Led by the mission to support young entrepreneurs in turning their ideas into successful businesses, ENTREPRENEDU project is organising a series of 3 business competitions named HackTheBusiness.
HackTheBusiness, an entrepreneurship challenge designed for young minds, empowers participants to learn, explore, and discover the secrets of the DeepTech industry. The competition encourages thinking outside the box, refining pitches, and harnessing creativity. Beyond a mere competition, HackTheBusiness also serves as an opportunity for collaboration, learning and growth, offering participants the chance to engage with ENTREPRENEDU mentors and receive constructive feedback from esteemed judges and industry leaders.
The first HackTheBusiness event took place from 15 to 17 of June at We Make Future in Rimini, Italy, and was aimed at 30 teams including students, new start-ups and researchers who want to acquire entrepreneurial skills and explore their business potential.
During the 3-day event, participants were presented with a challenge: to pitch groundbreaking problem-solving ideas in the fields of SpaceTech, ClimateTech, or FoodTech. They were then given 72 hours to refine their ideation concepts with the constant guidance of ENTREPRENEDU mentors.
The pitches were evaluated based on various criteria, including innovation, feasibility, market scalability, and social impact. At the end of the competition, ENTREPRENEDU’s panel of experts selected the four winning teams and their innovative DeepTech ideas:
Winner #1: BACKWARDS
BACKWARDS team aims to tackle the issue of packaging waste by creating reusable packaging and logistics infrastructure.
Winner #2: SHADES OF BLUE
SHADES OF BLUE team aspires to establish a certification system and consultancy services for sustainable water resource management, helping companies monitor, improve, and communicate their impact on rivers and water.
Winner #3: AS YOU LIKE
AS YOU LIKE seeks to transform the dining experience through a mobile app that enables users to customise meals, access real-time nutrition information using Visual-AI, and discover restaurants aligned with their dietary needs.
Winner #4: BOBIS
With a goal to reduce CO2 emissions caused by last-mile logistics, BOBIS has an idea about a platform that encourages local consumption and facilitates the search for products and services within a three-kilometre radius.
These young entrepreneurs have demonstrated their ability to “hack the business” by developing groundbreaking ideas that have the potential to revolutionise their respective industries. All winners had won business prizes and access to the dedicated ENTREPRENEDU mentoring courses which would enable them to transform their idea into a successful business.
HackTheBusiness is organised by Fondazione E. Amaldi, Corallia, Cleantech Bulgaria and F6S together with Luiss Guido Carli, Fraunhofer IPK, the European Business Angels Network and University of Thessaly.
More information about the HackTheBusiness is available on the ENTREPRENEDU website.
About ENTREPRENEDU Project:
ENTREPRENEDU is the initiative funded under the Horizon Europe programme, which assembles innovation stakeholders and educational entities from 6 different European countries: Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Belgium, Germany and Irealand, with an aim to enhance European entrepreneurial ecosystems for education.
