Ten start-ups selected for StartCup and Venture Day Ticino

StartCup Ticino and the Swiss Venture Day Ticino offer an attractive combination of award and investor search. Venture Day, organized by CTI Invest in collaboration with CP Start-Up and Franklin University, and the StartCup’s award ceremony both take place in Lugano on 3 December.

The ten semi-finalists of the StartCup that will pitch to investors are:

CLARA
Every year in Europe, around 2000 cyclists and 6000 pedestrians are killed in road traffic accidents. One of the major causes of collision with cars are poor light conditions, especially at road junctions. CLARA is the revolutionary smart jacket that incorporates ultra bright turn signals and breaking sensors to improve cyclists and pedestrians' safety around the world through enhancing their visibility in the darkness.

LIFE GLOVE
In cardiac resuscitation the correct sequence and technique of cardiopulmonary resuscitation are keys for patients’ survival. Med-Group SA, has invented a wearable device to assist lay people in performing an effective basic life support in case of cardiac arrest. With vocal, audio and visual inputs it is able to guide real-time and eventually correct the user during chest compressions.

It provide a feed-back about the efficacy of the procedures performed, alert the emergency center via a built-in SIM-card and a GPS system, store and transmit patients’ data.

COREQUEST
When diabetes is present in kidney failure patients in dialysis, cardiovascular mortality increases dramatically. If such a patient is then under peritoneal dialysis (PD) treatment, things get much worse as, ironically, PD requires a daily systemic use of large amount of glucose as an osmotic agent. In CoreQuest, we are completing the clinical development of a mixture of osmotic agents containing low amount of glucose capable not only to offer an adequate dialytic support, but also to efficiently counteract diabetes in PD patients. 

INSUN
InSun is a cloud-based and easy to use 3D Photovoltaic Configurator and Simulator  to design any kind of plant, generating full technical documentation. Moreover, InSun propose a sales & marketing service, where Manufacturers can upload products catalogs to integrate their supply chain. InSun is also an educational tool to train project managers. Demo video at:  https://youtu.be/D8QbosSRcck.

PROJECT IRIDE
Radio-guided Percutaneous Fixation of Intramedullary Implants in Traumatology Intramedullary nailing is acknowledged as gold standard for long bones fractures treatment (femur, tibia and humerus), but requires a ‘freehand’  fluoroscopic technique which is operator-dependent.

IRIDE is a collimated, negligible radiation source which allows rapid, accurate and reliable positioning of distal locking screws, with dramatic reduction of the effective dose received by the surgeon and the patient. 

MODULE SIA
TrusTTechnology SA produces intelligent self-assembling structures with great aesthetic value and high technical quality, suitable for: Rescue; Events; Private; Commercial and Hotel. The assembly and disassembly by the use of a remote control is fully automatic and takes only 60 seconds, it can also have a substantial amount of optional features that can be fully integrated in the structure. Module SIA, is the solution to the problems that the currently available means are not able to satisfy, because their use is not easy, it is not fast, they need big storage space and require many people for the assembly and disassembly.

BEEHELPFUL
Honey bees are more than honey: pollination means human food. Honey bees are dying off with greater frequency, with a dramatic social impact. Worldwide beekeepers face the problem by hive chemical treatments without a definitive result. We developed a new class of hives that ultimately improve the health of honey bees, rising the pollination capability while reducing the hive chemical treatments. Thanks to an increasing widespread sensibility about the honey bees fate we'll provide our patent solution to the honey bee world industries to guarantee the human food chain future.

VIRTUALCAT
GPV Advanced Research is a virtual modeling start up operating in the chemical field and originates from the opportunity to apply advanced computational methods for helping chemical and catalysts manufacturing companies. There is an increasing need (in the oil & gas, fertilizer and pharmaceutical sectors) to better understand the physics behind their chemical processes and to discover new catalysts for producing oil derivatives, fertilizers and delivery systems. Thus GPV provides scientific details of the behavior of chemicals from reactants to products and catalists, based on advanced computational chemistry.

TIMEREPUBLIK
TimeRepublik is an cloud coworking space, based on timebanking, where members offer their skills, talents and services to other members in exchange for units of time. Each member has access to all the skills and talent within the community, allowing each individual to find the exact help he/she needs. TimeRepublik is considered the most successful platform of this kind and it has been recently covered by TIME magazine. On TimeRepublik over 400 varieties of professionals, creatives, and skilled workers (web developers, photographers, graphic designers, writers, programmers, translators, city guides, pet sitters, language teachers) ‘spend’ and share time at TimeRepublik.

DOITYO
Doityo is the first Job Network Accelerator, a Mobile Community (Online Platform) to find a Job in the nearest and in real time. An App giving the possibility to “launch” in the neighborhood an “help request”, a “Job proposal” and/or to wait to be engaged in activities matching specific “Capacities”. A thorough project with a Family Authentication Strategy to guarantee reliability and with a Job Crowd-funding System enabling solidarity micro - funding. The first Social Marketplace supporting Local Unemployment and empowering Individual Microentrepreneurship.

Five finalists will be selected
Out of the ten start-up five finalists will be chosen. The five finalists will be evaluated and selected by Jean-Pierre Vuilleumier (Managing Director CTI Invest, president of the panel), Claude Amiguet (Managing Director NEODE, Neuchâtel; CTI Coach), Christian Brand (Co-Founder BG&P AG, Bern; startup expert), Silvia Panigone (Managing Director Europe I-Bankers Direct, LLC; CTI Coach), Pietro Restive (Sales responsible, Region South Posta CH SA), Renato Santi (CEO BSI Switzerland) and Pascale Vonmont (associate director Gebert Rüf Stiftung; strategic committee representative Venture Kick).

Last year’s winner “Gondola” by Gondola Medical Technologies (ex Ecker Technologies) got a lot of positive exposure not only in Ticino, but also in Switzerland and in Europe.

According to the promoters, “The award aims at demonstrating how to strengthen the regional economy of the Italian speaking part of Switzerland by fostering innovation and creating synergies among the main actors of the regional development: universities, business incubators, banks and young entrepreneurs.”

More information about the Swiss Venture Day Ticino on the website of CTI Invest.

More information about the StartCup Ticino on the website of the award.