On Wednesday evening, this year's Frankfurt Forward "Startup of the Year" was chosen live on site at Kap Europa by the guests present as well as a top-class jury. The competing startups have already been awarded "Startup of the Month" by the jury during the course of the year. As part of the dfv Euro Finance Week, on the so-called Tech Day, the young companies now had the opportunity to convince the audience and the jury present of their business idea in a live pitch.
The event was opened with a welcoming speech by the Head of the Department of Economics, Stephanie Wüst. The host and moderator of the event, Andreas Scholz, Chairman of the dfv Executive Board, led through the programme. During the event, the nominated start-ups from the Rhine-Main region were able to present their business ideas live on stage.
The startup MagnothermSolutions was able to convince the audience as well as the jury the most and was crowned this year's "Startup of the Year" from over 50 applicants. The winner receives a networking package that includes, among other things, one-year memberships in various associations.
In keeping with the spirit of sustainability, MagnoTherm Solutions uses magnetic fields to develop innovative cooling solutions that are also environmentally friendly and up to 40 percent more energy efficient. Lithium Designers is attempting to design buildings in a highly innovative way: here, 3D-printed façade nodes are being developed with which individual elements of a building's exterior façade can be combined in a completely new way to create unique three-dimensional free-form façades. The startup raumvonwert from Frankfurt am Main, on the other hand, wants to redesign the interior design of buildings. It develops simple and forward-looking furnishing concepts that are precisely tailored to a wide range of living conditions and promise almost ideal use of space, such as Klapster, a folding staircase. The optimisation in digitalisation is seen in Kitabuli, a daycare centre software for the optimisation and digitalisation of processes, from child and personnel management to automated accounting, and WePlan Software, which supports business customers in the precise determination of their long-term personnel requirements through forecasting algorithms. The startup PipePredict from Frankfurt is developing an early warning system for the digital monitoring of the pipe network, with which water suppliers can record the exact condition of the network and replace or repair pipes in a targeted manner.
City Councillor Stephanie Wüst emphasised: "As Head of the Economic Affairs Department, it is of course important for me that Frankfurt am Main remains an attractive business location in the future. Today I have once again seen promising startup pitches that once again underpin the successful development of our startup ecosystem.
Christian W. Jakob, project manager of Frankfurt Forward: "I am of course pleased that startups are taking advantage of our project and also see the opportunity to actively participate in the startup ecosystem. Frankfurt has enormous potential to become a start-up centre in the heart of Europe.
Frankfurt Forward ist der Matchmaker für Startups, Unternehmen und Investoren in FrankfurtRheinMain.
Frankfurt Forward bringt unter dem Dach der Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt Startups und etablierte Unternehmen zusammen. Unter dem Motto „Matching am Main“ verbindet das Projekt bisher getrennte Welten und fördert die Weiterentwicklung von Innovation und Digitalisierung am Standort Frankfurt am Main.
Frankfurt Forward is the matchmaker for startups, companies and investors in Frankfurt amMain.
As a project of the Frankfurt Economic Development – GmbH, Frankfurt Forward brings together young startups and established companies. Under the slogan “Matching @ Main” ,the project connects two separated worlds and fosters innovation and digitalization in Frankfurt.