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Creative Business Cup – new challenge for Macedonian creative startups!

How one Macedonian creative startup got the opportunity to present its business idea in front of the world? Well, thanks to SmartUp Social Innovation Lab and their collaboration with the Union of Macedonian Professional Associations in the Creative Industries – UMPAKI who organised the first Creative Business Cup North Macedonia this May!

Worldwide in the creative and cultural industries there are thousands of startups who have a lot of opportunities and funding mechanisms to develop their ideas, but in our country this startup trend is just starting to develop. That’s why for the first time SmartUp presented CBC in front of Macedonian startups.

” The Creative Business Cup is a unique international competition for innovative business ideas, products or services from creative and cultural industries who have the potential to grow globally. “

The journey of getting the top 10 creative Macedonian startups to the CBC consisted of three stages: an application process, an online Bootcamp Academy and the National competition.

The online Bootcamp Academy was the main shaping process for building skills which helped the startups to shine on their pitching day. During the weeklong bootcamp, 9 speakers gave lectures about popular topics like B2B lead generation and sales process, access to funding, how to communicate, pitch and sell, ways of understanding key parameters in finance and getting to capital, how to build a work culture as well as leadership and commitment that is needed to succeed and other topics like long term strategy development etc.

The winning team of the National Cup got a spot in the Global Creative Business Academy – an exclusive accelerator program and represented North Macedonia at the Global Finals 2021 during the industry forum BRIGHT in Copenhagen this June.
The second and third place teams got a pass to attend the Global Finals 2021, meet and connect with entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors from over 80 different countries.

What you should know about the top three finalists?!

Let us introduce you to the winning team of the National Cup – ArchX Studio, with their project for EnergyBOX – outdoor work hub.
ArchX Studio is composed of architects Natali Veleska and Alen Cvetkovski, and young architects Sara Veleska and Andrej Cvetkovski.
Their concept is a work corner that can be placed in a public area, with internet connection and connection for electronic devices. EnergyBOX is energy efficient (works on solar energy), easily accessible for people with disabilities, modular, easy-to-install and accessible with software infrastructure. The problem that the design focuses on is the lack of space in public areas where you can work, charge electrical devices, have a stable internet connection and get information through the application. This solution ennobles public spaces and goes in the direction of smart cities.

Facebook: Аrchx Studio
Linkedin: ArchX

Great minds create amazing ideas, so the jury had a tough decision choosing the best of the best. They were impressed by InRoom Preview and eBionics ideas too.

InRoomPreview is a startup created by Vasil Stojchev in 2016 and now is represented by a young and passionate team, working from Macedonia to offer feasible and affordable solutions to all artists around the world. After seeing the difficulty of buying artworks without being able to visualize them at home, Vasil decided to fix this problem by creating a virtualization app. Since then, the company has been constantly growing and now is expanding to the European market.
InRoom Preview in fact is an art visualization app for mobile phones and tablets. It lets app users virtually see how artwork looks in any space.
Are you an Artist? Art Gallery? Photographer? Let everybody virtually place your art on their home wall and make a purchase without a hesitation. Or place your art in 20 free room setups and post it on Instagram. How does it work?! Read here!

Web: Home – InRoomPreview
Facebook: InRoomPreview
Linkedin: InRoomPreview

eBionics team’s main idea for the product comes from their designer, Orhan.
The product is a 3D printed bionic hand (electronic prosthesis). One of the main features of the bionic arm is its low price which allows the arm to be available to everyone who needs it, including people from less developed countries. Also, the arm will have more different dimensions, which means that it will be upgradeable for children and teenagers whose body is constantly developing. This product is made on the principle that every person who needs a bionic hand can download a free 3D printing model and print it, order other parts online and assemble the hand, without previous experience, within 1 to 2 hours. From this, it can be concluded that they do not charge for delivery, labor and profit for the manufacturer and supplier. These features make the bionic arm at least 28 times cheaper than other currently available bionic arms on the market.

Web: Venus Arm – eBionics
Facebook: eBionics
Instagram: eBionics (@ebionics.os) 

” How about you? Do you have any creative ideas for a startup? But.. you don’t know how to pitch it in front of the world? Don’t worry, that’s why we’ll be back with the Creative Business Cup and the Bootcamp academy again. Follow us on our social media and keep being informed on time! “

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