Start-ups pitch projects digitally for first time to Start it @KBC
The country’s largest start-up incubator heard pitches digitally this time around in its first Ditchital Days
Pitch your project, from home
Instead of postponing Pitch Days because of the corona crisis, the team decided to set up an entirely digital edition: Ditchital Days. Some of the promising initiatives could be particularly useful these days, such as Belgium’s first laundry service app.
Last week, a record 180 start-ups pitched their ideas to Start it @KBC, hoping for the accelerator’s specialised help in their growth process. Sixty-five initiatives were selected to benefit from the one-year acceleration programme.
“It was never an option for us to postpone the pitch days because we are going to need everyone with an entrepreneurial spirit,” says Lode Uytterschaut, founder and CEO of Start it @KBC. “I noticed that the determination to make a difference with their start-up was even greater than in other pitch rounds. It is encouraging to see that the corona crisis has fuelled rather than dampened their entrepreneurial spirit. ”
We reached more people living abroad, who would otherwise not fly in. It’s actually possible we’ll do this again
Instead of explaining their project in person in front of a jury, as usual, start-ups had to pitch from behind their computers. Then the members of the jury members discussed the pitches via video conference.
“You of course miss some of the social interaction linked to face-to-face conversations,” says Uytterschaut, “but on the other hand, it was a much more efficient and less time-consuming way of working. You also reach more people living abroad, who would otherwise not fly in. It’s actually possible we’ll do this again.”
A project that probably even benefited from this approach was 2 Princes in a Box, which develops mobile escape rooms for children – that they can play in their own bedrooms. The original idea came from the nine-year-old Ruben and his older brother Jasper, who are lucky to have parents with an entrepreneurial attitude. The brothers delivered the pitch themselves, fittingly, at home.
Laundrio
Just as 2 Princes in a Box would be a welcome distraction for all those kids staying indoors these days, the Laundrio platform would be most helpful to those not able (or motivated) to do their laundry at home. Laundrio aims to launch the first online laundry service in Belgium, offering an easy way to pass on this household chore through their website or app.
On its website, Start it @KBC actually has assembled a long list of start-ups that have taken action in the battle against the coronavirus. Game-based learning platform Play it Safe, for example, created the corona prevention game, making it fun to discover how we can keep ourselves safe and help contain the virus.
The company Beego now offers free help at home for all IT-related problems while health and fitness tech start-up 6Wolves developed a platform that offers livestream workouts.
Of all the start-ups that were accepted to Start it @KBC, 11 are active in the data industry. The health industry was the second-most popular sector with nine start-ups, followed by the mobility and sport sectors.
