Make IT in Oradea, program supported by Orange Fab, selected 8 teams to go through the incubation phase
On May 21st, Make IT in Oradea organized the Pitching Day event, which marked the ending of the validation stage of the Bright Labs Incubator program, 2022 edition. The previously selected startups pitched the current status of their ideas and the evolution of the last 6 weeks in which they participated in workshops and mentoring sessions within the program. The event aimed to select the most promising ideas for the next stage, and reward them with 5,000 euros each.
How did they get here?
This year’s edition of Bright Labs Incubator is structured in three stages: the pre-selection stage, the validation stage and the incubation stage. The pre-selection stage took place between February and April 2022 and consisted of 5 events that were designed to cover all the categories of technology professionals in geographical areas of interest in România and abroad. The series of events started with Bright Labs Pitch Nights Oradea. The second event was Bright Labs Pitch Nights Cluj, followed by Bright Labs Pitch Nights for Expats, Bright Labs Pitch Nights Timișoara, and Bright Labs Pitch Nights for Tech Professionals. In the end, the Bright Labs Hackathon took place, an event that lasted for two days.
20 startups were selected for the validation stage, that began in the second week of April, and in the last 6 weeks it has been running, the participants had the following workshops:
- Lean Analytics & Risk Prioritization with Tudor Birlea from @FreyaRecruiting
- Problem Framing with Daniel Andor from @Durran
- Opportunity Tree with Vasilica Bob from @123FormBuilder
- Problem & Solution Validation Interview with Tudor Birlea from @FreyaRecruiting
- Prototyping with Daniel Andor from @Durran
- Lean Canvas with David Achim from @MakeITinOradea
- Crafting your Pitch Deck with Răzvan Șuta from @StartupWiseGuys
- Pitching Rehearsals with Cristian Tămaș from @TypingDNA and Cătălin Rus from @PrimeDash
The Pitching Day event
Pitching Day was the event that marked the ending of the validation stage. 17 teams presented the current status of their ideas and the evolution of the last weeks in front of the jury who had the mission to choose the most promising teams for the next stage. Among the industries of the presented startups are industries like smart city, medtech or SaaS, that were also present in last year's edition. This year, ideas from areas such as web3, sustainability and space are part of the program.
The jury rated the startups according to the following characteristics: team, market, innovation and validation. In addition, the Make IT in Oradea’s team gave a score based on their involvement in the validation stage. The 4 distinguished members of the jury were:
- Monica Obogeanu - Startup Programs Manager @OrangeRomânia
- Istvan Barta - Founder & CEO @Tracknamic
- Lucian Luncan - Managing Director @Publi24
- Cătălin Rus - COO @Prime Dash
At the end of the day, 8 startups were selected for the incubation stage and each of them were awarded with 5.000 euros to invest in the development of their products.
- Palm Benefits - a marketplace platform that mediates and facilitates the relationship between property managers and service providers.
- DocsGen - a web application that generates documents based on a form.
- NF Tickets - offers event organizers full control over the secondary ticket selling market, and fair prices for the fans to see their idols through the blockchain technology.
- 2 people - a platform that exchanges packages of clothes.
- TreeDev Software Solutions S.R.L. (Institute Assistant) - a solution that offers a range of functionalities to help an institute to operate as accurately and efficiently as possible.
- Hygge - a guided journal to mindful happiness.
- PackE - a platform that aims to improve local tourism and to build customer loyalty through the usage of NFTs.
- MD Priority - a support system that will contribute to better medical assistance within the Emergency Care Units.
What’s coming next?
The startups will go through 16 intense weeks of workshops such as Design Sprint, Product Vision & Strategy Framework, Q&As, case studies on various topics, but will also participate in conferences dedicated to technology startups.
Make IT in Oradea is a non-profit organization initiated by Oradea City Hall together with a group of local tech companies. The purpose of the organization is to boost the local tech ecosystem. The initiative is built on three pillars: mentoring and funding for tech startups; scholarships for high school and university students following a tech curriculum; tax incentives for office buildings that host IT&C companies
Bright Labs Incubator is a unique program designed to support ambitious founders take their bright ideas to market in 6 months.
Discover more about Make IT in Oradea and their initiatives on the program's website!
