11 companies will participate in the third edition of the “InCredibles” – winners of three prestigious competitions for start-ups: The European Start-up Challenge in Katowice, Business Insider Trends Festival and the SingularityU Global Impact Challenge.
The InCredibles is a versatile, tailored acceleration and mentoring programme initiated in 2017 by Sebastian Kulczyk who supports young companies within the sector of new technologies. The third edition of the programme started on 14 may 2019 with the European Start-up Days conference in Katowice which was used to present the results of the European Start-up Challenge. Its winners – Bioceltix, Hyper Poland, MakeGrowLab, ProperGate, Salesbook and QNA Technology – were introduced to participate in the InCredibles initiative this year.
Winners of the European Start-up Days 2019 – first in the III edition of the InCredibles
4 companies in the following order: SolHotAir, Prosoma, Wiperapp and Billon are the startups mentioned during the Business Insider Trends Festival, which took place on 2-3 October 2019.
eDrop – the winner of the Global Impact Challenge 2019, which was organised by SingularityU Poland, was the last to join the InCredibles family.
The winner of the SingularityU Poland Global Impact Challenge 2019
Who are the participants of the III edition of the 2019 InCredibles programme?
- Bioceltix – bio-technology start-up from the veterinary sector. The company develops biopharmaceuticals for the veterinary sector by using stem cells and focusing on issues with high demand for new treatment methods. The technology of using allogenic mesenchymal stem cells (AlloMSC) in the one donor – many recipients configuration allows for a serial production of the medicine without the need to collect biological material from the patient each time the medicine is produced. Thanks to that technology, the medicine will be readily available in the veterinary clinic, which will shorten the time required for the treatment. The company launched an isolated technological line for the production of veterinary biopharmaceuticals.
- Hyper Poland – a start-up offering a new means of transport which provides fast transportation of persons or goods with high speed on the basis of the sustainable transport concept. The established Hyperloop is a combination of a train and a plane (according to the data, it will allow to travel from e.g. Cracow to Gdańsk in 35 minutes at speed close to the speed of sound). The capsule of the vehicle travels in a special tube in which the pressure is as low as the pressure 10 kilometres above the sea level, which reduces the drag. The vehicle travels without coming into contact with the ground thanks to magnetic levitation and air bearings. The technology allows to modernise the existing railway infrastructure in order to adjust it to obtain speeds up to 300 km/h with at a reasonable cost (estimates based on the costs in central and western Europe starting at EUR 6 million for a kilometre of the infrastructure).
- MakeGrowLab – creator of SCOBY, which is a fully biodegradable, fast replenishing material which can be used for the production of disposable packaging replacing plastic, textiles or interior products. The SCOBY material can grow on waste, in areas deprived of sunlight, which makes it stand out in the group of renewable materials such as algae or bamboo. SCOBY is in the phase of initial sale and the project for an automated vertical farm is under research. MakeGrowLab also offers help with implementing circulation scheme for enterprises.
- ProperGate is a supplier of web applications for managing the logistics of large-scale construction projects. It is targeted at investors (developers) and general contractors, who focus on optimisation of project costs, reducing the amount of wasted time and increasing the efficiency of logistics. The company digitizes the process of placing delivery orders and monitoring materials on the construction sites in busy city centres. It provides the logistic coordinator and the subcontractors with a tool which ensures delivery, unloading and access to resources in a specific area and time, as well as an effective communication channel.
- Salesbook is an application to sell and present goods for mobile traders who must reach their customers, analyse their needs, present and adjust the product. The tool is offered in a SaaS model (software as a service). A tablet with the Salesbook application can be used in sectors that require a direct contact with customers. The system combines elements of Sales Enablement with Configure Price Quote which allows even a novice trader to go through the sale process of their product. The application was used by Prudential to sale life insurance policies, Mercedes to sell cars, BMW to sell motorbikes, Innogy, Fortum, Axpo – to sale energy.
- QNA Technology is a company focused on designing and manufacturing semiconductor colloidal nanostructures and modification of their surfaces. The company specialises in production on a small scale and offering nanostructures of the highest quality, which meet various needs of customers from different market sectors. The company is already involved in the sale of some of its products (QNA.dots and QNA.inks) and is currently working on more products. Some projects are in an advanced stage, such as: synthesis of the high-quality cadmium-free quantum dots, blue radiating dots and dots for radiation converters that are used in photovoltaics and growing plants. The innovation of the project consists of two aspects: technological and production. The company has developed a globally unique flow technology which allows repetitive synthesis of large amount of quantum dots of high quality.
- SolHotAir works on highly efficient solar heating panel based on their own innovative technology allowing effective production of heat through conversion of solar energy into heat energy in the air collectors. It will be mounted on walls and roofs of buildings as an independent part of solar dryers to dry biomass, as well as crops, hops, fruit, mushrooms, spices and coffee.
- Prosoma is a start-up which works on using virtual reality (VR) with individuals suffering from cancer in order to aid their fight with fear and depression. It combines a behavioural therapy and VR technology. It creates virtual worlds in which oncology patients can immerse themselves and, as a result, decrease their level of stress and fear. The company also tests the efficiency of psychotherapy support in fighting cancer. In April 2019, the start-up received PLN 1.2 million from the Black Pearls VC fund of Gdańsk.
- Wiperapp created a simple tool for irreversible removal of data from hard drives without the need to destroy the media itself. The solution of the Polish start-up is in accordance with the applicable General Data Protection Regulation. Wiperapp offers a solution for corporations and individual customers.
- Billon is a fintech operating in Poland and the United Kingdom, which developed standards of digital currency circulation and other data through the blockchain technology. It allows to record transactions in a non-editable format which is transparent and unalterable. In contrary to many blockchain solutions, Billon does not use cryptocurrencies.
- eDrop was created to help individuals around the world to become more rational with their water use. It is the first device which educates and motivates to save water and, as a result, save money and the environment.
Mentoring support for the InCredibles 2019
Within the InCredibles initiative, the companies participate in a wide mentoring programme based on workshops and meetings with experts and investors from all over the world. Thanks to those meetings, they can increase their contact base and obtain valuable knowledge from the experience of exceptional mentors. They are also provided with the opportunity to participate in the most important conferences which give young businessmen the option to present themselves to potential investors, obtain substantive, organisational and financial support from the world-class experts, as well as an opportunity to benefit from a valuable mentoring.
Even during the first event – European Start-up Days in Katowice, during the workshops, the representatives of the companies had the chance to meet around 20 mentors – specialists in the key fields for the development of enterprises. The group of mentors consisted of: Chip Espinoza (Expert on Multi-generational Workforce and Thought Leader on the Future of Work), Carl H. Smith (Principal Research Fellow, Director, Learning Technology Research Centre, Ravensbourne University London), Michał Kramarz (Head of Startups, Export & Entrepreneurship Development, Google), Jarosław Sroka (Kulczyk Investments) and Jowita Michalska (Founder/CEO, Digital University, SingularityU Warsaw Chapter Ambassador).
The InCredibles workshops within the framework of the European Start-up Days
Another event to which the participants of the programme were invited was a two-day Business Insider Trends Festival conference. Apart from the opportunity to listen to several lectures and debates provided by the experts, the representatives of the companies could also participate in closed mentoring sessions with: Zev Siegl (cofounder of the Starbucks coffee shops), Brunon Bartkiewicz (CEO of the ING Bank Śląski), Piotr Kochański (Founding Managing Partner of the Kochański & Partners office), Sonia Wędrychowicz (a consultant within the fintech field and a recent Head of Technology Transformation Consumer and Community Bank in JPMorgan) and Ireneusz Piecuch (Managing Partner in the IMP Law Firm).
Workshops for the InCredibles during the Business Insider Trends Festival
They were also invited to participate in the Masters & Robots conference which took place on 7 and 8 October 2019, and additional closed workshop session prepared specially for them. They met with Supreet Singh Manchanda – an investor from the Silicon Valley, a specialist in the field of new technologies and cyber security, Lessa Soulodre – an investor from Singapore working with the start-up system from the whole Asia, a speaker for the largest start-up event in the world – RISE in Hong Kong, and Andrea Fronzetti – a remarkable scientist related to MIT who cooperates within the field of startups in Europe, an expert in the field of artificial intelligence and data management.
Workshops for the InCredibles during the Masters & Robots conference
The representatives of the InCredibles companies also took part in a workshop regarding the subject of building the strategies and presentation of business with Wojciech Świercz and Maciej Rebajn from a consulting company Bain & Company and a workshop with Artur Adamowicz on how to communicate with the media.
Maciej Rebajn and Wojciech Świercz from Bain & Company are in charge of workshops on building strategies for the InCredibles
Another aspect of the third edition of the InCredibles is the visit in Google for Startups Campus in London, where the participants of the programme, within a two-day session, will have the chance to meet local mentors from all fields of business activity, as well as potential investors. The representatives will also meet Marta Krupińska (Google For Startups UK Head), Mariama Boumanjal (GFS Program Manager), Stijn Tops (Google Industry Manager), Lucero Tagle (Google Team Lead), Joanna Chwastowska (Google Engineering lead/Coach) and Michael Cavanagh (GFS Marketing Manager).
The last and final event of this year InCredibles programme will be a visit to SLUSH 2019 in Helsinki, one of the most inspiring start-up conference in the world.
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The InCredibles – a versatile, tailored acceleration and mentoring programme initiated in 2017 by Sebastian Kulczyk who supports young Polish companies within the sector of new technologies.
Incredible Inspirations – a multidimensional platform created by Sebastian Kulczyk which focuses on non-business initiatives and projects. Inspiring books, research and analysis, reports, workshops, acceleration programmes, debates and trainings designed with the idea of building competences of young Polish entrepreneurs.
Sebastian Kulczyk – a leader of the young generation of Polish entrepreneurs. An international investor. Social projects regarding the fields of new technologies, in particular those related to health, education and infrastructure of the future are his passion. Since 2013, he manages international family company which combines the highest standards of business management with an efficient global charity activity.