The University of Tartu Institute of Computer Science together with Garage48 and sTARTUp Lab organized the 10th Student Startup Supercamp on 31.01-03.02.2023. We gathered the best mentors and took only the 100 most motivated students to participate to form teams and get their ideas into reality in such a short time. In these four days students got lectures, mentoring and evening talks by founders and startup building experts sharing stories of experience.

Students had to go through a lot of challenges. Some teams changed their idea five times, but still managed to validate the new idea and build a prototype for the final pitches. All 12 teams did great and it was a joy to see how everyone got their team spirit even though the pressure was on.

Best of the best got prizes from our prize pool worth of 1500€, sTARTUp Day tickets for one team and innovation training by curlabs worth 3500€. Klaus' team was also giving out their famous lemon scented cat socks in cat food containers.

The Jury member Marlon Dumas, Professor of Information Systems from the University of Tartu Institute of Computer Science was impressed by the solutions created and encouraged the students not to stop and maintain their entrepreneurship spirit.

The winners:

🏆 I place: Bootcamp.gg - E-sports bootcamp booking service

🥈 II place: Redufy - Reusable packaging integrated into the food courier system

🥉 III place: Mappy - Indoor navigation for university campuses and all open spaces

Special mentions:

🏅Best pitch: Hive - Community app for students to find the best matching roommate

🏅Best progress / pivot: Sufis - Marketplace for second hand books

🏅Special mention: Fuho - Fully automated smart-home and energy saving system

All this could have not been possible without our amazing speakers and mentors, who were there for the teams any time giving their suggestions, contacts and support. Thank you Vilho Jonsson, Maret Kruve, Tim Vaino, Kai Isand, Krists Avots, Andreas Roosson, Jüri Kaljundi, Merily Leis, Sander Välk, Mihkel Sokk, Martin Laasma, Carlos Paniagua, Annika Jurs, Raido Roben, Andreas Virkus, Priit Pavelson, Kelian Kaio, Karl Voovere, Maret Ahonen.

Best quotes from our mentors:

Merily Leis, head of marketing from Klaus said that you can’t fight all the battles at once, there are so many marketing possibilities, find yours.

Priit Pavelson, CEO and founder of Allies said that not everyone can be Martin Villing and it is okay. Sometimes having a money cow is more valuable than building a unicorn that mostly investors own.

Kai Isand, CEO of Eventornado said that mentors can not ever be bored. If you feel like they are not paying enough attention to you, you should re-evaluate what you are saying.

Student Startup Supercamp came together thanks to our organizing partners Garage48 and University of Tartu Institue of Computer Science and our sponsors Bolt, Glia, SEB Eesti, Klaus - Conversation Reviews and QA, Xolo, Patchstack, Pipedrive, Wise, Salto X, curlabs, Allies.Digital, Mooncascade, Fund Fellow Founders, Saku Õlletehas, KOMMIPOMM.

Additional information: 

Hannah Kaarma, UT Startup Lab Communications and Marketing Specialist, tel: 5400 5242,  hannah.kaarma@ut.ee