The house is packed at 657 as the Oslo finalists attempt to pitch their way into the jury’s hearts, and the national finals of Creative Business Cup. Jury leader Anniken Fjelberg is impressed by what’s she’s seen:
“It’s a tough race to the top. The level is high in this year’s competition, and the startups are very different from each other. The audience for the finals in Bergen on June 12th will have a great experience witnessing skilled teams pitching creative business concepts on stage,” says Fjelberg, who is the co-founder of 657 Oslo, Norway’s largest co-working space for the creative industries (and publisher of this magazine).
Creative Business Cup is an international pitching competition with the purpose to strengthen creative entrepreneurs in their initial phase. In Norway, the competition is conducted as a collaboration between 657, which is Norway’s largest co-working space for the creative industries, and Innovation Norway.
“Much more than a competition – Creative Business Cup is a global year-round initiative that empowers entrepreneurs in the creative industries, helping them grow their business ideas, connecting them to investors and the global markets, and strengthening their innovative capabilities to the benefit of industry and society,” Fjelberg says.
High scoring across the board
The pitching is over. After unusually long deliberations, the jury announces a winner.
“It was a close race between four of the participants. Scoring high in terms of market potential, implementation ability and the use of creativity into their concept, Playpulse is the winner,” Fjelberg announced.
Playpulse is an interactive computer game for spinning bikes, and won the final spot in the finals after tough regional competitions in Bodø, Trondheim, Stavanger and Bergen. The five startups will compete during Startup Extreme in Bergen next week.
“It is incredibly cool to be in the finals of CBC. We are really proud of the recognition we have gained so far, working towards our vision of using the creative magic of games to motivate for more exercise. The finals in Bergen will be exciting, and we hope as many as possible will come to try out our demo bikes at Startup Extreme,” says Erling Magnus Solheim, co-founder and CEO of Playpulse.
Here are the finalists of Creative Business Cup Norway 2018, and the regional competition hosts:
- Misc Games, Innovation Dock
- Costail, Work-Work
- Think Outside/Dingo, BergenWorks
- Pazzing, Flow Coworking / Inkubator Salten
- Playpulse, 657 Oslo
Follow this space for profiles with all the finalists.