25/09/2024

Fondazione CRC and I3P launch the call for start-ups of GrandUP! Tech Academy 2024-2025

Network I3P

The training course for aspiring innovative startuppers is back: it will be presented on October 3 in Cuneo. Applications open to the call until November 29.

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A starting point for the creation of a successful new start-up: this is what GrandUP! Tech Academy, the initiative geared toward training future innovative entrepreneurs in the Italian province of Cuneo, is going to offer in its fourth edition, after the success of the previous three ones.

The initiative is promoted by Fondazione CRC in collaboration with I3P, the Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, as part of the multi-year project GrandUP! Tech, launched in 2021 to support the development of an innovation ecosystem and the birth of new businesses in the Cuneo area. The training course of GrandUP! Tech Academy is entirely free of charge and is aimed as much at aspiring entrepreneurs as at young innovative companies in the area.

The 2025 edition

The new edition of GrandUP! Tech Academy will be the focus of the presentation event organized by Fondazione CRC and I3P for Thursday, October 3, 2024, at 6 p.m. at the Rondò dei Talenti in Cuneo, Italy. In addition to learning in detail about the program of the pathway being launched this year, with insights on how it can be carried out and participated in, the meeting will be an opportunity to learn in detail about how to apply and hear testimonies from some of the young teams that participated in the last edition, including QRTonic and SmartScholars. The event will then conclude with a networking aperitif, useful for encouraging the exchange of ideas and the creation of new contacts within the local entrepreneurial community. To attend the meeting, online registration is required by October 2.

The Academy's latest edition returns to address the essential issues for the development of a new innovative start-up, delving into both theoretical aspects and practical applications and case histories. The nine lessons scheduled from January to April 2025 will offer talks by Politecnico di Torino professors, industry experts and I3P analysts, who will accompany participating teams in the development of their entrepreneurial projects. 

Among the main topics of the lectures: business models, customer discovery processes, performance evaluation metrics, business plan and fundraising activities, project communication and digital marketing, up to legal and tax aspects in the establishment of new companies. 

The initiative will conclude with an open event, the Pitch Day scheduled for April 2025, during which the teams will present the entrepreneurial projects developed during the meetings to an evaluation jury: the most promising will receive the opportunity to access a pre-incubation path in I3P, funded by Fondazione CRC, to evolve the projects into real start-ups.

The targets of the initiative

The initiative is open to all residents or domiciled in the province of Cuneo and to those who have established, or intend to establish, a business there. Project teams are advised to register more than one component for their participation in the Academy, while each participant or team of participants can present only one business project to be developed during the meetings. To take part in the course, for which there are limited places available, it is possible to apply until November 29, 2024 by filling out the dedicated form accessible from the web page https://grandup.org/tech/startup/ (in Italian language).

The three previous editions of the Academy, in which more than 50 young innovators have participated, have fostered the birth or further growth of several entrepreneurial projects that have subsequently received positive feedback and milestones in the field. The winning team of the 2022-2023 edition, for example, created the start-up named Forte!, which offers an AI solution for music production and raised a first venture capital investment of more than 250,000 euros. The two winners of the 2023-2024 edition have also already come a long way: 

  • SmartScholars has developed an online education platform for students and is now working with the University of Turin to launch an MVP (minimum viable product) in early 2025;
  • QRTonic is experimenting with partners with its software for restaurant owners and consumers, with advanced tools for customer management and loyalty. 

Another team participating in the third edition of the Academy, Saniwash, has developed a system to automate and simplify cleaning and disinfection operations in stables, using high-pressure washers, with the aim of improving the profitability of livestock farms; and the Connessioni Domiciliari project, developed during the Academy 2022-2023, has launched its Digital Facilitation Network service in 400 municipalities in the Piedmont Region.

The overall project and its vision

The GrandUP! Tech and its Academy are carried out as part of the “Memorandum of Understanding for the Innovation and Digitization of Businesses in the Province of Cuneo”, promoted by Fondazione CRC and the Cuneo Chamber of Commerce, to which all the main business associations in the area have adhered, including Coldiretti, Confagricoltura, Confartigianato, Confcommercio, Confindustria, Legacoop Piemonte and Punto Impresa Digitale. The protocol plans to actively involve business representatives from different economic sectors in the province of Cuneo in establishing a cohesive, innovative and digitized ecosystem.

The fourth edition of GrandUp! Tech Academy, created in collaboration with I3P, confirms Fondazione CRC's desire to support innovation and stimulate entrepreneurship in the area, with a specific focus on the younger generations,” said Mauro Gola, President of Fondazione CRC. “The Academy has come to life and concretely continues its activities thanks to the active collaboration with institutions and representative bodies of the local economic and productive fabric: a team game that characterizes the provincial community and allows us to invest in the future against a shared long-term strategic vision.

The path offered by the Academy brings new life to an already fertile ground for innovative entrepreneurship: this has been demonstrated by the experience we have gained in recent years with Fondazione CRC and the many young entrepreneurial teams already supported in their growth,” commented Giuseppe Scellato, President of I3P. “We are delighted to kick off the new edition of this fine initiative and we count on being able to provide many useful tools and knowledge to all those who wish to define, validate and launch a technology-based business project in the Cuneo area, with the prospect of reaching far beyond.


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