The final event of Startup Pre-acceleration Program CUnicorn – Demo Day (Batch 4) was held at Caucasus University on November 22, 2024. The event was organized by CU with the support of TBC Startuperi.
During the event, the startups participating in the program presented their ideas to industry experts, investors, potential partners, and guests.
Over 10 themed sessions, seven startup teams from the program went through intensive mentoring sessions with field-leading local and international mentors and guests and learned all the core principles of startup creation.
In addition to the program’s mentors, the fourth Batch sessions were led by members of the Investment Board of the Georgian Business Angel Network (Axel) and Angel Investors.
Demo Day (Batch 4) was led by Irakli Svanidze – Acting Head of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. The guests were addressed by several Keynote speakers: Kakha Shengelia -President of Caucasus University, Salome Napetavridze – Head of the Innovation Community Development Department at Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA), Irena Melua – Vice President of Caucasus University for Internationalization and Bob Smith – Interim Associate Vice Provost for Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship at George Washington University delivered opening remarks.
Startups represented on Demo Day:
- Rez – A platform designed to streamline restaurant reservations and provide actionable insights to enhance operational efficiency and improve customer satisfaction;
- Heri – Ride-sharing app that puts safety first for passengers and offers effortless booking management for drivers;
- PitchPals – The platform enables sports enthusiasts to discover tournaments/players, making it easy to join tailored matches at their preferred venues;
- Beezy – A digital ecosystem for HoReCa, featuring cashless tipping, digital menus, bill payments, loyalty programs, reservations, licensed music, POS-delivery integrations, and AI-powered tools to streamline operations and enhance customer experience;
- IMAGINE – Leveraging XR technology, the platform enables users to immerse themselves in real-time visualizations and interact with design solutions, revolutionizing the interior design process;
- CulTourist – A platform that lets tourists book immersive, locally-guided tours, promoting cultural exchange while offering flexible employment opportunities for students and residents;
- IDM – Platform Increasing merchandising efficiency with streamlined employee management, precise data accuracy, advanced analytics, and geo-located photos.
At the end of the event, the members of the jury revealed the winners, to whom the Caucasus University and the supporters of the event gave prizes.
- The winning startup Beezy received a cash award from the Caucasus University and the supporter of the event TBC Startup, 5000 GEL.
- II place startup – Heri – Caucasian University and event supporter TBC startup cash award, 2000 Gel was given.
- Team CulTourist, which participated in the program, became the startup chosen by the President of the Caucasus University and was awarded 1000 Gel as a prize.
Also, Axel, the supporter of the program, has revealed the preferred startups – Beezy and IDM, which will have the opportunity to present their startup to the investors as a special prize – Axel member angel.
The event was supported by: TBC Startup, Axel, FC Team, Georgia Agency for Innovation and Technology (GITA), Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at George Washington University, US Market Access Center (USMAC), Ephesi, Sandora, Coca-Cola, MTIS.
