We had a great time again at Get in the Ring Costa Rica! The quality of startups was higher than ever before and brought fierce battles. The fabulous event was covered by the local media Teletica and gathered officials, corporates and startups in a show of light and entertainment.
The event hosted by Yo Emprendedor took place at a fantastic venue and gathered together many entrepreneurs, corporates and officials. During the selection day on November 15th, 6 startups out of more than 20 already pre-selected to participate, were chosen to pitch in the Ring. All of them got invited for an official dinner at the Embassy of the Netherlands, where afterwards they could exchange experience while having a good time.
On November 16th, the Champion jury members had the difficult responsibility to choose the 3 most promising startups of Costa Rica. That’s why the panel consisted of high-profile people with extensive experience in the startup scene: Luis Javier Castro, President of Yo Emprendedor; S. Fitzgerald Haney’ US Ambassador; Mónica Segnini, CEO of Grupo Descarga; Pedro Beirute, CEO of Procomer; and Herman Mulder, chairman of the True Price Foundation.
THE BATTLES
The startups are ready, the Champion jury members are set: time for the Battles! The event was officially kicked of with a speech from the Ambassador of the Netherlands: Peter-Derrek Hof. Shortly after, the microphone passed to the Vice President of Costa Rica to give his own ‘pitch’.
The competition began with the lightweight category: Processim Labs against Subcultours! Subcultours aims to connect tourists to local artists in Costa Rica to enrich their visit. Processim Labs developed the world’s first gamified business case simulator that gives professors a convenient teaching tool. Simply said: they free the student from carrying their laptops around and the teachers from providing labs to their students. The Champion jury members were convinced quickly and announced Processim Labs to be the lightweight winner!
Soon after, the middleweight round began. The gong was hit and in the corners were Magenta Biolabs and Karma Tribe waiting to deliver their first knock-out. Karma Tribe wants to connect human kindness around the world with pay-it-forward: request a favor and do good locally and globally! Magenta Biolabs is producing hyaluronic acid and uses a brand new process that mimics natural cycles. They aim for circular economy, where materials are used in different parts of the production cycle. Both startups making an impact, but the Champion judges were certain: Magenta Biolabs for the win!
The battles finished with the toughest one – the heavyweight category. Speratum against its rival Natural Sins. Natural Sins produces fruit and vegetable chips and claims to make sure that once you take a bite, it won’t be the last one! Speratum uses nanotechnology to introduce a new class of molecules into tumor cells through which they can stop and revert even the most aggressive forms of cancer. The true knock-out was delivered when stating that within their expert team they’re working with the doctor who treated Steve Jobs in his palliative state. It’s safe to say: the undisputed winner was Speratum!
So again, we had a blast in Costa Rica, and therefor we would like to thank Yo Emprendedor, the organizer of the event, and the partners who made this possible: EY, Mesoamerica and Banco Nacional.
Want to see more? You can find all pictures of Get in the Ring Costa Rica here.