Competition was fierce in Thursday as 11 startups attempted to out charisma each other at Startupbootcamp’s Pitch to the Finals event. Teams in various stages of development pitched their ideas, with email consolidation tool Squadmail and a remote control mobile technology called Remote Control Apps winning a fast track to the next stage.
The two winning concepts reflected the diversity of the spaces on show, which spanned from 3D printing to energy generation.
The pitches were opened by 19-year-old Stephan Schultz with his Remote Control Apps for Android, a program allowing the user to control functions like the mousepad or media players on their computer using their Android phone. Feedback was very positive for what was one of the evening’s more simple ideas.
The other winner, Squadmail, a Dropbox-like function for the sharing of email across folders, was received very well by the audience with an entertaining and engaging pitch. Using visual examples, co-founder Philipp Mayer was able to communicate the benefits and uniqueness of the service. There was again excellent feedback from the audience, which included Startupbootcamp mentors like Christoph Raetke of Berlin Startup Academy, as well as the program’s organiser Alex Farcet.
Other standout pitches included Greenguin, a project management service for the energy generation sector connecting eco investors with project initiators while Blastboard, a finder’s service that utilises social networks, was also received well.
Last night’s event was open to anyone who applied on the Startupbootcamp website, and the winners were decided by an audience vote. The two winning teams will now go straight to a one-on-one interview to be considered for the accelerator.
Ultimately, the three-month program will provide ten startups with funding, a workspace and, most importantly, connections to an impressive pool of mentors in the Berlin startup scene.