, Andrei Burz – Partner Deloitte Legal Romania, Felix Crișan – Co-founder & CTO Netopia Group, Gabriel Trăistaru – Digital Director Telekom Romania, Sabin Popescu – General Division for Institutional Partnerships DNSC, Maria Manuela Catrina – Deputy Director DNSC, Anca Margareta Fotache – General Manager Booking Holdings, Mircea Țiplea, Partner Amrop Executive Search Romania

The InnovX-BCR accelerator is a project carried out in partnership with UiPath, Microsoft, Mindspace and MIT CEE Forum. BCR covers the costs of all scholarships awarded to entrepreneurs in this project, courses and logistics costs. More details about the InnovX-BCR Accelerator: www.bcr.ro/accelerator and www.innovx.eu.

The InnovX-BCR accelerator is a project carried out in partnership with UiPath, Microsoft, Mindspace and MIT CEE Forum. BCR covers the costs of all scholarships awarded to entrepreneurs in this project, courses and logistics costs. More details about the InnovX-BCR Accelerator: www.bcr.ro/accelerator and www.innovx.eu.