TWISTprovided startups with a selected services :
- mentoring and coaching services for better understanding business models, financial technicalities and for accessing finance for growth, also giving attention to a sectoral approach (vertical mentoring) and applying the lean startup model;
- the creation of co-working laboratories where entrepreneurs will have the chance to peer with potential partners, receive one-to-one coaching and meet the right investors across the EU;
- the organization of challenges for startups with the involvement of Large Corporates from ICT, Mobile and the Entertainment sector;
Generally speaking the mentorship programs achieved the results planned in the Description of Action : 88 mentorship sessions were organized against 72 planned (16 per ecosystems).
All the topics were equally covered with the particular attention to the topic of fundraising which is a crucial argoument for startups in their growing phase.
Also in terms of mentors the project involved more and more serial entrepreneurs and investors.
The opportunity to provide specific and dedicate mentorship on vertical requires a completely innovative approach that improves considerably the average quality of startups participating and make more effective the participation of investors specialized in specific sectors.
Furthermore there is an effective Competitive Advantage which derives from a deep set of industry-specific relationships and mentors.
TWIST bootcamp can be considered an interesting pilot to be replicated in other contexts and ecosystems.
Lillè has widely recognized as hub of cybersecurity in Europe due to the yearly presence of the International Cybersecurity Forum.
The organization of the TWIST bootcamp offered to startups from Warsaw and Rome the opportunity to get the best mentorship available thanks to the strong presence of experts in the sector.
Lazio Innova, taking the advantage of the MIT 2016 organized StartupOnStage, the first bootcamp for lifescience in Italy.
Last but not least the Bootcamp in Poland had the objective to find digital solutions for various city problems – congestion, air pollution, increasing crime rate, etc. involving brilliant entrepreneurs.
TWIST Open Innovation methodology is a systematic approach to engage and channel public/private resources to find solutions for specific business opportunities and challenges
During the duration of the project TWIST launched 4 innovation challenges with different players.
Following the experience of the Imagine Cup in Poland and Frogleap in Sweden, both Rome and Lillè implemented their open innovation challenge in their ecosystems on automotive sectopr cooperating with multinational companies (Adecco group in Rome and PeSA in Lillè)
The communication plan and following the activities carried out by TWIST, the promotion of the project has been channelled through a mix of actions integrating online/offline communication and Public Relations addressed to startups, entrepreneurs, mentors and investors with the aim of connecting the 4 European ecosystems.
As far as online communication is concerned, main deliverables included news articles, videos, testimonials, social media posts and publications (published through multiple channels: StartUp Europe website, TWIST website, TWIST Facebook Fan Page and other Facebook groups for startups, entrepreneurs, mentors and investors), TWIST Twitter account, TWIST Google Plus Page and all the 8 TWIST consortium partner’s websites, blogs and social channels, reaching a wide audience of startups, entrepreneurs, mentors and investors at a European and worldwide level.
Dealing with Public Relations activities, TWIST has been promoted (development of PPT presentations and communication materials as well as formal and informal speeches, webinars, meetings and seminars) in high-profiled events relevant for the scope of the project, taking place in Europe.
The offline activities were carried out through the creation and support of flyers, info packages, roll-up to be delivered during the events and through the publication of TWIST news on the Startup Europe Newsletter and Brochures, and also by using prints and banners.
