Biohugs, myProtectify and Voicestories win at STARTERiN Hamburg 2025
The final of the STARTERiN Hamburg female founders competition took place for the first time this year as part of a full-day conference. The prize was awarded in three categories to the startups Biohugs, myProtectify and Voicestories. At another pitch, VitaSeq received the most support in a public voting.
What makes Hamburg a stronghold for female entrepreneurs
In addition to the pitches, the conference focused on knowledge transfer and networking, in line with the motto ‘Connect & Learn’. One panel discussed ‘Hamburg as a stronghold for female founders’. Katharina Fegebank, Second Mayor of the Hanseatic city, praised the scientific excellence at universities and research institutions such as DESY and highlighted the support programmes offered by IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH. Arik Willner, CEO of Impossible Founders, presented the concept of the new startup initiative, which aims to promote deep tech spin-offs in particular. The first offers for different company phases will be available in 2026.
VitaSeq iconvinces audience with early Alzheimer's detection
There was a pitch collaboration between Hamburg Startups, which runs STARTERiN, and the Hamburg Investors Network, responsible for the Female StartAperitivo competition for female founders. Former participants in both events were given another chance to present themselves and, ideally, attract the interest of investors. Dr Sanaz Bahari Javan from VitaSeq won the audience vote. She impressed with a method for detecting Alzheimer's disease long before it actually breaks out.
Three STARTERiNNEN with big ideas and impressive stories
In what is now the fourth edition of STARTERiN Hamburg, six candidates in three categories presented themselves to a jury of experts. The ‘Tech’ category was won by Parnian Fazel from Biohugs. This is an AI platform that collects and evaluates biometric data in order to derive recommendations for action to improve physical and mental health. She prevailed over Alice Schedlbauer from MyQMa Solutions, who uses software to support quality management during employee onboarding.
In the ‘Impact’ category, personal experiences provided the impetus for founding the companies. Keziah-Naomi Tsagli from waymaker stories writes children's books featuring Black role models, which she herself missed in her childhood. The winner here was Sogol Kordi with myProtectify. She was a victim of domestic violence for years, partly because there was a lack of suitable support services for her. She now offers this support through a free, anonymous AI chat service. In the ‘Commerce’ category, Ann Austin competed with Prazzle, a global platform for art and the creative industries. And Yvonne Ramat, who ultimately won the STARTERiN title. With Voicestories, she makes memories audible via audio stickers. Like the other two winners, she received a digital outdoor advertising campaign worth 20,000 euros as her prize.
