Come with us on a journey through time and space. Well, maybe not this far but at least join us on a time travel through the year that just passed and experience 2014 again in startup stories. For you, we digged deep into our magazine in order to find out which CEE stories interested you most. So, in four parts we would like to present to you not our but your best of 2014.
Read again about the most promising teams of our Startup Picks, meet the most read founders of our Profiles and get a summary of the most important News of each month.
January 2014
The team of UberGrape; Photo credit: UberGrape GmbH
Top News: UberGrape secures “mid-six-digit” research grant
The biggest news for you in January came from the heart of Austria. UberGrapeannounced a “mid-six-digit” research grant from the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and talked about its plans to make discussions easy and beautiful (catch up here). Since then, the Vienna-based software company launched ChatGrape and is now in the process of closing a larger funding round, as well as launching an iOS app this week.
Top Profile: Mavenhut “We don’t have the luxury to take our time”
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Your favourite profile in January was Mavenhut, a fast-growing Romanian gaming company. Founders Bobby Voicu, Cristi Badea and Elvis Apostol talked about their Solitaire Arena game, their tango with investors and their impressive growth. Rediscover them here.
Top Startup Pick: Dee Lee Doo
The Startup Pick you won’t forget anytime soon is Slovenian Dee Lee Doo, producer of handmade wooden dildos. Take a look at our talk with professional wood designer Iris Trstenjak and the story behind the sex toys that are supposed to last a lifetime.
February 2014
Top News: Zooming in: The Slovak startup scene
In February we zoomed in on the Slovak startup ecosystem and concluded that the potential of the local entrepreneurship scene is substantial. We explored success stories like those of ESET, Sygic and Pixel Federation among others and met the key players of the local ecosystem. Refresh the most-read news in February here.
Profitup co-founders Daniel Minárik and Jozef Štefanka; Photo credit: ProfitUp
Top Profile: ProfitUp“I had too many ideas, I had to go my own way”
For the last winter profile we explored how Daniel Minárik and Jozef Štefanka came together to found ProfitUp, a young Slovak company specialised in business intelligence. From small franchised clients to big names like Adidas and Nike, ProfitUp’s journey can be rediscovered here.
Top Startup Pick: Jobio
Bulgarian startup Jobio was February’s top Startup Pick. Their online platform gives SMEs a simple recruitment tool that matches job descriptions with the most suitable applicants based on skills, so that inexperienced candidates have a fair chance at employment. Get re-acquainted with the team here.
March 2014
Top News: Impact Hub Zagreb launches incubator programm
The best news wedelivered in March was about Impact Hub Zagreb’s launching of an incubator programme. Read about the effort to create a collaborative working space, where individuals and teams can get the support needed to develop a business, and rejoice for the Croatian startup ecosystem here.
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Top Profile: SuperSoulMe “From dance class into life”
Your favourite profile in March explored the intersection of the performing arts, social work and business by following the journey of Christina Medosch, a Theatre, Film and Media Studies graduate from Vienna. Together with four dance-loving ladies, she founded SuperSoulMe as an association providing under-privileged children and teenagers with alternative dance education. Read more about this inspirational story here.
Top Startup Pick: Mediately
In the most loved March Startup Pick, Slovenian startup Mediately talked about its quest to improve health care with immediate information for doctors. The four founders talked about how a 48-hour hackathon saved their company, the figures that inspired them and the challenges of starting a business in Slovenia.
