BOARD GAME ALU

30-second pitch: We’ve created an exciting strategy game for two players that can be played by blind and ordinary people alike. Board game manufacturers and designers tend to not give attention to people with special needs, which means that a significant part of the population cannot use their products. However, we thought about people with certain special needs from the very beginning when we designed our board game, ALU. As the board of ALU is modular, it’s possible to develop and sell new parts and games for it, which allows the business to constantly keep growing.

The problem: There are tens of millions of visually impaired people in Europe, who cannot play most board games, as the manufacturers don’t consider their needs. However, blind people are interested in playing board games. The problem was highlighted to us by a blind person and our meetings with other blind people have confirmed that there is a need for such games.

The solution: A tactical, easy-to-learn modular strategy game based on different geometric shapes, which can also be independently played by people who are totally blind.

The users: Mostly visually impaired people, but the game is also suitable for sighted people.

Market size: There are 30 million visually impaired people in Europe, three million of them are totally blind.

The business model: We will start selling the game for the reference price of 60 euros to the Estonian Blind Union and then aim for the Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired (which has 24 member associations) and Scandinavian and Baltic markets, which have at least 290 associations and societies of visually impaired people. It’s possible to buy extra parts for the game and other games can be added to the base board.

Required resources: Funding and strong contacts for breaking into foreign markets, public awareness, long-term agreements with chain stores and manufacturers.

Contact:
www.studioalu.com

EDIBLE

30-second pitch: The European Union will ban all single-use plastic cutlery by 2021. We’ve created an edible and biodegradable spoon, which does not pollute the environment and offers added value to users as food. By combining edibility with biodegradability, we’ve achieved a competitive advantage, which means we already have demand for 30,000 products today.

The problem: Edible is working on two problems. The first of them is plastic pollution. The organisms living in nature eat plastic, as they mistake it for food. Plastic destroys ecosystems, emits greenhouse gases as it breaks down, and accelerates climate change. Secondly, clients are increasing the social pressure on companies by expecting them to be more environmentally friendly.

The solution: An edible spoon that doesn’t pollute the environment. The simple composition of the product guarantees that resources are used as efficiently as possible and creates an alternative to the use of plastic.

The users: The product is undergoing constant tests at the moment – we’ve give over 200 spoons to groups of testers and sent 50 spoons to cafés. Tartu Marathon has showed interest in buying 25,000 spoons and the Packaging Centre has shown interest as well. We’re aiming our product at catering companies, food distributors, food stores and eco-shops, and other private companies.

Market size: Total potential market – 800 million euros. Potential market to be served (based on the Baltic States) – 2.4 million euros. Targeted marked to be served – 480,000 euros.

The business model: Volume-based sales to companies. The price of the cutlery item is based on our production volumes and the ordered quantities. At present, we can offer one item for half a euro. We’ll use eco-shops and food stores as sales channels.

Required resources: A person with prior experience in mass production, who could help us find a production site and the equipment required for production (ovens, baking moulds). Funding in the amount of €20,000 would allow us to automate production.

Contact:
www.facebook.com/edible.official

FRENZY

30-second pitch: Frenzy is a sweet and healthy tooth protection gel for toddlers whose parents want to look after the children’s teeth. The gel contains xylitol in a quantity necessary for the prevention of tooth decay. Regular use reduces the risk of cavities by up to 80%.

The problem: It’s been scientifically proven that the health of baby teeth affects a person’s teeth until the end of their life – a cavity in a baby tooth triples the risk of cavities in permanent teeth. However, giving pastilles to toddlers is dangerous (and crushing pastilles is inconvenient).

The solution: We’re developing a tooth protection gel with high xylitol content that is safe for babies and convenient to use. We’re offering pastilles containing xylitol to adults. We’ll also start offering a tooth protection spray for adults in the future.
The users: Parents, dental clinics.

Market size: According to our analysis, the market potential for the gel and pastilles in Estonia, Finland and Germany is ca 5.7 million people.

The business model: We’ll use dental clinics, family medicine centres and a web platform to see the gel. In the future, we’ll be cooperating with maternity hospitals and nursery schools, and with dentists on export markets.
Required resources: 100,000 euros would help us increase our production capacity from hundreds to thousands. This would allow us to complete product development and buy the machinery we need.

Contact:
www.frenzy.ee

GOINVITE

30-second pitch: GoInvite is a universal platform for sharing experiences from person to person, i.e. an events app for private persons. Unlike the alternatives (Piletilevi, Meetup, FB Events, Airbnb Experience), the GoInvite mobile application focuses on the events of private persons and making them visible. Our app gives every private person the chance to be the organiser of an event and earn money with this. For guests, it’s an excellent opportunity for meeting new people and enjoying personal experiences.

The problem: Millions of private events take place in the world every year and the increasingly more people want to earn money with their events, which means that strangers are also welcome as guests (e.g. home cafés, home concerts, poker nights, meetings of people with the same interests). The present solutions for giving information about private events are too specific, expensive, inconvenient and noisy, and don’t allow people to earn money with their events.

The solution: GoInvite is a mobile application for the events of private people. Just like Airbnb is a platform for homeowners, we’re the platform for people who organise private events. Our app allows people to make their events visible, earn money with this and meet new people. Events that are held at home, have a certain theme and are meant for smaller groups give people the opportunity to create deeper friendships and communicate with each other. It’s also a convenient opportunity for the hosts to share their interests and skills, and earn money by doing this. The GoInvite mobile application will be ready in April 2019 and it’s developed by Helmes, who is also the first investor of GoInvite.

The users: Private persons interested in the organisation of events, sharing their interests, meeting new people and earning money. The users divide in specific target groups: people working or studying abroad; tourists; people with hobbies (e.g. dog owners, people interested in handicrafts or board games), etc. In Estonia, we will start entering the market and piloting the application via major events of private people. We’re a partner of the Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Agricultural Research Centre. The information and tickets of farms can be found in the GoInvite mobile application during the awareness campaign of Open Farms Day 2019.

Market size: We’ll pilot the app in Estonia this year and then want to enter foreign markets in Europe. Market potential divides between various target groups, but the number of expatriates alone is 230 million throughout the world. Surveys have shown that one of their biggest problems is making new friends among locals, but GoInvite could solve their problem by giving them access to personal events organised by locals. Tourists are another target group we can point out. For example, ca 2 million people visited Estonia in 2018, looking for genuine local experiences and the private event platform GoInvite can offers these experiences to them.

The business model: The app is free. The host pays commission to GoInvite if they sell tickets to their event. We’re planning to include extra functions for users and advertising options for corporate clients in the future.
Required resources: We’re looking for a developer and a marketing and sales specialist for our team. We’re also looking for a financial investment so we can pilot the application in Estonia, continue with the development, carry out market research and enter foreign markets.

Contact:
goinvite.app

GROVENEER

30-second pitch: Groveneer is a self-adhesive decorative all made of natural wood. It can be installed in rooms without tools or special skills. Different shades and sizes can be used to create unique patterns. Each self-adhesive sheet has a unique wood grain, which means that each completed wall is one of a kind.

The problem: Painting and wallpapering are usually the main ways of decorating the walls of a flat or house. The selection of natural materials is limited or using them in a room requires major renovation works – installing wooden panels means building completely new walls, other veneering needs gluing and finishing. This is rather difficult with thin materials.

The solution: A self-adhesive wooden wall, where all the processes have been completed for the consumer and all they have to do is stick it to the wall. The product has already been cut to size, finished with hard wax oil and ready to be pasted to the wall.
The users: Interior architects, developers, construction companies, DIY stores, direct end-consumers.

Market size: We managed to generate a turnover of a few tens of thousands on the Estonian market in six months and we focused mainly on product validation. We’re now moving to the Norwegian and the broader Scandinavian market. The estimated value of the wall coverings market of Norway is 120 million euros and our aim is to grab a percent of the market.

The business model: Selling the product on the basis of square metres via DIY stores, our website and interior architects.
Required resources: We mainly have to grow innovative material for sales – introduction, marketing, sales channels.

Contact:
www.groveneer.com

HIVE

30-second pitch: HIVE is an extremely accurate solution for GPS positioning and navigation that is based on cloud technology. We help drones, robots and other autonomous GPS devices to position themselves, move and track to the accuracy of a centimetre.

The problem: GPS is a widespread technology, which is unfortunately rather inaccurate at present. Various devices use underground networks in order to specify information and correct the inaccuracies. These networks are usually small in volume and their data are difficult to access, as the networks have different owners, software, connectivity protocols and so on.
The solution: HIVE uses cloud technology to connect the fragmented GPS networks. This will save network users weeks of time when obtaining data. HIVE will also help network owners to constantly earn income by selling data.

The users: HIVE has been under development and testing in Russia since 2014. During this time, HIVE has connected 600 data centres, which belong to 120 different companies. In 2018 HIVE connected various GPD stations in Latvia and Estonia. The software was tested with Starship robots.

Market size: The market value of the navigation systems of drones and other autonomous GPS devices in the next year will be 15.7 billion dollars.

The business model: We’re selling corrected data with the help of cloud technology. The sales revenue is divided in two – one-half to the owners of the data centre, the other half to HIVE.

Required resources: The team is looking for partners among companies that manufacture drones and robots. We’re also looking for makers of e-scooters and the Internet of things with whom we could start new projects.

HOPKID

30-second pitch: HopKid is a riding and accompanying service platform for organising a safe and enjoyable movement for children. The parents of a community can plan and organise community-based transport with the HopKid platform. HopKid will allow parents to save at least three hours of time per week and services will become accessible to children living in rural communities.

The solution: HopKid solves the problems with two different services. The first of them is a children’s taxi, where a parent uses the application to request a driver and companion who has passed a background check. The second is a community-based ridesharing platform, where the parents in the same community or circle of friends can plan organise transport for their children via the platform.

The users: The service is ordered by parents and other people responsible for the transport of children, and used by the children.

Market size: Approximately 120,000 children aged 6-15 attend hobby clubs in Estonia and the same figure in Europe is 18 million. The goal of HopKid is to take the market of providing transport to children in Estonia, the Baltic States and Scandinavia, and thereafter expand to the largest European cities with the service.

The business model: In the case of the children’s taxi, the client will pay for the distance and time as they would in the case of an ordinary taxi. In the case of a community-based ridesharing platform, the user pays a monthly fee for using the application.
Required resources: In order to develop the community-based ridesharing service and expand the service area of the children’s taxi, we need 150,000 euros for software development, team-building, marketing and administration.

Contact:
www.hopkid.ee

SECUREBADGER

30-second pitch: We will introduce a new platform for the property market, which makes finding a suitable tenant considerably easier with an AI-based background check. The innovative background check takes a thorough look at the tenant’s behavioural and financial risks on the basis of various databases. This makes the rental market safer.

The problem: Every fifth lease contract ends with a dispute or a bad conflict and finding a suitable tenant is often difficult. Searching in Google and browsing through social media doesn’t give sufficiently thorough background information about the tenant and a deeper search takes a lot of time.

The solution: The background analysis performed by SecureBadger is based on machine learning, which allows it to quickly and cheaply obtain information about tenants from public databases, credit bureaus, social media and other virtual sources of information in order to retrieve the digital footprint of the tenant. All this is used to calculate the tenant’s risk score ordered by the landlord.

The users: Small investors, property funds and real estate agents in the European Union (more specifically in the Schengen Area), who deal with rental properties.

Market size: The estimated market value of rental properties in the European Union is 650 million euros. The size of the background check market will be 500 million euros to a billion euros.

The business model: We are selling the background check service as a permanent order and on a one-off basis. The test version of SecureBadger is currently used by two large property companies and several smaller ones have also shown interest.
Required resources: First of all, we must make the company better known and increase trust in us.

Contact:
www.securebadger.com

TIMEY

30-second pitch: Timey is a smart indicator that can be attached to food packaging, crates or more expensive (fish) products. The indicator changes colour if the product hasn’t been kept in the correct conditions. Our solution helps producers and distributors make sure that the quality of the products is good when they reach clients. We have a strong team that consists of chemistry and business experts.

The problem: 30% of food products spoil before their use-by date, because they are not transported at the correct temperature. The loss is usually covered by the producer, who doesn’t know in which stage of the supply chain the product was incorrectly handled.

The solution: The colour-changing indicator of Timely informs the producer and the distributor that the product was kept in the correct conditions. This adds significant value to the supply chain, producer and consumer in terms of, for example, an increase in sales, strengthening of the brand and reduction of waste.

The users: Timey has four pilot partners at present. Two of them, Vettel OÜ and Epic Foods, are interested in the present solution. The pilot project with the third partner will be carried out in late March. The fourth partner is waiting for the arrival of stickers. A pilot at the level of Scandinavia and the Baltic States is coming in spring.

Market size: The broader market is the whole cold-chain market, the value of which according to the statistics for 2017 is 190 billion dollars (which will increase to 293.27 billion by 2023). The size of the global smart packaging market is 33.2 billion dollars. We’re currently focusing on the market of frozen fish products, the value of which is 25 billion dollars. We want to become the leader of the frozen seafood market first of all.

The business model: As the price of our indicator is low (€0.15/piece, €0.02/sticker), then our business model is based on mass production and B2B sales. The initial plan is to offer a solution to food producers who can attach the indicators to crates or packaging. We will also earn income from the patent.

Required resources: We need 150,000 euros for reducing our production expenses, developing the stickers, marketing and pilot projects with the new product. We also want to develop a supply chain control system.

Contact:
www.timey.ltd

VÕÕRAS SÕBER – UNKNOWN FRIEND

30-second pitch: Võõras Sõber – Unknown Friend is a unique counselling format created for the prevention of work-related stress and burnout. Our vision is to make sure that mental health issues don’t become the reason for diminished capacity for work and that employees whose capacity for work has already diminished would have sufficient support and motivation for contributing at the workplace. The uniqueness of the idea lies in the coded card system, which allows the employees to receive counselling anonymously and the employer to only pay for sessions that have actually taken place.

The problem: Although mental health issues are discussed more than before, finding help is still difficult and makes employees feel stigmatised. However, companies are losing billions because of employees’ diminished capacity for work and depression is becoming an increasingly widespread reason behind people’s incapacity for work. The problem is particularly serious in Estonia, where the population is decreasing and ageing and the maximum application of working-age people on the labour market is essential. Surveys indicate that ca 150,000 employees in Estonia suffer from stress, burnout or depression at least once a year.

The solution: Võõras Sõber – Unknown Friend offers employees the opportunity to get counselling anonymously and ensures that the employer’s expenses are transparent and can be checked. Preventive counselling has been made as easy as possible for employees and in addition to anonymity, payment for the service by the employer is also guaranteed.

The users: Our target clients today are companies in Estonia that value the mental health of their employees. The employees of these companies are the users of the service.

Market size: There are more than 700,000 working people in Estonia, 150,000 of whom potentially need the service. Our goal for the nearest future is to cover 10% of this market, i.e. to provide the Võõras Sõber – Unknown Friend counselling service to ca 15,000 employees and generate turnover of ca 1 million euros per year.

The business model: First of all, contractual clients will buy the client cards necessary for accessing the counselling service by paying 10% of the price of a session upfront and the remaining 90% after the employee has actually attended the counselling session. We currently have counselling offices in Tallinn and Tartu and are planning to open them in all county centres in the coming years. We’re currently recruiting counsellors. Our expansion plans also include the development of an online counselling platform. The goal is to expand to foreign countries, such as Australia and Singapore, with our platform in addition to Estonia.

Required resources: We’re looking for an online platform developer to join our team. An additional investment of 50,000 euros would help us open the counselling offices faster and increase the number of counsellors to be hired.

Contact:
www.agprojekt.ee