ł.pitch
Exciting news. We’re delighted to announce that applications are officially open! Act fast, as the deadline is set for 11.02.2024. Don’t miss out-find the link to the application form in our bio, accessible on Instagram, Linkedin, and Facebook!
The first stage of the application process will be filling out a form with the following information:
- Your details as a representative of the company
- The current position and industry of you company
- The kind of funding you are seeking
- Your pitch deck
ł.pitch 2023 Winner: VAQAT
Launched in 2022, Vaqat is a marketplace where companies outsource short intern-like tasks to students around the world and can use such projects as a talent assessment tool. Teams receive on-demand support, while students get first work experience and explore various career paths before committing to one full-time. At the same time, recruiters can validate prospective candidates based real skills and competences tested in an actual work environment, regardless of students’ backgrounds.
ł.pitch 2022 Champion:
Calmsie Meet Calmsie, a trailblazing Polish startup that has become a frontrunner in the industry. Specializing in psychoeducational apps for children, they seamlessly blend gaming experience, conversational AI, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Stay updated on their journey as they prepare to release the first version of their groundbreaking app, Mission Amygdala.
ł.pitch 2020 Success Story:
GGPredict Rewind to 2020, when GGPredict claimed the title and has since become a force to be reckoned with. Acknowledged by Forbes, Business Insider, and Sport.pl, GGPredict is a disruptive training platform for online gaming players. With a staggering user base growth in 2022 and backing from prominent investors like, their impact on the esports scene is undeniable.
Polish Economic Forum 2023
Ł.pitch is the fastest growing project of the LSE SU Polish Business Society. It is a competition for start-ups at every stage of growth: pre-seed, seed and post-seed. The only requirement is that at least one member of founding team is Polish. Participating businesses have a chance of winning a financial prize but also get a unique opportunity to network with potential investors. Ł.pitch 2023 introduces new initiative – mentorship programme. A pool of start-ups will be offered a meeting with our mentors that include investors or potential business partners to discuss business strategy. This year, we will collaborate with VCs from both Poland and the UK.
Motivated by the success of previous competition’s winners, we decided to further develop the ł.pitch Startup Challenge. The real impact of our competition is already visible. The winner of the 2020 edition, GGPredict, recently collected funding of USD 1 million for further development and expanded into the US and Scandinavian markets. The 2019 winner, Comixify, went through the Space3ac acceleration program where it had the opportunity to spend PLN 200 000 in development after it signed a contract with one of Poland’s biggest companies, PKN Orlen.
V Edition ł.pitch Startup Challenge
This year, we aim to select, reward, and help the best Polish startups in the pre-seed, seed and post-seed financing stages to grow their businesses. Three start-ups will qualify for the final of the competition, which will take place on March 4th 2023 in London during the LSE SU Polish Economic Forum. Each of the finalists will pitch their idea to potential investors and conference participants. Then in the „Dragon’s Den” formula will be evaluated by the Jury including investors from leading VCs.
This year, the application window will open at the beginning of January and close in mid February. After a start-up submits his application, we will try to find a match for a mentor and notify the representative of the start-up once successful.
History of ł.pitch
As a pioneer of the oil industry and the inventor of the kerosene lamp, Ignacy Łukasiewicz significantly contributed to the development of entrepreneurship in Poland. He was also an important social activist. His figure inspired us to name our competition ł.pitch in order to show that its mission is to promote entrepreneurship in Poland and abroad.
The two previous editions received vast support from the investors and aroused tremendous interest among start-ups. During all editions, the chosen finalists presented their ideas at the LSE SU Polish Economic Forum (PEF) in front of investors and other professionals.
Then, the jury, which included such renowned industry leaders as Sebastian Kulczyk, Krzysztof Krawczyk, Tytus Cytowski, Marcin Kowalik, Wojciech Szaniawski, Karol Górnowicz and Jan Habermann, questioned and assessed the finalists’ ideas in a Dragons’ Den formula, and awarded prizes. The competition attracted extensive publicity, with numerous articles covering the initiative and its winners appearing in leading media outlets such as Forbes and Business Insider
Contact:
Start-up challenge
l.pitch@polish-business.org
We’re delighted to announce that applications are officially open! Act fast, as the deadline is set for 11.02.2024. Don’t miss out—find the link to the application form in our bio, accessible on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook!
The first stage of the application process will be filling out a form with the following information:
- Your details as a representative of the company
- The current position and industry of you company
- The kind of funding you are seeking
- Your pitch deck
Contact:
Start-up challenge
l.pitch@polish-business.org