Are you interested in startups and entrepreneurship? Join the open program of our Startup Challenge and:
- get inspiration from successful young entrepreneurs;
- learn about how you can present your startup idea;
- cheer to the Startup Challenge finalist teams;
- and get to know fellow wanna be entrepreneurs!
Organizers: Engame Academy & Startup Hungary
Date: 26th of March, Sunday, 15:00-20:00
Location: CEU – 1051 Budapest, Nádor utca 15.
PROGRAM
14:30 – Arrival, registrations
15:00 – Opening by the organizers – Engame Academy & Startup Hungary
The host of the event: David Trayford
David works with individuals, startup teams, companies and organisations, large or small, on their communication and innovation strategies. He runs workshops and creates programs for schools and universities around the world preparing young people for the future skills needed to deal with the rapidly changing world. In his former life in banking and broking in London he was at the forefront of innovative financial products; has hosted stand-up comedy in many countries, helped produce plays, films, documentaries, radio and a wide variety of live events. David is the Owner and Managing Director of Wow Media Kft.
15:05 – Opening keynote by Jared Schieber
This talk is a must-attend for anyone interested in entrepreneurship and innovation. With Jared’s extensive experience as a successful entrepreneur and angel investor, he is a rare “been-there-done-that” type of speaker who will provide invaluable insights and knowledge on what it takes to build a successful business. This is a unique opportunity to learn from a seasoned industry leader who has achieved remarkable success in the entrepreneurial world.
In 2011 Jared founded InfoScout, a marketing intelligence company providing household purchase information by item across all retailers. They went through every type of investment round, including a 2017 merger with Market Track whereby the 2 companies rebranded themselves as Numerator. After integrating the two companies, Jared stepped down from the company’s CEO position, moved to Hungary as a “love-refugee” and started focusing more on his angel investment activity. Now he’s here to stay and to shake up the Hungarian startup world. His continuously growing portfolio of 65 angel investments has him well on his way to becoming Hungary’s first super angel.
15: 15 – Startup Challenge 2023 Presentations – the first 5 team presents
By this point, the student teams will have been working on their ideas for two days with the help of mentors. Each team will have 5 minutes for their presentations, then the jury will have 5 minutes to ask questions. The judging cretarias are: problem/solution fit, scalability, business model, presentation style & slides and team & execution capacity.
Unfortunately the competitor application is closed now, but you can check here how does the program look like for competitors in case you are interested and want to join next year!
16:15 – Forbes 30 under 30 roundtable, moderated by Anna Bánáti, Forbes journalist
Do you want to know what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur before you turn 30 years old? There’s no better way to learn it than from entrepeneurs from the Hungarian Forbes 30 under 30 list. The roundtable will be moderated by Anna Bánáti, Forbes journalist.
Moderator
“Forbes was published in Hungary 9 years ago, and I joined the editorial board in 2017. We mostly focus on domestic success stories: we tell the stories of the most successful companies or founders and monitor the current events surrounding them (investments, exits), and of course we also follow business, economic, financial and stock market news. One of our biggest projects is the annual list of billionaires, where we estimate the wealth of the 50 richest Hungarians according to the methodology of the American Forbes. I am the editor-in-chief of this list for the second year now. In 2015, I graduated from Corvinus with a degree in international studies, and later obtained an MSc in Political science – international relations at the University of Amsterdam.”
Guests
Reka is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Briefly, a remote team management tool that provides access to an infinite talent pool. The startup is on a mission to transform the labor market by leveraging technology to connect companies with top talent and equip them with the tools they need to succeed in today’s rapidly-evolving job market. Reka’s innovative approach to freelancing has earned her a spot on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2022.
Peter is a co-founder of the Hungarian art-inspired clothing brand, Vates. They started the brand in 2019 and within the space of 4 years they managed to accumulate a follower base of more than 140,000 people on Instagram. Peter’s knowledge of ecommerce and online marketing has helped Vates’ growth massively, and thanks to the brand’s upward trajectory Peter has featured on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2022.
17:00 – Startup Challenge 2023 Presentations – the second 5 team presents
By this point, the student teams will have been working on their ideas for two days with the help of mentors. Each team will have 5 minutes for their presentations, then the jury will have 5 minutes to ask questions. The judging cretarias are: problem/solution fit, scalability, business model, presentation style & slides and team & execution capacity.
Unfortunately the competitor application is closed now, but you can check here how does the program look like for competitors in case you are interested and want to join next year!
18:15 – Closing keynote – Miklós László, Co-Founder, Diverzum
There aren’t many people who could motivate the next generation more for entrepreneurship than Miklós, who started his company, Diverzum, soon after graduating from his bachelor’s degree. In his speech, he will talk about what makes someone start a business that early, what are the pros and cons of being a young founder, how to navigate the early months of a startup successfully and how to convince the Sharks to invest in his project.
Miklós was an Engame Academy student back in 2017, then pursued his studies in the UK at the University of Exeter, where he did a BSc Business Economics. In 2021 he left his masters in Amsterdam to start his business, Diverzum, which is a platform providing discounts to already more than 100 thousand students. Just a month ago, Miklós and his co-founder Fanni Gyarmati managed to secure a 20+10M HUF investment from one of Hungary’s most well known investors, Balogh Petya in the Cápák között investment TV show.
18:25 – Announcement of the top 3 finishers & the People’s Choice Award
Our amazing jury will announce the top three teams, the People’s Choice Award and will also give feedback on the presentations!
- Csaba Kákosy – Managing Partner at DAY ONE CAPITAL Venture Capital Fund Management Company
- Ákos Tajta – Regional GM Baltics & CE @ Wolt
- Zsófia Tóth – Co-Founder & CEO at Volteum
18:55 – Networking
We encourage everyone to use this time to go around and get to know each other, ask the question you wanted or offer your help to a startup. Let’s mingle!
Startup Challenge 2023
- Startup Challenge 2023 is a competition for high school students (9-12th grade). The students will work on their business ideas from Friday evening, with the help of mentors, then the best 10 teams will be selected by the mentors to present in front our the jury and guests. Our jury will then evaluate the presentations, and announce the top three teams whose prizes are supported by Day One Capital.
- Sunday Open program – Part of the Startup Challenge, on Sunday afternoon we have a fully open, English language event, organized for hungarian high school students interested in startups, business and presentations and much more. Our lineup of speakers will cover multiple areas of speakers so the event can be interesting for students with different interests as well. Parents, teachers and other startup lovers are also welcome!
Check out some of the press coverage from last year here:
ORGANIZERS
Engame Academy is a Budapest-based progressive education center. Our mission is to help high school students find their place in the world, and guide them to grow up happy and fulfilled. Steadily growing, we currently work with 350+ students. We offer a 5-year program taught exclusively in English. Tailored to their specific age group, we develop soft skills, academic competencies and provide individual mentoring.
Startup Hungary is an independent, entrepreneur-led organization launched to supercharge the startup community and to support the birth and development of more high growth potential tech companies in Hungary. It is founded by proven entrepreneurs and supported by key players of the startup ecosystem, who share a belief in Hungary’s potential as a regional hub and want to join forces to fuel its growth.
SPONSORS
Wolt is sponsoring the lunches of our amazing Startup Challenge competitors both on Saturday and Sunday. Students can choose from multiple restaurants and get healthy and energizing lunches during this intense weekend.
Day One Capital is sponsoring the prizes for the top three finisher teams and the People’s Choice Award. The top three teams will get cash prizes and startup mentoring after the event, the team winning the People’s Choice Award will receive a cash prizes.
CEU is sponsoring the Startup Challenge by offering space for our competitors to prepare on Sunday and also for the Sunday afternoon open program for all the interested guests in the auditorium.
Registration for the event
Please note that if you are younger than 16 years old and you are not an Engame student, you must fill out the form with one of your parents or legal guardian.