The winner is BillScan!

On the “winterish” afternoon this Saturday five judges declared the winner of the KickUP accelerator program in StartUP Novo mesto. A small but sharp startup community based in Novo Mesto, Slovenia. The winner of KickUP accelerator program is a cloud storage web and mobile based app called BillScan.

The first generation of KickUP Accelerator program came to an end this Saturday, 25 January  with an open event KickUP Demo Day. Four startup expert judges listened to six pitches and choose the winner that received a trip to Rockstart Accelerator in Netherlands and a free six months Web Office service from Si.mobil, slovenian telecommunication company.

Six startup ideas that were running for the title were: Cupidsaveme, a web and mobile app that helps to keep relationships interesting and alive. Second one was startup idea from a team of teenagers called eSkiing, a mobile app for skiers which allows users to compete with friends, take challenges, break boundaries, share statistics and earn badges on ski slopes. Badges bring you discounts in the ski resort, nearby restaurant, hotel, sport shop, etc. The third competitor was an education platform called DobraPraksa. A platform where teachers share their examples of good teaching practices.

The fourth startup was BillScan, a web and mobile cloud storage document system app for organizing bills, invoices, warranties etc. for personal or enterprise usage. Fifth pitch was from an all-girl startup called Fleekaboo, a community platform that connects fashion designers to people who have piles of clothes they don’t wear anymore in their closets. The last pitch was by a startup called LaceNANO, a hardware company which re-invented the tattoo making machine. With a new technology it makes tattooing easier for tattoo artists and less painful for the customers.

The four judges Sonja Vlašič (Infotehna Group), Peter Pohar (D.Labs), Damjan Malis (DietPoint) and Marko Pirc (Lumu Labs) had a tough job on their hands. After a long and hard discussion behind the closed doors they decided that the winning startup idea was BillScan. This was a big push for a team of three, Luka Picelj (CEO) and two programers Simon Vesel and Mitja Cerovšek, just before their MVP launch date in a couple of weeks.

For a small startup community in Novo Mesto this was a very well executed accelerator program and an all-thumbs-up for an organization StartUP Novo mesto. This was an act that puts them on the map as one of the most interesting and exiting startup communities in the region and beyond.

The organizers would like to thank the main sponsors and partners of the event: Rockstart Accelerator, Si.mobil Center Novo Mesto, Mozilla Slovenia and Razvojni Center Novo Mesto.