These are the 10 teams selected for the EAE Lab Propeller incubation program!
03 de August de 2020
03 de August de 2020
As far as entrepreneurship at EAE Business School is concerned, it is time for celebration. Just a few days ago, the Semi Demo event for EAE Lab Pyramid took place, to select the 10 projects that will form part of the Propeller program: a 3-month incubation program in which the selected teams are mentored, advised and guided with the aim of getting their business ideas up and running, after being developed for ten months in the previous stage.
Held on 22nd and 23rd July, the event is another clear demonstration of the School’s entrepreneurial spirit.
After the 15 presentations, the jury deliberated over their decision, before announcing the 10 teams that would go on to the EAE Lab Propeller state. Anindya Saha, one of the judges and Director of EAE Investor, congratulated the participating teams and, on behalf of his fellow judges, emphasized that “It has been a long process with a lot of competition. The fact that 5 projects have to be eliminated is part of the process. We have had to be tough because the market is very tough. We have to prepare the teams for the reality of the market”.
Santiago Tobón and Henri Mennens, part of the EAE Entrepreneur team, congratulated the 10 winning teams that have made it through to the EAE Lab Propeller. They are both looking forward to working with the 10 startups in the incubators in Barcelona and Madrid.
Moreover, they thanked the jury for its hard work. The judges were Jesús Daniel Fernández, the Business Design Director at Minsait; David Casas, a Business Consultant, Mentor at IE Venture Lab and lecturer on entrepreneurship at EAE; Adrián Heredia, the CEO of Byld and Anindya Saha, the Director of Nero Ventures, Director of EAE Investor and Mentor at EAE LAB; and last but not least, the moderator of the event, José Luis Santamaría Ábalos.
The following ten teams were selected:
Let’s take a closer look at each team’s proposition and their performance in the Semi Demo event of the EAE Lab Pyramid.
1 - A*IM*W
As explained by the project’s founder Alejandra Martínez, a Mexican student on EAE Business School’s Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, A*IM*W is a consultancy specializing in helping entrepreneurial ventures will a social impact move forward. “Creating an innovative solution requires a lot of changes and resources”, explained Martínez during the presentation of her idea. “It represents a big risk financially and in terms of the companies’ operations”.
What can we do in that case? To answer this question, Martínez explained that A*IM*W aims to accompany and develop viable products and services of businesses with the differential feature of zero waste, and which resolve real needs and tackle social challenges.
The judge in charge of giving feedback, Jesús Daniel Fernández, congratulated Alejandra for the great work she had done in terms of the methodological and operational development of the business and recommended that she develops the business model more deeply and clarifies the expected revenue flows even further. The jury’s doubts focused on how such a solution could be monetized and why people would use it.
2 - Arspect
The second project presented was Arspect, a venture masterminded by Josep Arguimbau, a Catalan student on EAE’s Online Master in Marketing and Electronic Commerce. “We aim to be disruptive and smash the status quo in the art market”, explained Arguimbau. He then summarized that the project offers an innovative, artistic experience that enables anybody to have art in their office or home as easily as possible.
In the presentation of the website, the team emphasized that the features that sets them apart from the competition are the revenue model, customer segmentation, an innovative business model and value proposition linked to specific channels: a mobile app with augmented reality.
In the case of Arspect, David Casas was the judge giving the feedback, explaining that the “revenue model is simple and the website is very well made. The challenges to overcome are that it is not clear how the value proposition is distinguished for B2B and B2C customers”.
3 - Compasslog
The third presentation was for the project Compasslog, headed by Paloma Torres, from Peru, and Karina Kitzing, from Chile (both recent IMBA graduates), who have created a web platform designed to facilitate travel planning. “Our value proposition is based on helping people make decisions, breaking down communication barriers and information asymmetries, to maximize their travel experience”, explained Torres.
The main communication and distribution channels will be Playstore, Appstore and their own website. They plan to generate revenue through different ways, such as advertising, databasing and the network model. When giving his opinion, the judge Adrián Heredia explained that they should “fine-tune the value proposition. It has to be differentiated and specified. Moreover, in terms of the target market, what type of trip do they want to offer. A city break is not the same as a long-tail journey. You need to consider that”.
4 - Iura
Masterminded by Alexander Abts, a German student on the English version of the Master in International Business, and Tarcila Sugiyama, a Brazilian student in the same program in Spanish, Iura is a digital solution that helps empower women who have suffered some type of domestic violence. Unlike the three previous projects, the team gave their presentation in English, explaining all the benefits of the service. “The victims can contact special counsellors, lawyers and even other victims, with options addressing any topic related to all types of violence, not just physical”.
In his feedback, Anindya Saha said that “it is a brilliant project, but what about emergencies? When it comes to your customers, nothing is going to be perfect because they live under constant stress, so you have to bear that in mind. In addition, you have to work out how to maintain anonymity. Everything has to be very clearly thought out!”.
5 - Educapp
The fifth project presented, Educapp, is headed by Fermín Barragán and Giselle Rontani, recent Argentinian graduates from the Supply Chain Management at EAE Business School. Educapp is a digital service for monitoring learning processes led by teachers in any field.
In the presentation of the mobile app, they explained that “the student takes the lead, so it is designed to be a complete, interactive process”. Among other options, the app gives feedback on teachers, their profiles and analytics to evaluate students’ progress. In his feedback, the judge Jesús Daniel Fernández emphasized that “the key in this kind of platform has a lot to do with the content and experience. It might not be a good idea to use content from other platforms. Moreover, you have to explain the Argentinian context better in order to understand the competition more”.
6 - VirtualDance
Created by Nuria Quintero and Rosa Polanco, a team formed thanks to the activities of the EAE Lab Pyramid, VirtualDance provide a platform for connecting la dance artists and companies interested in contracting their services. They explained that “lots of dancers do not have any contacts when they leave their academy, and they have no idea how to showcase their talent. So, we offer a service designed to help them make it as professionals”.
On the platform presented, dancers can see the events, the musical genre and the type of performance, thereby enabling them to evaluate the proposal. If they are interested, they can upload a video to start making contact with the company. In the judge David Casas’s opinion, they “have clearly done some great research and the value proposition is clear. The underlying challenge is that the value proposition for companies needs more work, not only for the dancers. In terms of the presentation, the slides have a lot of text. You have to be more visual”.
7 - Huno Food
The project designed by Carlos Moreno Conde, a student from Cordoba on the Master in Online Marketing and Electronic Commerce at EAE Business School, aims to enhance health in terms of food by connecting organic food suppliers with consumers via a website.
The business model of Huno Food is based on the ease of shopping, offering a unique service, automation and creating valuable content for consumers. The jury member Adrián Heredia explained that he can “see an ecommerce platform with content, but we need to see a more developed value proposition. There is a big business opportunity here but, in this world, we have to manage aspects such as logistics. Pinpoint the value proposition well and know what you are selling inside out!”
8 - Type Food
Rossana Vivas, a Venezuelan student on the Master in Online Marketing and Electronic Commerce, created the project Type Food, which she presented eloquently and thoroughly in just a few minutes. “The aim is to help young people with diabetes to keep informed and eat healthily”. To achieve this, they will develop a mobile app with recipes, a store and various options for helping consumers.
After the presentation, Anindya Saha gave his feedback: “The food intolerance sector is very interesting. Getting straight to the point, you have to be careful in terms of wanting to cover all aspects: online shopping, recipes, recommendations, etc. It is very hard to cover everything as a startup. Ask yourselves what you are good at. Don’t compare yourselves to other more consolidated startups. Find your own USP”.
9 - GUT
As one of the founders Sally Safady explained, GUT is a project inspired by sustainability. It aims to provide information to consumers about sustainable products and services. To do so, they plan to develop an app that works as a marketplace on which, as well as getting information, consumers can exchange GUT Coins for products. Moreover, it includes a system of challenges to promote use of the app.
“Customers can see the product they are buying and its product on the world”, explained the team. In his feedback, Jesús Daniel Fernández said that “it is hard to see point 0. It all seems to focus on when there is a large volume. How does it start? To what extent will companies want to sell with you?”
GUT originated from the Master Thesis of Sally Safadi and Juanita Correal, both from Colombia, Viviana Rivadeneira and Daniela Moreira de la Vega, from Ecuador, and Alejandra Monasterios from Bolivia, all students on the Master in Design Thinking at the Madrid Campus.
10 - (e) LDER
(e)LDER, is a healthcare service for elderly people through an online platform. In addition, as the creator of the project and Executive MBA student Diana Molina explains, they aim to offer more services related to food and nutrition, entertainment and personal care.
(e)LDER’s model is designed to be both B2B and B2C and strives to set itself apart from the competition through its access availability, applying the digital aspect and continuous accompaniment for elderly people through the app. In his feedback, the judge David Casas congratulated them “for the project and the structure of the idea. You clearly know the sector”. Turning to challenges, he identified two: “You have to explore the B2B route more because it is more aligned with your model. Secondly, there is an operational challenge to standardize the way customers are treated. You also need more passion when explaining the project”.
11 - Trivana
Led by Jennifer Trinity Umaña, a student on the Master in Design Thinking from El Salvador, Trivana is a project that focuses on the El Salvador market, offering entrepreneurs optimized virtual assistants with the aim of streamlining multiple tasks.
“How do we set ourselves apart from the competition?”, she asked in the presentation. “The differential factor will be prices and salaries. Moreover, in terms of the Customer Experience, we will improve the points that affect the customer, and reduce timings”. They have a clear launch plan, consisting of launch, awareness, positioning, loyalty, promotion and growth.
In his feedback, the judge Adrián Heredia, emphasized that they have to “take the current market into account. The virtual assistant market is at full steam. Operational flexibility is not the answer. In my opinion, the solution in this case is la artificial intelligence, but that requires a lot of money. I advise you to reassess the business model and choose a specific niche”.
12 - 4U
4U is a solution designed for Colombians in Spain, which facilitates sending and receiving money, created by Alejandra Valence, from Colombia, Bruno Jaime, from Peru, and Fernando Pinto, from Panama, all students on the Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Madrid Campus. The project aims to innovate in the field of money transfers between Spain and Colombia through a system that transfers and invests at the same time.
4U embraces the sharing economy and aims to support micro-investors and the Colombian immigrant community in Spain. “Once we attract our first customers, we want to know why they chose the options they did, based on which we can take measures”, explained the team.
Anindya Saha told them that “money transfer will also be fashionable. The only problem is that their model requires a huge volume. More work is still needed to fine-tune the added value compared to the competition. In this sector, everything has got to be very, very clear”.
13 - MUNDOOH
Mundooh is a service that simplifies contracting outdoor advertising. The founders, Sebastián de Rutte from Peru and Jorge Pérez from Colombia, explained that “modern advertising is all in the hands of big companies, so the contracting processes are complicated. With this in kind, we offer a platform with a range of advertising options you can contract in just a few clicks”.
They also aim to eliminate bureaucracy, measure impact and streamline job creation through a dynamic, easy-to-use platform. In his feedback, the judge Jesús Daniel Fernández said that it is a very original proposition, and offered a few recommendations: “Will the labour conditions make this model profitable? Moreover, small brands are focusing on digital advertising and big brands already have their set spaces. So, what kind of brands do you think will want to use your services?”. He finished by congratulating them for their energy and originality.
14 - HobbIT
For the penultimate project, Colombian graduate Sebastián Narváez presented HobbIT, a business idea that he originated on the Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation on the Madrid Campus, together with his Peruvian classmate Antonio Carrión. It is a collaborative network that connects students and teachers specializing in different disciplines and hobbies. “On the one side, students can develop their hobbies and find someone who helps them learn new things and, on the other, teachers can monetize their services and help students”.
In the presentation, they showed the prototype of the website and the user journey. “We want to focus on recreational activities. Our competitor Domestik focuses on academic activities. HobbiT aims to offer the same service in-person, not only digitally”.
In the judge David Casas’s opinion, “this is a strong ideas and a good marketing plan, with a couple of challenges: who will look for the website or platform, teachers or ‘students’? One other risk is that it may end up become a directory of professionals that people use to do transactions off the platform. How could you prevent that?”.
15 - Maleeney
The project to be presented was Maleeney, a venture created by por Luis Lee, a Spanish student with a Korean background, Angela Malvone, from Italy, and John Heany, from Ireland, all students on the Executive MBA. The project offers young adults personal development services using virtual meeting. “The labour market in Spain is increasingly complicated, so we want to become an alternative that helps the situation”, they explained in their presentation”.
In his feedback, the judge Adrián Heredia said that, “in general, what you have to is focus and revise the business model the very well. In terms of the value proposition, how do you expect somebody without any money to pay you. There is a fantastic opportunity but you have to pinpoint the target market and focus the business model on something very specific”.
At the end of the event, the sense of la emotion and satisfaction among both the participants and the jury was palpable. The presenter, José Luis Santamaría, concluded by saying that the participants “addressed almost all the most important topics that form society: social aspects such as domestic violence, art, travel, education, food, etc. I have seen a lot of self-control and assertiveness”.
Congratulations to all the particants. Keep up the good work!