It's day 1 of Digital DNA upSTART 17 - the startup pitching battle
by Startacus Admin
Hosted and facilitated by startup go-to community Startacus (that’s us!), upSTART 17 is an integral element of Digital DNA, Belfast and is a two-day startup pitching battle, which will once again take place within a boxing arena.
The boxing ring, lights, judges, bells and whistles brings the theatre of the boxing ring to the stage of a startup pitch playing out over a number of rounds, with one eventual winner.
We hope that you agree that the mix of pitching startups from all over the UK, Northern Ireland, Ireland and a few from Europe are really top draw - you can read over the full list of pitching startups here.
To keep our online audience in the loop on things, we wanted to highlight how you can keep an eye on proceedings, even if you aren’t at St George's Market in Belfast itself.
Day 1 key timings for upSTART 17 pitch comp
10am - 11am 1st Round pitch session 1
11.30am - 12.15pm: 1 Round pitch session 2
2 - 3pm: 1 Round pitch session
4 - 4:15pm: Day 1 pitching startup finalists announced (who will come back on Wednesday afternoon for the ‘Final’). 
So throughout the day we will have a live feed of the pitches alternating between our Twitter account @iamstartacus and via Facebook @IamStartacus and also live tweeting as each startup jumps on stage to pitch.
The format is pretty simple with 4 first round sessions held over Tuesday day and Wednesday morning, with the top 8 startups then pitching back on stage on Wednesday afternoon, with one to be crowned the overall upSTART 17 winner later that afternoon. In round 1, the startups will not have the safety of a pitch presentation, and will have to pitch for three straight minutes to the judges and audience without accompanying slides. In the Final, 8 startups will then present with accompanying slides and then answer questions from the judges - simples.
So make sure to follow / like our Twitter account @iamstartacus and our Facebook page @IamStartacus to keep up with the pitch proceedings as they happen.
We will be back tomorrow morning to recap day 1.
Helping Startacus out with the upSTART hosting and stage are...
Christine James, Founder & manager of Blick Studios which provides space to inspire, support and encourage digital and creative startups across 4 locations in NI and who will be co-hosting the upSTART stage at times during Digital DNA.
Danny McLaughlin - Founder of Revolve Comics, which uses comics and visual storytelling to help engage, educate and connect with audiences in a new and innovative way. Danny will be helping with overall running and social media.
Kieran Moore - 6 years experience as a marketing professional and founder of an award winning HubSpot inbound marketing and design agency - SupineDigital. Danny will be helping with overall running and social media.
And of course ourselves, Alastair Cameron and Eoin O'Hara from team Startacus (it’s nice to give yourself a pat on the back every now and again!)
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Applied - The recruitment platform that will help you hire fairer, faster, and retain hires for longer...
Branswer - The lowdown on the startup that will help you write content on brand, every time...
Using satellite imagery, combined with machine learning techniques, AgTech startup CropSafe are on a mission to accurately detect and predict impending diseases within farmers crops.
Hike is an SEO platform built for startups that allows you to optimise your site and content and aimed at saving 75% on annual SEO costs.
The Festival of Female Entrepreneurs, now in its seventh year, is aimed at supporting women to build and grow sustainable businesses.
UK Chancellor Philip Hammond chose his Conservative Party Conference speech to suggest that he wouldn’t wait for an international consensus on digital services taxation.
The INVENT Awards 2018 from Connect at Catalyst Inc, took place in Belfast’s Waterfront, during which Gray’s Clip was announced as the overall competition winner.
The innovative startup which “helps you build happy, productive teams by creating amazing onboarding experiences for new hires.”
Vegan food business The Brook funds 130% in their first three days of their equity crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs, with the funds raised to go towards launching a new home delivery service.
Leading real estate tech investment firm, Goldacre, has announced the six startups selected for its inaugural RElab accelerator programme.
Published on: 4th June 2017
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Innovative Electrical Clip hangs on to win INVENT Awards 2018 12th Oct 2018 The INVENT Awards 2018 from Connect at Catalyst Inc, took place in Belfast’s Waterfront, during which Gray’s Clip was announced as the overall competition winner.
- Vegan food business The Brook tastes crowdfunding success 11th Oct 2018 Vegan food business The Brook funds 130% in their first three days of their equity crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs, with the funds raised to go towards launching a new home delivery service.
- Six startups join Goldacre’s inaugural RElab accelerator programme 9th Oct 2018 Leading real estate tech investment firm, Goldacre, has announced the six startups selected for its inaugural RElab accelerator programme.
- Emily Crisps bags healthy £1m investment 4th Oct 2018 Emily Crisps raises over £1 million investment from Seedrs campaign to support expansion for it's healthy alternative to traditional potato crisps and fruit snacks.
