On March 1, the 2nd Unicorn Pitch Grand Final took place – an exclusive and unforgettable final event for all involved. StartupDorf invited its members, multipliers of the startup scene and successful founders to a very special event that offered the best of pitch competition, fine dining and networking. Nearly 70 guests gathered at the wonderful event location Canonicus to present and celebrate the best startup ideas.
StartupDorf Unicorn of the Year
The five qualified finalists competed for the title “StartupDorf Unicorn of the Year”, while Ingo Köthschneider and his team spoiled the guests with delicious “flying foods”. The magnificent ambience, the beautiful sunset and the panoramic view of Düsseldorf provided the perfect backdrop for a grand evening.
The board of StartupDorf e.V. had perfectly balanced the mix of pitch event, fine dining and networking to entertain all participants and visitors in the best possible way. Hanns Tappen, StartupDorf Chairman, opened the official part of the Grand Final and chatted with Melissa Günther, last year’s finalist (FoundFactory), who talked about the development of her startup since the previous final. Fabian Braun introduced the jury of the Unicorn Pitch Final and the different prizes of the evening. Eugenia Gagin and Florian Baum also StartupDorf board members guided the finalists through the evening.
This time the first places went to Essen and Cologne
The startup pitches of the Grand Finale 2023 were of a high standard and the jury had the difficult task to determine the first three places. In the end, Your Easy AI GmbH with Patrick Imcke took first place, followed by Anymate Me with Julia Leduc and Socrates with Julian Böhm.
The guests also had the opportunity to cast their vote for the winner of the audience award. Julia Leduc with AnymateMe won the audience award, followed by David Jakubowicz with Click N Safe and Patrick Imcke from Your Easy AI.
Valuable non-cash prizes thanks to heterogeneous field of sponsors
When announcing the winners, the jurors with Dr. Monika Hauck, Dr. Patrick Müller and Dr. Paolo Bavaj justified the respective placement of the startup and made it clear that the decision-making within the jury took place in a constructive and harmonious manner. In addition to the title “StartupDorf Unicorn of the Year”, Your Easy AI GmbH also received prize money of 500 euros. Anymate Me as the audience award winner received a commitment for a trade show space at the StartupDorf booth at this year’s Digital Demo Day in Düsseldorf.
If you want to learn more about the jury members, please read our article: The Jury of the Unicorn Pitch Grand Final 2023
No startup went away empty-handed. All finalists were awarded with valuable prizes such as legal advice, IT credits, IT consulting, VC training and startup programs. All prizes come from StartupDorf sustaining members and have the potential to help the startups take it to the next level.
The prizes in detail at the end of this report.
The StartupDorf family
We would like to thank all the sponsors, jury members, supporting members and the association board who made this event possible. Our special thanks go to the guests and especially to the startups that participated in the StartupDorf Unicorn Pitch Grand Final 2023.
The sponsors of the Grand Final, who are all supporting members or startup members of StartupDorf e.V., also deserve our heartfelt thanks for their support:
A.IX Capital – Fabian Braun
betawerke – Hanns Tappen
Boden Attorneys at Law – Martin Boden
DGVO – Renè Feicks
Gradar – Philipp Schuch
HEUKING KÜHN LÜER WOJTEK – Patrick Müller
HOYNG ROKH MONEGIER – Mathis Breuer
MINDSPACE – Ela Günes
OVHcloud – Alexander Grau
S&P promotional products – Carsten Lenz
VENTURE LABS – Christian Wenzel
In our spotlight on our sponsors, we read why they support our association and what this has to do with our "business model of entrepreneurial village/dorf solidarity". The Unicorn Pitch is a success format
The success of the Unicorn Pitch Grand Final 2023 shows how important such events are for the StartupDorf and the entire startup scene. They offer young founders an excellent platform to present their startups, expand their network and receive valuable prizes and support.
The StartupDorf has proven that with events like the Unicorn Pitch Grand Final, it can create a unique ecosystem that brings together founders, investors and professionals while maintaining a personal touch.
We are already looking forward to the next Unicorn Pitch Grand Final and are excited to see which new ideas and startups will enrich the StartupDorf and the entire startup scene in the future.
Don’t miss our new Unicorn Pitch Series – the qualifying rounds
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Detail view on the prizes
HEUKING KÜHN LÜER WOJTEK – by Dr. Patrick Müller
1st place: 5 hours of free legal advice for the winner of the Unicorn Pitch
2nd-5th place: 3 hours of free legal advice for all other participants of the pitch.Free participation in HKLW VC Nights and enabling pitches for all Unicorn Pitch participants.
OVHcloud – by Alexander Grau
1st place: Guaranteed access to the OVHcloud Startup Program with 10.000€ Cloud Credits, Individual Technical Consulting and access to marketing activities.
2nd +3rd place: Individual consulting with Alexander and one of the ovhcloud experts on the topic of Cloud Strategy.
betawerke – by Hanns Tappen
1st – 3rd place: Pitch deck optimization and fundraising strategy consulting
For the audience award winners, a mentor dinner
