Startupbootcamp (SBC) is one of the largest accelerators in Europe and the biggest in the Netherlands. To celebrate its fifth anniversary, Marc Wesselink, program and alumni manager at SBC, radically changed the way Demo Day’s are done.
Bored with Demo Day’s
To be honest, at Silicon Canals, we were getting quite bored with Demo Day’s. For those in the startup scene that never attended one, the format feels more standardized than McDonald’s. Every cohort in a startup accelerator gets the opportunity to a X-minute pitch in front of a large crowd of potential investors and partners.
Theatrical or ulta-hip
Up until now, we have seen either two approaches to such events. Either it is held a very large corporate office that holds an audience of a couple of hundred people in a theatrical setting. Or, it’s in an ultra-hip former industrial venue (Sugar Factory, NDSM Werf) that’ll give a festival-like ring to a Demo Day.
Chinese investor jumped on-stage
In particular, we were quite enamored of the Evoluon in Eindhoven, where a Chinese investor jumped on-stage to literally invest in startups on the spot. Yes, Demo Day’s can be great shows, yet, with the rise of the number of accelerators and programs, visiting two a month is simply too much.
Concept felt stale
Even to us, as startup aficionados. Really, the whole concept started to feel stale. Not another Demo Day! Been there, done that.
New standard Demo Day
Today, at the Smart City & Living program, SBC set a new standard how Demo Day’s should be done. Instead of a large setting, Wesselink downsized the number of attendees. With round tables and bar tables around a small stage at Restaurant Bureau in B. Amsterdam, Demo Day had a more intimate ring to it. Like a cabaret, but without the lame jokes.for
Experiment
“I’m done with large theaters”, Wesselink told us. Also, SBC cut down the total amount of time in half. That helps too. Of course, it’s an experiment.  Perhaps, a successful one.
Here are the startups that pitched during SBC Smart City & Living Demo Day:
Coavmi (France)
Coavmi is a flight-sharing platform connecting private pilots with passengers willing to share the same private flight and its costs. With over 10K users, the platform is already live in France, UK, and Germany.
KAKIS positive sanitation (Slovenia)
KAKIS positive sanitation offers unique wooden outdoor composting toilets that are very user-friendly and that provide a perfect natural circle without waste. The company has already sold some units and had a promo in Vondelpark that excited the public. They are now teaming up with some of the major event organizers in Europe.
Leave Your Luggage (Netherlands)
Leave Your Luggage aims to change the way people travel with hold luggage. By offering the most convenient and secure door-to-door luggage delivery service in all major cities worldwide whilst structurally reducing luggage handling in airport passenger terminals and increasing airport security. They already have a successful operational model with 1500 users with paying pilots.
Mahlzeit (Germany)
Mahlzeit is the first tech company to provide native mobile application theme to large enterprises. Mahlzeit helps people connect over lunch at work and save time from busy canteen queues. The company already signed several pilots, including with Schiphol Group in the Netherlands, E.ON in Germany, and one of the largest German automotive manufacturers.
Mr. Clouseau (Netherlands)
Mr. Clouseau brings the digital world to brick and mortar venues with an indoor positioning system. Because we believe that position is the context you need to fully engage your visitors, empower your employees, and optimize your organization.
Visitt by onh. (Israel)
Visitt bridges the gaps of communication in the world of facility maintenance by creating a single online space where management, suppliers, workers, and facility users can transparently communicate and collaborate. They are already successfully operating in Israel and are now starting pilots with five large companies in the Netherlands and one Real Estate company in Germany.
Orkestro (United Kingdom)
Orkestro helps online retailers boost their sales conversions and customer retention through a fully automated and data driven delivery service. They are successfully operating in London and are now piloting in Amsterdam.
Porter (Portugal)
Porter allows users to open a door using a smartphone, so now you can open your office door, parking barrier, or hotel room using a single mobile app. They are launching their services to their first customers in a month and have an active Leapfunder campaign.
Bike2Work (Latvia)
Bike 2 Work helps companies to reduce their health care and mobility costs through their office bike sharing platform. They are already partnering with co-working spaces in Amsterdam and aiming to expand to larger corporates within the next weeks.
SharePeople (Netherlands)
SharePeople is a risk-sharing platform for social networks. Risk-sharing by the crowd, without an insurance company involved. Completely transparent and at lower costs. The first product launched: income protection for independent professionals.
Our favorite: a startup full of shit
Our personal favorite: Kakis. This is a startup that’s literally full of shit. Besides the peculiar name (it’s a toilet solution! So why not), it’s actually an awesome idea: to become the most sustainable toilet on the market. With festivals abound and a lack of smell-free public toilets in large cities, we believe the mobile toilet industry is ripe for disruption. We all need to poo and pee, right?
Vondelpark
Yes, it’s a huge market, when you think about it. “Next year, when you enter the Vondelpark, you see our Kakis there,” founder and CEO David Kodarin states. The startup is looking for €250,000 investment to bring the company to €550,000 euro ARR.