Last night, the spotlight was on theΒ 7th cohort of the Rubik Garage AcceleratorΒ during an electrifyingΒ Demo Day!
AfterΒ 2.5 months of intensive learning, countless workshops, personalized 1:1 sessions, insightful AMAs, and no fewer thanΒ 75 investor meetings, our startups took the stage to showcase their hard work.
This was their moment to shine, and they didnβt disappoint. These founders have poured their hearts into refining their pitches, highlighting their progress, and proving their solutions are poised to make a global impact.
π The Winners
- Best Startup:Β Apollo AI Technologies
- Best Pitch:Β SiWeGO
- Foundersβ Award:Β Fairytales
- Ready to RaiseΒ (A spot in our follow-on program):
π₯ An Action-Packed Event
Before the Demo Day, we had three standout moments:
1. IP Protection Workshop
We began the day with an exclusive workshop onΒ how to protect your intellectual property while scaling globally. Delivered byΒ Florina Firaru, Head of Intellectual Property at NNDKP, this session was packed with game-changing insights:
- How to transfer IP securely
- Preparing IP for due diligence and M&A
- Practical tips to ensure bulletproof IP protection
It was a knowledge-filled session that left founders equipped to scale with confidence.
2. Launch of Rubik Scale to USA 2025
We officially launchedΒ Rubik Scale to USA 2025, an equity-free, 12-week accelerator tailored to pre-Series A startups with the ambition to break into the US market.
The program will culminate in anΒ immersion trip to the USA, including pitching sessions to top investors and partners. And the cherry on top?
Fortech Investments, our strategic partner, announced their commitment to invest in one of the participating startups. Starting with aΒ baseline investment of β¬150,000, this amount could grow based on the progress and disruptive potential these startups demonstrate. π
3. Star-Studded Fireside Chat
Next, we hosted a Fireside Chat featuring:
- Two unicorns
- Two VCs
- One startup
- One journalist
Hereβs one golden nugget of advice shared during this lively discussion:
βFind the right investors, right partners, learn from your mistakes, choose wisely, and be patient with the first people that represent you in a new marketβthey will be your image. Get the right people, and theyβll bring more talent and customers into your organization.β
A huge thank-you to our stellar panelists and their invaluable insights!
- Andrei VΔcuΕ£Β (EMEA Sales Engineering Senior Director, atΒ UiPath)
- Bogdan AxiniaΒ (Managing Director atΒ eMAGΒ Ventures)
- Mark PalfalviΒ (Principal,Β PortfoLion CapitalΒ Partners)
- Valentin FilipΒ (Managing PartnerΒ Fortech Investments)
- Ciprian CazacuΒ (CEOΒ Easy Sales)
- Oana CoΘmanΒ (Startups & Investments Editor atΒ start-up.ro) β moderator.
A special shoutout toΒ UiPath, our fantastic hosts, for making this event unforgettable. Also, we are proud to haveΒ OrangeΒ as our partner, playing a key role in the success of our program and fostering the growth of innovative startups.
To ourΒ amazing founders: We couldnβt be prouder of how far youβve come. Youβve officially became one of theΒ Rubikornsβand who knows? The next unicorn might just be in this very cohort.
