The TU Wien i²c DEMO DAY – Where Tomorrow's Innovations See the Light of Day
Have you ever wondered how innovative ideas are developed and brought to market?
Have you ever wondered how innovative ideas are developed and brought to market? In the extension course "Extended Studies on Innovation" at TU Wien, 25 students each year get the chance to learn exactly that – developing their own startup in lectures and workshops with industry experts. After a year of developing and refining their ideas, the course concludes with the TU Wien DEMO DAY. This is a pitch competition where students get to pitch their startup in front of a high-calibre jury, with various prizes on offer that can take a startup to the next level (e.g. a spot on 2 Minuten 2 Millionen).
Previous Demo Days have already brought many promising projects into the spotlight. For example, at the 2019 Demo Day, NovoArc pitched – now a successful TU Wien spin-off developing the medicines and vaccines of the future with its patented lipid technology.
This year's Demo Day, held on 14.06.2021, also featured kula – our founder & CEO Julian Netzer participated in this year's "Extended Studies on Innovation" and developed kula from an idea into a real product during the course. The event kicked off with a welcome address from "Context Flow" – a TU startup that has developed a 3D image-based search engine for radiologists, now used worldwide. Founder Markus Holzer presented the Contextflow story and what he learned from founding a startup in Austria.
The subsequent Pitch Challenge was accompanied by the following jurors:
- Michael Altrichter, investor and entrepreneur
- Caroline Klinger, Project Manager 4Entertainment, ProSiebenSat.1 PULS4 Media Group
- Marie Ringler, European Director and Global Leadership Group Member at Ashoka
- Gabriele Tatzberger, Head of Start-up Services, Vienna Business Agency
Three startups in particular stood out, impressing the jury with their innovative business ideas:
CityRiddler – the fun way to get lost:
The CityRiddler app (https://www.cityriddler.com) is designed to let cities be explored in a playful way, making the secret spots and hidden gems of each city easier to discover. It relies on a Riddle Creator Community and a specially developed algorithm that creates an interactive puzzle rally tailored to personal interests and current location.
"After a year of intensive work, the Demo Day was the crowning conclusion of an exciting programme. The excitement before the pitch was immense. To our delight, we won two prizes: a wildcard for 2min2mio and a 1-year i²c mentoring. The Demo Day was a real door-opener for CityRiddler." – Tanja Zigart from CityRiddler
Zeitgeber – become a morning person too:
With their light therapy wake-up system, the startup Zeitgeber (https://www.zeitgeber.at) helps people with chronic difficulties getting up or with seasonal depression to start the day more healthily. What looks like an elegant light above the headboard feels like waking up to a sunrise, complete with audio accompaniment.
"The TU Wien i2c Demo Day was the turning point from a university project to a startup for us. It was an important foundation for media presence, investor talks and business partnerships." – Marian Stoschitzky from Zeitgeber
kula – the app to build apps:
The pitch from kula couldn't have gone better. Julian aka "Jules" won over the jurors and swept up the prizes. In addition to a spot on 2 Minuten 2 Millionen, kula won participation in the pan-European StageTwo Finals as one of the two best TU Wien startups, as well as the coveted admission to the TU Wien incubator.
In conclusion, this Demo Day once again saw many innovative solutions come to light – with Zeitgeber, Cityriddler and kula among them. Who knows – perhaps they too will soon shape the future of the Austrian startup scene, just like NovoArc and Contextflow.
Author: Moritz Unterberger, Extended Studies on Innovation Alumni