Advanced tools for mobility management, cloud platforms to improve efficiency in companies, mobile applications for everyday use that can even help save lives. These are just a few examples of the types of technology projects developed by the aspiring start-uppers of GrandUP! Tech Academy, the training course for innovative entrepreneurs, and which will be publicly presented during the Pitch Day 2023 scheduled for March 29th in Cuneo.
The Academy initiative is part of the GrandUP! Tech project, promoted by Fondazione CRC in collaboration with I3P, the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, to support the development of an innovation ecosystem and the birth of new enterprises in the Cuneo area. After the success of the first edition launched in 2021, the 2022-2023 course of GrandUP! Tech Academy returned to address the fundamental issues for the growth of innovative entrepreneurial projects, from the definition of the business model to capital raising and marketing aspects, combining theoretical lessons and practical tests.
Ten teams of start-uppers have been selected to participate in the course and are now ready to present their projects at Pitch Day:
- AllLine, a web app that makes it possible to quickly find professionals and experts in all sectors, schedule meetings via video call and use their services remotely;
- Aurelia, a B2B platform that aims to improve and automate the process of booking, organising and managing road transport for companies;
- Connessioni Domiciliari, which proposes the new professional figure of the "digital facilitator" in the social-health sector to support the elderly, frail persons and caregivers;
- Digital Angel, a smartphone application that accompanies the user in potential critical situations and proactively calls for help in case of danger;
- Elemento Modular Cloud, the first cloud ecosystem that connects computers and physical servers in a shared network, not only in storage but also in computing resources;
- FasTour, an application for finding the best tourist travel itineraries based on preferences for the type of places to visit and the time available;
- Nabu, a cloud platform to improve sustainability and efficiency in agricultural water management through IoT (Internet of Things) solutions and data analysis;
- Save Your Time, a mobile app to simplify and optimise table reservations during the lunch break, ordering and paying in advance to find the meal ready;
- SmartPass, a project that aims to eliminate motorway barriers through automatic calculation of the route travelled by vehicles and integrated payment management;
- WeTraffic, a cloud platform that combines data from multiple sources to accurately predict the volume of traffic on each road and calculate travel times.
During the Pitch Day, each team will have seven minutes to present the fruit of months of work, plus three minutes to answer in-depth questions from the judging panel. The best project proposals will receive the opportunity to access a 6-month pre-incubation course at I3P, sponsored by Fondazione CRC, to benefit from the advice of expert tutors and mentors and be accompanied along the path of evolution into real innovative start-ups, preparing for the fundraising and market entry phases.
The GrandUP! Tech initiative and the training course of its Academy, which made it possible to realise or refine young business projects, were implemented as part of the "Memorandum of Understanding for the Innovation and Digitalisation of Businesses in the Province of Cuneo", promoted in 2022 by the CRC Foundation and the Cuneo Chamber of Commerce, to which all the main trade associations in the area, including Coldiretti, Confagricoltura, Confartigianato, Confcommercio, Confindustria and Legacoop, have adhered.
The Pitch Day event will be held on Wednesday 29 March 2023, from 17:00 to 19:30 CEST, at the Cuneo's Rondò dei Talenti, located in via Luigi Gallo 1. The meeting is open to all and free of charge, subject to online registration on Eventbrite. After the initial presentations and project pitches, the organisers will propose a networking aperitif to encourage opportunities for further discussion and for exchanging contacts.
