The Impact Accelerator celebrates a successful premiere
The Impact Accelerator is a new support program for startups in Hamburg. The final pitch of the eight qualified companies has just taken place. A jury of experts was most impressed by the startup BuildlinX with its solution for decarbonising buildings. In this article, we briefly introduce all the participants.
8 startups with good ideas on sustainability and the circular economy
The Impact Accelerator is run by Impact Hub Hamburg, which currently still has the status of a "candidate" and is part of the 105 Viertel initiative. Startups from the fields of the circular economy and sustainability were able to apply. Those who qualified went through an eleven-week program in which mentors from matching industries provided regular support and feedback. The aim was to drive the startups' ideas forward and make corrections where necessary. At the final pitch, the founders were able to present their business models and the progress they had made.
The startup S2S Dynamics is dedicated to recycling electronic waste and uses artificial intelligence to identify recyclable objects. Mycolutions uses mycelium, the root network of mushrooms, as a material for sound and heat insulation. MIMA Minimalhaus Manufaktur builds minimalist houses that can be placed on the roofs of parking garages, for example. Bridge&Tunnel is already a small institution in Hamburg. This startup produces clothing and bags from discarded textiles and employs talented women who have a hard time on the conventional job market. fainin offers a platform for renting out items that are only used sporadically.
In the top 3: true prices, upcycling and saving energy in buildings
None of the startups came away empty-handed on this day; all of the candidates named so far were delighted to receive non-cash prizes, including a coffee machine. For places 1 to 3, there were memberships and coworking days at the Impact Hub and podcasts with Tarek Müller, CEO of the fashion company About You. The winning team also received 1,000 euros. Third place went to Truesday, a coffee startup that also takes hidden costs into account in its pricing. This includes factors such as water consumption, land use and packaging waste. Conventional products do not include these costs; Truesday tries to keep them as low as possible.
Second place went to rebirth studios, a startup that, like Bridge&Tunnel, is dedicated to upcycling textiles. Founder Liz Thieme comes from About You and thinks big in a similar way to the listed company. She has set herself the long-term goal of saving 1 million tons of clothing, the equivalent of over 6 billion T-shirts. The winner of the day was BuildlinX with software that helps to reduce the energy consumption of buildings. 30% of global CO2 emissions come from the operation of buildings. BuildlinX promises energy savings of up to 40% and is currently testing its effectiveness in a pilot project with the City of Hamburg.
