During the competition, six promising startups presented their innovative business plans in a 15-minute pitch, in which they had to describe the business and value proposition and what makes them unique. They were then interviewed and assessed by a professional jury composed of practitioners working in top-notch companies, such as 5Lion Ventures, Banca Generali Private, Winterberg Group, Maider, Tech Silu, and Portolano Cavallo.

Coming directly from the US, also Ron and Andrew, the two partners of 5Lion Ventures, took an active role in the event by participating as jury members. Furthermore, we had the chance to host two other important partners of Build It Up, BizPlace and Idinvest Partners, who furtherly enriched the event, thanks to their expertise in the field.

After carefully listening to the passionate pitches of the six competing startups (BionIT, Airlite, Nanomnia, SelfCommunity, I Love My Body Research and Kippy), the jury finally selected the pitch of Airlite as the best of the day and awarded first prize to this innovative eco-friendly company: two tickets for the 2019 Web Summit that will take place in Lisbon next autumn.

 

Apart from the competition itself, we sincerely hope that this first edition of the 5Lion Pitch Competition was engaging and productive for every participant. It was a chance to get new motivation, expand one’s network and foster the entrepreneurial mindset, which we strongly believe lays the foundations for every business opportunity.