Young startupreneurs from Estonia, Finland and Latvia got a bootcamp-boost from NOCCA

At the end of January, Tehnopol Startup Incubator hosted 50 students and startup teams from Estonia, Finland and Latvia. This visit was part of the Acceleration and Idea Bootcamp held by NOCCA, a joint project organised by Tehnopol, Mektory, Haaga-Helia University and SSE Riga.

The intensive 6-day camp contained several workshops to help participating startups get ready to pitch both on stage and to investors at the biggest business festival in the Baltics taking place in Estonia, Tartu. Mentors and coaches are well-known in the startup ecosystem and included some of the top names in the industry – the pitching workshop was hosted by Gleb Maltsev and startup slide-decks got design advice from the experts like Helen Kokk, Argo Kubja, Pirko Konsa and others. Activities offered to startups also included legal and finances seminars, cross-mentoring, networking and various workshops, for example, on investor readiness and sales and marketing.

“Startups are all about going cross border, because otherwise they can’t scale their business. Therefore it’s important to explore nearby markets and get valuable feedback already early on. Tehnopol has built a strong mentor network, so the startups could get the best hands on advice from the experts and improve quickly. Bootcamp is an excellent way to do just that,” said Kadri Tammai, Head of Tehnopol Startup Incubator.

Most of the participating teams got together in the previous NOCCA hackathons and workshops, but some participants took part with their already scalable idea. However, the goal is mutual – to find new perspectives and to develop business ideas, up to financeable startups. 

“For most startups, sustainability and efficiency were key ideas behind the businesses. Out of the ten best ideas that had the chance to pitch during sTARTUp Day 2020, over half created a new and better alternative to existing solutions, whether it’s a wool-based bubblewrap, or online and automised Excel help,” said Triin Ilves, Tehnopol Startup Incubator Community Manager.

“Besides the great sessions on topics such as Early Stage Marketing or Getting First Customers and the awesome pitch training, the exchange with the other teams was super helpful. Our team is now looking for good contacts to prove our MVP, hire developers and adjust the product to get the perfect market fit!” Jonas Bayer from Freshis, one of the participating teams, added.

sTARTUp Day 2020 is the biggest business festival in the Baltics taking place in Tartu, Estonia. The two-day conference brought together startup-minded people, including the NOCCA Bootcamp group. After the Acceleration and Idea Bootcamp in Tallinn, NOCCA students and startups enjoyed inspiring-educational stage programme and the festive atmosphere and had the opportunity to attend Tehnopol pitching panel and pre-arranged meetings via matchmaking.

Check out the full album of the Bootcamp

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