TechChill announces applications for the Fifty Founders Battle startup competition with a €10,000 grand prize

The leading technology and startup event in the Baltic region, TechChill, taking place this year from 7 to 21 May, has opened applications for its annual startup competition, the Fifty Founders Battle. Early-stage startups from a range of industries are invited to participate and compete for the attention of international investors, the title of winner and the grand prize—a €10,000 cash award from TechChill.

The deadline for applying to the first selection round of the competition is 1 April. Fifty of the most promising startups from the Baltic, Nordic and Central European regions will be selected from all applications. Each candidate will have the opportunity to present their business idea on TechChill’s virtual stage before more than 200 active investors and event viewers. In line with industry trends, this year special emphasis will be placed on startups in the FinTech, B2B, artificial intelligence, robotics and sustainability subsectors. In addition to the €10,000 grand prize, one of the most promising participants will also receive a special prize from Httpool worth EUR 3,000 for placing Facebook and LinkedIn advertisements , as well as other valuable prizes from industry representatives to support the further development of their company.

Adapting to the conditions created by the pandemic, TechChill 2021’s central event will take place online this year. Among its more than 2,000 attendees and experts will be approximately 200 international investors, including representatives of venture capital firms and accelerators, as well as business angels, whose aim is to learn about the most promising startups in the Baltic region, discover innovative business ideas and assess investment opportunities. They will include representatives of Lightspeed Venture Partners, Accel, EQT Ventures, Future Positive Capital, Expon Capital, Vendep Capital, Change Ventures, Practica Capital, Karma Ventures, Superhero Capital, TMT Investments, Tera Ventures and several dozen other investment firms, who, together with TechChill’s official jury, will evaluate each competition finalist’s idea and its global potential.

Previous Fifty Founders Battle winners include such Baltic success stories as Infogr.am, TrackDuck, Edurio, Nordigen, Sprayprinter and Anatomy Next, as well as Precision Navigation Systems and last year’s winner, the Estonian startup Woola, which produces sustainable bubble wrap from sheep’s wool. Overall, applications for last year’s competition were received from 37 countries around the world.

“The Fifty Founders Battle set Woola on the path to its dizzying successes in 2020. Winning the competition gave us global visibility, which is so necessary when beginning to raise investment. The cash prize, meanwhile, helped us survive until the end of last year, when we raised EUR 450,000 in investment for the company’s further development. We are especially pleased to see that more and more GreenTech, or green technology, startups are taking part in the competition, and we eagerly await their successes this year as well. Our experience is proof that the Fifty Founders Battle serves as a valuable platform for every new entrepreneur to prove themselves and set out on the path to international success,” comments Anna-Liisa Palatu, co-founder of the startup Woola and winner of the 2020 competition.

TechChill will take place for the tenth consecutive time this May, bringing together more than 2,000 attendees, including startup representatives and media, investors, experts from various business sectors, as well as technology enthusiasts from Latvia and around the world. The event’s central themes will be sustainability innovation, fostering professional growth, digital transformation and the role of the Baltic states in the development of the global technology sector. Expanding its reach and pursuing new goals, TechChill will take place in neighbouring Lithuania for the first time this year, with the official conference opening event scheduled for 7 May.

Applications for the Fifty Founders Battle can be submitted by completing the participation form by 1 April: https://ej.uz/50foundersbattle2021