Bucharest, March 18, 2015 – 13 promising tech startups with global potential are part of the second batch of MVP Academy, pre-acceleration program that will take place in between March 23rd – May 14th at TechHub Bucharest. The finalists will take their products to the next level and build valuable connections in the industry by attending practical workshops, mentoring sessions and other dedicated activities. The list of teams is available online on the program website.
The 13 finalists that are now part of MVP Academy Class of 2015 are building products in fields such as security, mobile commerce, ecommerce, analytics or fashion tech and have differentiated from the other applicants through the experience they already have: most of the startups in the second batch have previously founded other companies or are formed of experienced tech professionals.
The selection was made taking into consideration the team fit & experience, the market size & trend, the market validation & traction, the international potential & impact, as well as the overall feasibility of the product. Bogdan Iordache (Investment Manager, 3TS Capital Partners and Board Member, How to Web & TechHub Bucharest), Cosmin Ochișor (Business Development Manager, hub:raum, that has evaluated the teams on behalf of hub:raum and Telekom Romania) and Alex Negrea (Co-Founder, docTrackr) were part of the jury that selected the finalists.
The startups that are now part of the second batch of the pre-acceleration program are:
Accelerole: pay-as-you-go management software that helps freelancers and agencies master the bill-by-the-hour structure & better manage their internal processes;
Catwalk15: mobile app that helps you get instant fashion advice and find style inspiration;
Clepsisoft CyberFog: proactive cybersecurity solution which can deflect cyberattacks targeting your company;
CloudHero: management and reporting product that empowers teams and individuals to manage their infrastructure, deploy new services and control the costs from one single place;
Conversion Network: integrated marketing software that enables affiliate marketers to build and scale their business with less effort and better results;
InnerTrends: web analytics solution for web apps and ecommerce websites focused on tracking customers;
MyDog.xyz: platform that interconnects dog owners, dog service providers and parks;
SafeDrive: mobile app that improves the traffic safety by rewarding the users that don’t use the phone while driving with points that can be converted in products and services;
Seeds: unified survey platform for heavy data gatherers;
Squady: platform that helps people discover, join and create social activities in an easy and intuitive way;
Swapr: easy to use mobile app that allows women to exchange clothes with each other anytime, anywhere;
SwipeTapSell: single-page browser-based app that offers a streamlined mobile and tablet experience, helping online stores to engage and convert more;
Unloq: a new way to authenticate and authorize transactions that replaces passwords with devices, thus offering its users increased security, simple & free.
MVP Academy is a program organized in partnership with Telekom Romania & Bitdefender, with the support of CyberGhost, Raiffeisen Bank, hub:raum and Microsoft. In between March 23rd – May 14th, the 13 teams will pass through a complex pre-acceleration process, customized to fit their specific development needs, will take their product to the next level, and will learn how to take advantage of global market opportunities. All these by attending a series of practical workshops, 1-on-1 mentoring & coaching sessions, pitching practice and other dedicated activities.
During the 7 weeks of the program, the startups will build valuable connections with renown mentors and industry leaders, among which there are Jon Bradford (Managing Director, Techstars UK), Mike Butcher (Senior Editor, TechCrunch Europe), Alex Barrera (Co-Founder, Tech.eu & Press42), Ivan Brezak Brkan (Editor, Netokracija), Olaf Lausen (Chief of CEO Staff & Business Development Director, Telekom Romania) or Florin Talpeș (CEO & Founder, Bitdefender). The list of mentors that have kindly accepted the invitation to join the program is available online at http://bit.ly/MVPmentors, and it will be periodically updated to fit the specific needs of the teams in the second batch.
Moreover, the teams will discuss with representatives of some of the most important accelerator programs worldwide (Techstars, Startupbootcamp, Startup Wiseguys, Ignite 100 or LAUNCHub), with angel investors and early stage investment funds that are active in the region (Early Bird, 3TS Capital Partners).
The pre-acceleration program will end up on Thursday, May 14th, with Demo Day, event where the 13 startups will pitch their products and showcase their progress in front of an audience comprising investors and leaders of the tech professional community from Europe and beyond. They will thus have the chance to start discussions for obtaining follow-up funding or closing strategic partnerships to support them in their further development.
MVP Academy is a program organized in partnership with Telekom & Bitdefender, with the support of CyberGhost, Raiffeisen Bank, hub:raum and Microsoft. The visibility of the event is ensured by F6S, CrunchBase, Netocratic, Inventures.eu, Entrepreneur Global, Digjitale, Entrepreneur.bg, Newtrend.bg, Startup Date, Traction Tribe, Times New Roman, Hotnews, Capital, Evenimentul Zilei, România Liberă, Academia Cațavencu, Yoda.ro, Incont.ro, Wall-Street.ro, Forbes România, Business24, Ziare.com, Business Review, Computer Games, Comunicații Mobile, Computer World, PC World, Agora, Business Cover, Business Woman, Zelist.ro, Comunicatedepresa.ro, Trade Ads Interactive, Gadget Trends, Games Arena, Gadget Talk, Softlead, Today Software Magazine, startups.ro și IQAds.
by Diana Muntea
