Alumni

Team Sorter is developing an application that uses the barcode to help people sort waste correctly. The idea stemmed from waste sorters’ common concern that they are often not sure what waste goes to which bin. The team has already got much feedback from potential users who say that this app should have been on the market long time ago. Among others, also waste management companies have shown interest in this app since it brings them a cleaner waste stream. The team has succeeded in involving companies in the development process who are willing to provide financial support to accelerate the launch of this product.

Anneli Ohvril, the leader of team Sorter commented on the victory, “Our bigger goal is a cleaner planet and environmental protection, and our application helps to achieve it. We are happy that our idea got the attention and the award of the city of Tartu. It shows that Tartu cares for clean environment and we have a partner to cooperate with.”

Member of the judges’ panel Alo Lilles, Head of Business Development at the Tartu City Government told that. „Sorter team has an awesome idea. Their solution helps to save our environment and it matches Tartu's values of being a more environmentally friendly and greener city. Such teams are welcome to share their thoughts with us. We will soon meet with team Sorter to think about how to successfully implement the idea and pilot it here in Tartu.

Team SoulCare is developing a platform to connect help-seekers with mental health experts. People would be able to text, call, or contact experts by video chat. A special algorithm would help match people with the best experts and recommend what to do next.

The whole STARTERtartu programme was a great opportunity to develop the idea, get new experiences and learn. All the workshops and webinars were productive and forward-looking. Meetings with mentors helped to set us a better vision and an action plan to where we aimed. 

Team SoulCare won EIT Health prize - tickets to the EIT Health 2021 Summit held in Sweden.

Team CommuniCare is a social platform that unites volunteers all over Estonia to provide aid for carehomes in their area. The volunteers meet and talk with clients (elders) of carehomes and therefore take the workload off from everyday personnel.

Communicare won fnancial award and tickets to the prestigious business festival Arctic15 at 13th Kaleidoskoop. They were alos selected to be the best Estonian STARTER team in 2019.

At business idea competition Ajujaht they won the best social entrepreneurship award (5000 euros), special award from the city of Tartu (5000 euros) and from Saue Parish (4000 euros).

STARTERtartu gave CommuniCare the chance to validate our idea, get valuable early-stage mentors and help us to a big stage. Thanks to the opportunity to pitch on the Pitching Stage at sTARTUp Day, we were forced to work hard and perfect our pitch. With that, we not only won prizes from Kaleidoskoop, but actually won the title of the
country's best STARTER programm. That gave us the boost that we needed to enter the real business world as a recognized company.

OhhSaNugis is a sustainable brand of comics based clothes designed to bring encouragment and joy into our often unglamorous day-to-day lives.

They won inspiration prize at the STARTERtallinn Spring 2019 Demo Day and several special prizes.
Team Ohhsanugis: Sandra Silver, Kaur Terep, Kristjan Sven Kukk, Samuel Koppel, Morten Milder ja Mark Eric Kammiste from Tallinn University

Follow us in:
FB - https://www.facebook.com/ohhsanugis/
web - https://www.sandrasilver.ee
Instagram: ohhsanugis

COMPACT - TalTech Mektory Startup Competiton 2018 GRAND PRIX and the BEST STARTERtech TEAM of Autumn 2018

CompAct is automating and simplifying the way Green Offices are run.
CompAct provides an interactive & motivational toolkit for companies helping their employees form sustainable behaviour habits. At the same time building a responsible brand, increasing employee engagement and cutting down costs. Employees stay motivated through gamification, small individual and fun team challenges and a well-visualized charts history.


Recognitions and timeline:
2018 Q4
* Ajujaht TOP30 (+access to the development program)
* TalTech Mektory Startup Competition GRAND PRIX and the BEST STARTERtech (3-months technology oriented pre-incubation programm) TEAM + special prizes from Avokaado and EstBan
* Climathon I place + 4 special prizes
* Loomehäkk I place + 4 special prizes

2019 Q1–Q3
* Pilot with Tehnopol
* Prototron TOP40
* 6-months Startup Incubator program in Tehnopol
* Pitch at 5th Annual Impact Investing & Frugal Innovation Conference InnoFrugal 2019
* NGAL I place
* ClimateLaunchpad national finals II place
* Å Pitch II place
* Pilots with Tele2, Tieto and other partners
* Testing & developing the prototype
* 8 paying clients

2019 Q4
Testing the chatbot at the biggest conference in Estonia (more than 5000 visitors)

2020 Q1
Expanding to other markets

Web: www.compact.ee

The winner of GRAND PRIX at STARTERtallinn Spring 2019 and special prizes from Prototron and TalTech Mektory.
Presently participating in the EIT Digital program and incubating in the Tehnopol Startup Incubator.

To provide better support for the psycho social needs of patients, the team is building a peer-to-peer communication platform: Recovery Companion.
It is a secured and verified social network aimed at cancer patients who are going through treatment and survivors. Users are matched up through a precise machine learning algorithm that understands their preferences and emotional state, connecting them with like-minded individuals.
In the future, there will be added functionality to help patients keep track of their treatment, a diary and a chat-bot companion who encourages positive and healthy behavior.

Recovery Companion has all important roles in the team covered:
Byron Sowerby, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, is studying a master of engineering in Healthcare technology at TalTech.
Olga Vovk, Co-Founder, Chief Legal and Technical Officer, has a cum laude degree in Law and IT (Health Care Technology, TalTech).
Eric Jackson, Co-founder, Chief Communication Officer, is in the 2nd year of his masters degree for E-Governance Technologies and Services at TalTech University.
Anu Udras, Co-Founder, Chief Marketer, is a digital strategist with a degree in Marketing and Advertising from University of Tartu.

Byron shared his experience on taking part of the program: "STARTERtallinn helped us understand the holistic ins and outs of founding a company through invaluable mentoring and strategy sessions. Ultimately, we were fortunate enough to make the top 10 and pitch our idea to win the grand prize of 1000 euro in the finals, in addition to entry into Prototron Top 40 and a partnership with TalTech Mektory. We are now incorporated and have received funding from the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT). We are very grateful for the guidance and opportunities STARTERtallinn provided us as a launching point for our success."

Website http://recovcompanion.com

Team Timey (Timey Smart Indicators) was born at the very beginning of 2018 from a TalTech Basics of Entrepreneurship course and was developed further in the STARTER program.
“The task was to come up with a so-called pseudo business idea and make an actual business plan for it. In the beginning, neither us nor the teacher had much faith in the idea,“ say Martin Möllits and Laurent Läheb who are behind Timey.

Since then the team has accomplished a lot:
* TalTech Mektory preincubation program STARTERtech Spring 2018 Grand Prix (Participation at the University Startup World Cup 2018 in Copenhagen, Denmark plus special prizes from Avokaado and Ajujaht);
* Tehnopol Prototron Spring 2018 winner (5500 eur);
* Network Globally Act Locally 2018 winner (3000 dollarit);
* Taltech Mektory Startup Competition 2018 Second Place (+ special prize from Fundwise);
* The BEST STARTER TEAM 2018
* Ajujaht 2019 winner (30000 euros) and a special prize from Funderbeam

Timey provides a smart best before indicator sticker for food producers to put on their packaging. The sticker helps food producers to monitor the proper handling of cold-chain transportation and gives the consumer consumers a convenient, reliable and informed purchase.

http://timey.ltd
https://www.linkedin.com/company/timey/

Team ÄngFree won 500 euros Inspiration Prize from Tallinn Entreprise Department and special prizes from Cleantech ForEst and Ajujaht.
Triin Resik and Tiina Elvelt, the students of Haapsalu College's handicraft technology and design, have been awarded an idea to make stress dolls from recycled materials. They intend to continue their business. They encourage young people to actively participate in different programmes to gain more knowledge, because: „You never know what you can get from an idea if you start working on it ... especially with mentors. Don't be afraid, give it a try! Even failure is better than not trying!”

Io Developers are developing optical eyeglasses that are controlled via mobile app or manually and allow customers to continuously asjust focus on the objects regard to their vision.
In spring 2019 they won Kaleidoskoop wain award - tickets to the University Startup World Cup in Copenhagen. They also won second place in pitching competition of the international business development programme NGAL® (Network Globally, Act Locally) in USA.

Team TRIT won the main award - tickets to European Innovation Academy in Portugal from Kaleidoskoop Finals at sTARTUp Day 2019. They also pitched at the STARTER Pitching Finals!
Team TRIT develops a solution for the translation service. They wish to make ordering translation service easier. The client receives immediately an estimate of how much time and money it takes to complete the work. The TRIT algorithm also finds the most appropriate professional freelance translator for each project, taking into account different criteria, such as the previous experience of the translator and feedback received for the work. TRIT unites the best features of translation and IT to make life easier for both clients and translators. 

eCommerce retail of vegan and cruelty-free make-up and skincare products.
ILUSPEKTER took part in IdeaLab STARTER Advanced programme. At the Kaleidoskoop pitching competition they won the tickets to sTARTUp Day.
Currently they have an online store where they sell vegan and cruelty-free make-up and skincare products and they have created a blog on the same topic.
Find out more about them: https://iluspekter.com
Read their blog:
https://iluspekter.com/blogi

STARTERcreative was a great launching pad and connection builder for Makery. It acted as a doorway for us to walk right into the Estonian startup ecosystem and meet incredible mentors along the way. Being a part of the STARTER program is less like being in a lecture and more like being in a supportive community. Everyone from our peers in the program to the representatives of Estonia's most innovative startups became long-term friends and collaborators. I would not hesitate to recommend Starter to any student looking to learn a bit about what it feels like to start an innovative company.

www.makery.eu

ArtiSun has invented a cheaper and a more environmental way to produce LED lighting for greenhouses. Their solution increases yield as well as decreases light pollution.

Team leader Tatsiana Zaretskaya (Student of TTÜ): "When I saw the information about the STARTER program in the Internet I decided to use this opportunity as I have just started my last year being a student.
At first I wanted to join some team, but ended up pitching my idea to others and creating my own team. I never took part in startup events before and just wanted to see how is it and meet same-minded people. I really liked that the schedule was set up in the beginning of the program for all the dates, it made it really easy for me to attend the events. Also as all the deadlines where stated in the beginning of the program we could arrange ourselves efficiently and prepare everything needed in advance. I always had a lot of questions, mentors and STARTER team always were very supportive and I got all the answers I needed. It was very interesting to see all other teams during other events and see how they are developing together with you. I think the most important that during all the events/seminars/workshops you are getting a lot of feedback and it's the most crucial part for the development of the startup.
I would recommend the program to all the students and anyone who want to try themselves in startup field. The program basically gives step by step instruction of what you need to think about and what you need to do if you want to have your own startup. Also it is a great possibility to meet interesting people or find friends/business partners like in my case."

ArtiSun was the winner of the pre-incubation program STARTERtech Autumn 2017 and third place on the TTÜ Mektory Startup Competition 2017 (December, 2017)
In February 2018 ArtiSun won the Polar Bear Pitching 2018 in Oulu, Finland where all participants were supposed to introduce their ideas while standing in the icecold seawater.

And the story continues ...

Advanced edition of the Mektory Start-up program was a logical choice for MoleQL, as we participated in 2 previous batches. During this time we gradually evolved the passionate team with an interesting idea and raw prototype to the promising and profitable company. Incubation program gave us the chance to deepen our knowledge about various aspects of start-up life along with the stunning pitching and networking opportunities, for example, at Latitude59 conference, Startup Day in Tartu and at Young European Innovators forum Unconvention in Brussels. We are grateful to Anu Oks for all her support. Mektory's team is doing a remarkable work to prove Estonia's status as one of Europe's fastest developing start-up nations. Our team would definitely recommend to participate in the next program to everyone willing to kickstart their world-changing ideas!

A mobile application that enables the user to discover the city through literature or other cultural content. Their goal is to introduce different cities through poems, texts, old photos and cultural heritage,
In 2017 spring they got Tartu City Government special prize in Kaleidoskoop business idea competition.

Decomer Technology develops bioprotein-based bioplastics, which they currently use for packaging honey. Bioplastic dissolves in hot tea water and is not harmful to health, therefore it is an eco-friendly and convenient alternative to sugar.
After activly participating in UT IdeaLab's STARTER Advanced programme, Decomer Technology won 2017 autumn Kaleidoskoop and then got to STARTER Finals at sTARTUp Day which they also won.

decomertechnology.com

Through this program I acquainted myself with the world of startups and acquired the knowledge of how to create a startup of my own. This is a great opportunity to gain insights about various industries and fields of business. Throughout the project I received excellent guidance from mentors and industry professionals who shared their experience and wisdom. Thanks to Starercreative I met with various mentors who helped to identify the weaknesses in my business plan and whose workshops gave me wisdom and practical know-how I could put to use in my venture.

Liisi Tarvo, Co-Founder of Wrap Cafe Wrap´n´Roll

Cody is a personal coding platform that teaches coding like Lingvist teaches languages with numerous interactive exercises. After getting special prize in the finals of STARTERlab final event Kaleidoskoop, they made it to Ajujaht TOP 10 and participated in an exclusive business development program NGAL where they had a chance to pitch and compete in Charleston, USA.

www.cody.ee

Ethico Food develops and manufactures a range of healthy, vegan, high-protein, soy & gluten free food products that has the taste and texture of meat.
The STARTERtech Advanced program has given them the fundamentals and structure to get from idea to the first sales. The program also expanded Ethico Foods' network by organising mentors and coaches, in addition to bringing in experienced speakers to inspire and educate.
After the program, Ethico Foods participated in the University Startup World Cup 2017 in Copenhagen in September 2017 and won the First Prize in the GreenTech category and the prize money of $5000.
The company is run by a husband and wife team wanting to make a difference in people's lives through healthy eating and also reduce climate change by reducing dependency for meat consumption.

ethicofoods.com

Konku is a web and mobile application that provides rental ads without estate agent fees. Furthermore - in a case of a successful deal they ask people to evaluate the property owners, so the next tenants know whether to trust or avoid the owner. That way, Konku makes home renting more personal and secure. After participating STARTERlab program at IdeaLab, Konku was selected to represent University of Tartu in an international business development program NGAL where they won 2nd place and got experiences for a lifetime!

www.konku.ee

Hirehunt (now Move on Miles) is powerful recruitment hub, helping companies hire the top talents fast and on a scale using the crowdsourced power of multiple recruiters, direct staffing and referrals. According to their words, STARTER program was extremely useful - during the program they learnt how to test their idea, ask the right questions and look at the problems from different angles. After STARTER program at IdeaLab Hirehunt was chosen to one of the top accelerators in Europe where they made it to TOP3. Currently they are working on an ambitious hiring project with the client from the Silicon Valley and are planning to raise the seed round for the further rapid growth of their business.

www.hirehunt.io