The 7th generation of Belgrade-based Startit’s acceleration programme Startup Academy was held last week.
This was the first generation in the programme since it became a part of Google Launchpad’s global acceleration partnership, and the third year that Telekom Srbija is supporting local startups through an equity-free grant fund of €20,000 (around $23,300). The teams which have made considerable progress during the programme presented their demo products on Friday, May 17th.
Elsdevelopment was the first to present, showcasing its online platform for learning English, which is primarily aimed at the Asian market. The problem Elsdevelopment solves is work and life drawbacks due to poor English skills. The key differentiation are tutors from Europe (mostly Serbia). During the acceleration programme, the business made huge progress by recruiting a CTO, lowering costs, and increasing overall profitability.
Charmingly named Tenderly presented their product, a platform that allows blockchain developers to easily track their smart contracts and get notified in case they do not work as intended. The target group is 300,000 blockchain developers and their CEO is Vukašin Vukoje, a serial entrepreneur who has three startups and an exit behind him. The team has onboarded all of their customers during the acceleration programme, among them the Ethereum Foundation itself.
The online learning platform for elementary school students, which allows them to learn lessons by playing online games, is the product of the eponymous Shtreber team. They allow children to accelerate their learning process. As every third child in Serbia uses their platform, we can sure say Shtreber is on the right track. During Startup Academy they outgrew their reliance on CSR budgets and have started building a business, with the first step being the successful launch of a premium product for parents and children.
Srdjan Kanački showcased his application that intends to scale his current media business, an Instagram account with more than a million followers in the field of plastic surgery.
Trusteed, an Instagram analytics toolbox, has significantly increased traction during the programme, while the StayIn interesting movie recommendation tool became a product of the day on Product Hunt, with more than 5,000 movies recommended and a huge amount of free press.
