Talents as far as the eye can see: As part of the Start-up BW Night, the state finals of the Start-up Young Talents and the Start-up BW Elevator Pitches took place in Mannheim's Jungbusch on July 13. Whether moderation of the pitches by Elena Ressmann, showcallplan, coordination and participant management, on-site support of the teams and the jury as well as support of the press and social media work - we were very happy to support this exciting event.

The event, hosted by the Ministry of Economy, Labor and Tourism Baden-Württemberg, attracted a large number of talented fouders as well as an enthusiastic audience. The moderation on the Pitching Stage was done by Elena Ressmann: The entrepreneur, who has been developing and responsible for START Rhein-Neckar with her team for many years, has great expertise in the context of the start-up scene and many years of experience in moderation.

Young Talents 2023
The student team "WAS" from Sasbach won the state final of the Start-up BW Young. The team convinced with its business idea of heatable period underwear. Second place went to the team "capac-motors" from Weinheim with their idea of lithium with ion capacitors as a car battery replacement. Third place went to the "Magnetie" team from Neckargemünd with their idea of a one-handed hair rubber for people with motor impairments. Economics Minister Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut personally congratulated the students and presented the certificates and prize money sponsored by L-Bank.

Start-up BW Elevator Pitches 2023
"nanoshape", "PV2+", "smopi", "myScribe" and "MissionBuddies": These 5 teams managed to particularly inspire the jury and were then allowed to present their ideas again in front of the audience on the Mainstage. The start-up "PV2+" from Freiburg won the state final of the "Start-up BW Elevator Pitch 2023" with its business idea to replace the critical resource silver in solar cells with the more readily available, cheaper and more environmentally friendly material copper. The teams "smopi" from Bretzfeld with their idea of a holistic ecosystem for electromobility and "myScribe" from Mannheim with their idea of an AI-generated documentation app for doctors were delighted with second and third place. The certificates and prize money of 3000 euros, 2000 euros and 1000 euros were also handed over by Minister of Economic Affairs Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut.

The Start-up BW Night was an impressive example of the innovative power and entrepreneurial potential in Baden-Württemberg. The event showed that the next generation of founders is ready to put social concerns and sustainability at the center of their business ideas. All participating teams deserve recognition for their innovative strength, their courage and their contributions to the economic development of the region. Their commitment underlines the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation for a successful future.

And for those who missed this exciting event and would like to watch the pitches, interviews and highlights again, a 90-minute recording is available here in the RNF media library: https://www.rnf.de/mediathek/video/startupbw-night-2023-in-mannheim