On 4 and 5 April 2019 the 3rd CERIecon Playparks Final took place in Vienna. The two best start-ups trained by the seven regional Playparks were invited to present their ideas in front of an international audience and a jury of experts. In an innovative three-round competition of pitching and presenting, finally two winners were elected: Lingvano from Playpark Vienna and Soundblurbs from Playpark Stuttgart.

The Board of Education for Vienna and the Regional Center of Expertise at the University of Economics and Business of Vienna as the two regional partners were proud to host the 3rd CERIecon Playparks Final under the motto ‘#Vienna calling’ at the Ottakringer Brewery. The old yeast production hall, built in 1890, with its unique structure and spectacular ceiling height of nine meters framed perfectly the interactive setting of the competition.

The start-ups, divided into two groups - social innovation and economic innovation - had to face a real fair situation in the first round - ‘first impression counts’ -, where normal visitors mingled with ‘potential investors’ represented by the expert jury. Eight start-ups were selected for the next round, where they had to ‘convince the crowd’ meaning convincing the critical audience by pitching their business ideas in front of small groups followed by a short questions and answers session.

Finally, four start-ups made it to the final and third round, the ‘playparks shark tank’. After an inspirational speech held by Claudia Winkler, the founder of the social business Goood Mobile, a classical PowerPoint pitch focusing on the positive impact of each business idea had to be performed. The finalists were critically interrogated by the expert jury. Finally, two winners were elected: Lingvano, the first e-learning platform for learning Austrian Sign Language www.lingvano.com from Playpark Vienna and Soundblurbs, Storytelling by innovative audio trailers for books, http://www.soundblurbs.de from Playpark Stuttgart. Congratulations!

An overview of the participating start-ups at the 3rd CERIecon Playparks Final:

Social start-ups:

Koinè, Playpark Verona: Promoting inclusion, equality and social awareness through food.

Lingvano, Playpark Vienna: Lingvano is the first e-learning platform for learning Austrian Sign Language. www.lingvano.com

Little stork, Playpark Krakow: An application that analyzes breast sucking sounds to assess if the baby is well fed. https://littlestorkapp.com/

Mairim Cakes, Playpark Brno: I deliver joy through cakes made of the exquisite ingredients combined with my passion for baking, that's what makes my products unique. https://www.instagram.com/mairim.cakes/

Nocturiglow, Playpark Rijeka: Nocturiglow is the first reliably illuminated urinal bottle. Coming soon - www.nocturiglow.com

Vandr, Playpark Brno: Vandr is an app where your story is told and where your ideas and thoughts are kept for your friends, family or just for you. www.vandr.org

Vonpfauhausen, Playpark Stuttgart: Ethical lifestyle label for kids with the focus on wool outerwear products.

Zmudri Playpark Bratislava: Online platform which provides practical education to high school students, through online videos. www.zmudri.sk

Economic start-ups:

Andere Meinung.at, Playpark Vienna: We connect people with different political opinions for an interesting discussion with the purpose increase mutual understanding. www.anderemeinung.at

CONTACTIAMOCI , Playpark Verona: Move your team, contact it.

Kávoláda, Playpark Brno: We transformed a cup of coffee into practical form of delicate chocolate bar, high caffeine content and great taste, wherever you go! www.kavolada.com

RenVis, Playpark Krakow: 3D models of kidney structures for the purpose of supporting kidney treatments. http://renvis.pl/

SelfieAlarm, Playpark Stuttgart: SelfieAlarm - The self-made studio for your creative dreams! www.selfiealarm.de

Soundblurbs, Playpark Stuttgart: Soundblurbs - a book introduces itself. Storytelling by innovative audio trailers for books. www.soundblurbs.de www.audiotextour.de

Sportlix, Playpark Rijeka: Sportlix is here to organize your matches and make reservations at your favourite venues.