After two years, the coronation of the STARTUP3 activities was the Deep Tech Week that took place from 29^th November to 3^rd of December. In the scope of the STARTUP3 Deep Tech Week, Brokerage Day in Sophia Antipolis acted as the Final Event gathering Top startups, ecosystem players, consortium partners and other guests. Read more on the Deep Tech Week here!

What is the legacy that STARTUP3 leaves behind?

Among the 250 applicants, Top 25 were selected to enter the acceleration programme using the Peer-to-peer evaluation process in order for best startups to emerge regardless of the specific sector to which they dedicate. The acceleration process lasted for one year and each phase of the project was dedicated to certain aspects of startups’ growth, product development and capacity building. The phases also served to sift through the Top 25, then Top 10 and announce Top 5 startups!

As one of the main pillars of the project, members of the Corporate Pool (corporates and later on investors, supporting organisations and other relevant external stakeholders) were an indispensable part in startups’ growth. Not only through the mentoring and matchmaking, Corporate Pool Members provided valuable lessons on pitching, negotiation, and what it takes to succeed in the market.

Numerous services provided through the STARTUP3 Hub

Through the usage of STARTUP3 Hub (Founder Studio and Cooperation Platform) startups had the chance to search and initiate contacts with a wider scope of stakeholders according to their needs. More importantly, they learned how to assess the value of their own company and by using both platforms’ tools, find out more on their positioning on the market as well as competition.

Overview of the services provided in the frame of the STARTUP3 acceleration programme:

• 60+ Connection-meetings with potential clients, business/technological partners, business enablers and supports.
• 60+ Workshops – working with each startup individually on specific business thematics from Problem Solving to Fundraising.
• 50+ Mentorship – regular 1-1 meetings to understand the startups’ needs
• 25+ Coaching – individual coaching with Mental Coach Ornella Solari (Hola-Up) to upgrade Entrepreneurial skills.
• 15+ Training webinars – collective webinar sessions ranging from IP Rights and Business Development to Marketing and product development.
• 2 Investor Tribunes – pitch-meetings of Top5 with Sophia Business Angels, and access to the Hello Tomorrow Investor Day in Paris in the frame of the STARTUP3 Deep Tech Week.

Boosting startups’ resilience and internationalisation despite the crisis

Overcoming the challenges imposed by the COVID-19, startups have emerged as resilient, ready to pivot and address arising challenges on the go, navigating through the rapid changes that captured their intended markets. It was though the online events, cross-collaboration with different projects and initiatives that made up for the lack of the networking as we know it.

Thus, in the scope of STARTUP3, numerous events promoting Deep Tech Tech innovation, cross-border ecosystems’ gathering and business meetings were held:

• 2 Pitch Stops– pitching events, milestones of the acceleration programme for the Top-startups selection,
• 3 Innovation Challenges – pitch competitions open to the STARTUP3 clusters’ ecosystems,
• 3 Ecosystem Discovery Missions – Occasions for each Clusters’ stakeholders to share their respective innovation practices, and Corporations to present their needs for deep-tech innovation
• And of course, the STARTUP3 Brokerage Day that was held in physical format in Sophia Antipolis and allowed us to showcase the Top5 startups to the French Deep-Tech Ecosystem and facilitate in-person B2B meetings.

What lies ahead?

Even though December marks the end of the STARTUP3 project, there is still a lot to show! Top startups are entering the next stage on their entrepreneurial journey, as more mature, self-aware and with the clear vision on their needs and next steps. In order to support their further success, STARTUP3 has created an overview of the startups’ success stories as well as podcast mini-series where we chat on their products, stories behind the development and success as well as the goals for their solutions. In addition, the video version of all interviews is coming soon so stay tuned!

Until then, STARTUP3 cordially thanks to all the participated in this journey! Enjoy the video!

THANK YOU!