Highlights from the Startup Showcase 2020

As part of iGEM 2020 we want to encourage iGEMers to continue to innovate and build upon the ideas and proofs of concepts they tested in the competition. To support this iGEM’s official Entrepreneurship Program and Innovation community (EPIC) & it’s event partner Y combinator co-hosted the Startup Showcase 2020 - To highlight and celebrate the iGEM BioFounders that have gone beyond the competition and showcase their startup’s impact in food, health and environmental sectors by welcoming them back where it all began at the iGEM Virtual Giant Jamboree.

The event considented of 5 main subactivies; EPIC’s year in review, The founders fireside chat, the venture cafe, the start-up competition & keynote. 

EPIC’s year in review

We began the Startup Showcase with a look back on the highlights of iGEM EPIC’s year in review. This was the inaugural year for iGEM EPIC and 2020 provided plenty of opportunities to make the program even more antifragile than anticipated - we adapted all our programs to be digitalized and available online greatly expanding the access. 

As we launched the Venture Creation Lab (VCL) in the EMEA, APAC and Americas regions between April to June. 90+ iGEMers joined us to launch their first Bioventures, meet co-founders, develop entrepreneurial capabilities and ultimately create 30+ startup projects. From June to August, our VCL teams received mentorship from serial founders and experts from the wider iGEM entrepreneurial  community of +150 BioFounders. 

In August, we reconnected with our EPIC Mentors and experts to help us select the top-performing teams from each region for participation in our Fast-Track Program in September. Where we connected exceptional EPIC BioFounder teams with relevant investors, incubators and accelerators partners to help provide potential funding, lab-space, and start-up resources. After which we began work in October on the Startup Showcase and scouted for the top biofounders in our community working in food, health and environment challenges to join us at the startup showcase. 

Founders fireside chat

The founders fireside chat gathering three SynBio startups, all consisting of iGEM BioFounders, at different stages of their entrepreneurial journey. The panel consisted of Ingrid Pultz (PvP Biologics), Shara Ticku (C16 Biosciences) and Sofia Sigal-Passeck (Uniphage), and was hosted by Nerea Capon, who is also the cofounder of Labiome - an EPIC startup.

The panel highlighted the various scenarios and considerations of one’s startup journey, with Ingrid sharing about her experiences dealing with major companies, Shara detailing her work on scaling up and financing, and Sofia showcasing her initial conceptualization and validation of her business. These served to educate and inspire the audience, many of whom were iGEMmers, to see how their own endeavours can similarly follow such paths.

Venture cafe

The venture cafe was our chance to hear from our three major stakeholders in the startup ecosystem. We got to hear about the challenges, opportunities and common pitfalls from our expert collaborators;

• Startup perspective from Steven O Connell at Pear Bio

• Investor perspective from Gita Reinitz at tech.bio

• Industry perspective from Christopher Ghadban at AstraZeneca

With some great advice on appreciating any negotiation from others perspective, considering the long term aspect of building these networks and stakeholder relationships and how best to develop your credibility. 

Startup Showcase Pitching competition

The Startup Showcase pitching competition was hosted in two parts, a Food, Health and Environmental Track semifinals with the top 5 startups in each competing to win their tracks for a place among the top 3 in the Grand Finals. 

Track semi-finals

The first round of pitches consisted of various tracks tailored around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), primarily the Food, Health, and Environment goals. Five startups from each track competed for a chance to advance to the final pitch, with participants coming from all around the world, including some from this year’s EPIC programme.

After the simultaneous engaging rounds of pitching from all three tracks, the top startups from each track emerged - with Gourmey, Epinoma and FluoSphera being selected as their track winners!

Grand finals

The Grand Finals pitted our top startups from each of the SDG tracks against each other for the chance to have a face-to-face meeting with our partner, Y-Combinator - the world's premier startup accelerator. The three startups selected, Gourmey, Epinoma and Fluosphera, presented their work to a panel of judges which consisted of:

After an engrossing round of pitches followed by a quickfire Q&A session, it was time for the judges to convene and decide the final winner of the first ever iGEM startup showcase. After much deliberation, Gourmey was chosen as EPIC 2020 Startup Showcase winner!

Keynote

Last but not least, to further encourage iGEMmers to go forth and begin their bioventures, Jared Friedman, (partner at Y-Combinator) delivered an inspiring keynote highlight why now is the best time ever to start their entrepreneurial journeys and found their own companies inspired by their iGEM project work. 

Create, Grow & Inspire: (join EPIC)

Big thanks to all of the people, startups and collaborators that took part in the iGEM EPIC Startup Showcase and throughout this year! We are now recruiting for iGEM EPICs next season! Join us in making 2021 an EPIC year for moving iGEM projects from Lab to Market as we help Create, Grow and Inspire the next generation of iGEM Biofonders! We are looking for;

• Participants! Join us to Create your SynBio Startup! 👉 http://bit.ly/biofounders

• Committee Members! (Deadline Dec 7th) Join us to Grow the iGEM startup community and create an EPIC programme! 👉 bit.ly/epiccommittee

• Mentors! Join us in Inspiring future iGEM Entrepreneurs in their journeys to creating massive impact! 👉http://bit.ly/epicmentors

About iGEM EPIC

The Entrepreneurship Program Innovation Community (EPIC) supports the development of iGEM’s entrepreneurial community. We aim to become the driving force behind hundreds of SynBio based start-ups globally to help accelerate our transition to a more sustainable bioeconomy. The core of the program is focused on supporting iGEMers by providing resources and training in biobusiness, and connecting them to relevant co-founders, mentors, accelerators, investors and partners. This is done through a range of activities globally including the Venture Creation Labs, Mentorship Program, Fast Track Program and the annual Startup Showcase.

Feel free to learn more about EPIC and reach out to us if you have any questions to epic@igem.org.