A Little Startup That Can (And Will Rock The Web Summit) – Ekipa.Me
Did we mention before that we like startups? We sure did, because what isn’t there to love? Innovation, enthusiasm, conferences around the world and sense of contributing to the community. However, we really love are .ME startups. This time we’re going to present to you Ekipa.me, a startup from Belgrade that is currently in the Alpha programme of Web Summit conference, and in the semi-finals of the Global Webit Congress Founders Games. Road to success is filled with mouthful phrases, no?
So, What Is Ekipa.me?
Ekipa.Me is a social platform that helps (single) people create groups of three friends, search and invite other group of three friends and find local business to meet according to similar interests. You create your owny party team and browse others in your city using different filters to narrow the results and find teams that consist of members with similar interests. After getting a positive answer, use online chat to arrange a date and place for your meeting, with a little help from location directory.
It is a perfect platform for shy people and those who want to avoid unpleasant situations with one to one (dating) services. Personally, I think 6 is a perfect number, because it is not too big of a group, and having two more people that you know is a great if one of them suddenly needs to bail so you are not left alone. Also, if you own or manage a cafe, night club, restaurant or similar place you can promote it within their business base. You can add your contact information, business hours and other information for free. There is also a premium option where you can promote your business on pay per action basis. All new businesses get a 50$ gift voucher that can be used to gain more fans and promoting your business.
Little About Founders Games
Founders games are, well, games that are organised by Global Webit Congress or GWC for short. This year they take place in Istanbul, 1.-2. October . GWC is one of the biggest expo and conference events in this part of the world, and all the big players are attending: Google, Twitter, eBay, Intel, Samsung, Universal, Apple, HP, Sony and many others. Although Ekipa.me is in the top 15 startups (among 300!), only top 5 will go through to Founder Games finals to pitch on GWC and voting is in progress- don’t forget to give them a vote! Among 400 investors there are Microsoft Ventures, Wellington Partners, European Bank etc. with hundreds of companies like Facebook, Coca-Cola or IBM. They will also present in front of the many global and regional media like CNN, Al Jazeera, WIRED, BBC and others.
… And Little About Web Summit
Web Summit, formerly Dublin Web Summit, has been called one of the best technology conferences on the planet. It is held in Dublin since 2010 and this year it will be held 4.-6. November. Each week they are selecting 25 early stage startups from around the world to exhibit for free as part of Alpha Program. They charge big tech companies €9,950 to exhibit, but they make it free for early stage startups in their Alpha Program. Vine, Coursera and Uber are just a few that participated in it. Early access for GWC finishes this week, and for Web Summit next week, so hop on the early train while you can. A lot of mentioned, and unmentioned big companies will be on both of the conferences talking about technology, digital marketing and looking for potential startup superstars to invest into. Applying is fairly easy and with a little luck and a lot of hard work, maybe you can be one of the lucky ones. Ekipa.me certainly showed that it is possible!
