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Author: Hanna Lili Rékasi

The Ecosystem Talks have resumed to foster ecosystem building, where dissecting, analyzing, organizing, and solving topics and problems are the main goals. Each month, you can raise any topic that serves community building. The next Ecosystem Talks session will be on June 3, at 8:30 AM, and you can register here!

Tokeportal.com/ET

Please also indicate your intention to participate on the Ecosystem Talks Facebook event.

Let’s start the week together with a coffee at the virtual table!

Update from the Latest Ecosystem Talks – May 6, 2024:

This time, our guest was the main organizer and leader of the upcoming Startup Safari Budapest in June, Natália Oszkó-Jakab, a Hungarian cultural professional and international relations expert, who has been the festival director of Művészetek Völgye for 15 years and has been active in culture, innovation, and foreign affairs for over 20 years.

The Budapest Startup Safari is a full-day startup jamboree taking place at the coolest locations in downtown Budapest. The event aims to provide insights into the domestic and international startup worlds and facilitate knowledge sharing, networking, and community building – opportunities we haven’t seen on such an intense and broad scale after the last two years’ hardships.

This year, the Safari is being organized for the ninth time on June 11, with lectures, panels, and a pitch competition awaiting you on the event’s Day 0, June 10, organized by Impact Hub Budapest and TokePortal.com, supported by CIB. Incubation and crowdfunding will be the themes discussed as engines for the sustainable development of the startup ecosystem.

Natália has been organizing Startup Safari Budapest since 2019, which has been held at 20 or even 30 locations in the past. They have always aimed to motivate the more agile and outstanding university students to participate in the event, hoping that after their studies, they would not join a multinational but would join them instead. They welcome new partners and participants to join the Safari program.

They are preparing a colorful program schedule, including two interactive program types that are always crowd favorites each year. One is the River Speech, where investors share the packages they offer, and startups can choose whose terms are the most attractive. This is fundamentally the opposite of the usual scenario. Another is the open board meeting, where you can jointly listen to and question the startups selected for that particular board meeting. Until now, this program has been held either half online or entirely online, but this year it will be organized in an arena format. In addition, there are numerous humorous program types, including the auction of relics from failed startups, the proceeds of which are donated to a foundation, and the anonymous dice workshop.

The fundamental concept of the Safari is not to create a Brain Bar-type event, where motivational success stories are presented; rather, they want to realize several smaller discussions at multiple locations where you can gain real knowledge, whether as a startup or an investor. They also plan an Investors’ party and networking at the end of the day-long schedule, which is always a success every year.

They strive to ensure that the venues are easily accessible to each other, with more than ten locations currently, mostly between Király Street, Blaha Lujza Square, and Rákóczi Square, thus only 5-10 minutes apart from each other.

This year marks the first Safari that comes to life through ecosystem financing, thus made possible by alliances and smaller companies, examining whether it is possible to create a real ecosystem event through domestic community financing.

At Ecosystem Talks, there is always an opportunity for ecosystem players to introduce themselves. Every new participant can introduce themselves, ask questions, and present what they would like.

Firstly, Ádám Végh introduced himself from Szeged, who previously worked on startup mentoring within the HSUP program. He has now joined as the CEO of AENSys Ltd., a 30-person IT company that develops custom software. They have carried several previous startup software development tasks through multiple rounds in Hungarian and Scandinavian regions. Recently, they have been more active in the fields of healthcare informatics and agroinformatics.

First, we got to know Annamária Tóth, a mentor from TokePortal.com, who is currently mentoring two teams within the HSUP program: a medical team from the University of Szeged Medical School and an educational team from the Metropolitan University. The National Innovation Agency will handle HSUP as a program element at Kéthly Anna Square during the Safari.

Next, Balázs Gödrösy, CEO of GFS Consulting Family Office, joined the conversation, sharing his thoughts about their investment office participating in the Safari. The details and finalization of this involvement will be discussed later with Natália.

As the meeting concluded, we welcomed József Szűcs, owner of Fryda no-code/low-code Software. Their system will soon launch publicly, allowing anyone to easily create the necessary enterprise management system, even for different types of businesses. Despite not being publicly launched yet, they have already acquired several clients, including nearly all Chinese car manufacturers in Hungary, the Hungarian National Agricultural Chamber, Intercast, and Nemzeti Sport.

Updates from the most recent Ecosystem Talks – 2024.02.06:

On February 5, 2024, we held the February Ecosystem Talks, where members of the ecosystem gathered in good numbers to introduce themselves and discuss the details of spring events over coffee.

Balázs Horváth from the Startup Grind team introduced the February 15 Youth & University Entrepreneurship Day, a business competition for student entrepreneurs who have started their business or startup during their university studies. The competition is open to businesses at any maturity stage and any legal form. The event aims to enhance collaboration among participants of the innovation ecosystem developing around universities, including student businesses, universities, and companies. They strive to ensure that participants become familiar with their opportunities and available resources during their student life.

The roundtable discussions are designed to include at least one international speaker, with participants from Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Belgium. This community-building effort under the GSEA (Global Student Entrepreneur Award) framework has been ongoing for four years. Interested mentors and experts in the community, including those from TokePortal, are invited to join. They created the “TOKE50OFF” coupon code for a 50% discount on tickets. They also offer accommodation in Budapest for students traveling from distant rural cities, thanks to successful partner collaborations.

The goal is to bring communities together and organize programs collectively. Therefore, the next mentor meeting of TokePortal will be combined with Balázs Horváth’s event on February 15, where all interested parties are welcome. Last year’s winner, Benedek Hermán, founder of the Voovo digital application, which helps students and educators acquire knowledge easily through flashcards, will also participate, sharing his experiences as a young entrepreneur in Hungary.

Everyone had the opportunity to introduce themselves, and the topic was free for discussion, with many seizing the chance. Our mentor Balázs Gödrösy from GFS Consulting Family Office, with nearly 30 years of historical experience and active in the domestic ecosystem for 5 years, shared his insights. They invest in companies preparing for the stock market or in the growth phase, representing a private investor circle of 150 people and managing their portfolio. Gábor Gutási, campaign manager for Meskete on TokePortal, presented their 1.5-year project offering a publication platform for many fairy tale writers. With 700 writers and 4600-4700 stories and poems on the portal, they aim to collect 50-58 million HUF in their campaign in exchange for 18-21% company equity.

Kamilla Strausz, co-founder of InnoMaker Partners, introduced their services, which provide strategic tools for understanding market problems, developing solutions, and communicating them to stakeholders for innovative companies. Péter Schuszter from Univerz Invest, offering new services for companies issuing stocks and bonds on the Budapest Stock Exchange, also attended. Péter Langmár from STRT Holding Nyrt introduced their early-stage startup investment activities and the STRT Launchpad incubator program. János Csébfalvi from Inspiring Culture, a Swiss-Hungarian consulting firm, also introduced himself, helping startups build sustainable companies.

The next meeting will be on March 4 at 8:30 AM, and you are welcome to join. Please indicate your participation on the Ecosystem Talks Facebook event.

Updates from the most recent Ecosystem Talks – 2024.01.10:

On January 8, 2024, we held the first Ecosystem Talks of the year, with many choosing to start their week with us despite the Monday morning timing. Participants included Krisz Szabó from Startup Győr, Imre Hild from ÓUVC, our mentors Zoltán Szép and Miklós Somogyi, and Gábor Gutási, founder of Meskete.hu.

Our topics included:

• The significance of community spaces
• The development of the Slovak startup ecosystem compared to Hungarian developments
• Several new participants introduced themselves.

Krisz Szabó shared that they have prepared their Impact Report at StartITup Győr, showcasing the association’s work since its inception in 2017, organizing professional programs like monthly themed Startup Wednesdays and the Ideathon brand since 2018. Their goal is to develop the economic life and startup ecosystem through knowledge transfer, community building, and mindset shaping, providing domestic and international networking opportunities.

Imre Hild from ÓUVC discussed the potential of international examples in ecosystem development. He shared insights about the innovative ecosystem created by Vacuumlabs in Bratislava with a 6-story coworking office building housing 65 companies and nearly a thousand employees. He highlighted the differences in state involvement between Slovakia and Hungary, noting the stability and continuity in Slovakia compared to the frequent changes in Hungary’s administration.

The internationalization aspect was also discussed, noting the lack of foreign founders in Hungarian teams despite the need for market knowledge for startups aiming for international markets. Krisz highlighted the challenges of organizing English-language events in Hungary, while in Slovakia and Vienna, it is a natural practice.

Gábor Gutási, founder of Meskete, also participated in the discussion, sharing their goal to raise 50-58 million HUF in their campaign on TokePortal.com at a valuation of 230 million HUF.

Update – 2023. 09.04

The Ecosystem Talks has restarted its efforts to build the ecosystem, where the main goal is to explore, analyze, organize, and solve topics and problems. Every month, you can bring up any topic that serves community building.

During the event, ecosystem stakeholders also have the opportunity to introduce themselves. In this instance, Kamilla Strausz and Richárd Bavlsík, founders of InnoMaker Partners, presented themselves in their ‘new hats.’ They shared with the attendees how they assist startups in reaching as many people as possible with their super inventions and innovative solutions.

InnoMaker Partners offers strategic tools to understand existing market problems, develop solutions, and communicate them to stakeholders for innovative businesses that want to avoid unnecessary detours during development and market entry. In contrast to mass-customized tools and ‘smart solutions,‘ InnoMaker Partners supports its clients with professional expertise, scientific methods, and essential flexibility required for innovation. Their mission is to make as many innovative initiatives viable in the market, creating value, be it economic, social, or environmental.

Besides offering their services, they also strive to be ecosystem builders, drawing from their experience in the state innovation sector. They have been closely involved in numerous events and educational programs, organizing and mentoring, making them reliable in these areas. They have particularly valuable insights into the domestic higher education sector, as the founders, Kamilla and Richárd, have multiple connections to the sphere, and promoting the startup mindset is close to their hearts.

You can connect with them on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/innomaker-partners/, and you can find more information about their services on their upcoming website!

Balázs Horváth, the founder of Startup Grind and Tech In The City, shared an exciting event with us: The SUPER SOCIAL & SDGs event focuses on Sustainability and the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). It serves as a meeting point for a wide range of professional organizations, stakeholders, and those interested in the field.

As a dedicated supporter of innovation, entrepreneurship, and startup culture, Tech In The City has been building and developing the domestic ecosystem for years by harnessing the opportunities and synergies found within communities and collaborations. Through their partnership with Startup Grind, they have identified focal points of issues within the ecosystem and attempted to connect with several similar networks, resulting in their involvement in the activities of 5-6 international networks in Hungary. Throughout this, they continue their ecosystem-building efforts and support, along with networking. From its inception, their goal has been to collectively transform the efficiency of collaboration, work, and innovation, recognizing that by improving these aspects, the end product becomes significantly more valuable.

They have joined various initiatives and have initiated some themselves, so this season, quite a lot has come together, and they have started operating in campaign mode. Last year, in collaboration with Tokeportal.com, they organized the February Ecosystem Carnival, followed by the Entrepreneur World Final held under their organization. They plan to repeat this event in February 2024, but with a new theme – the You & University Entrepreneur Summit, where they intend to invite universities from the region.

Startup Grind Budapest and Tech In The City are returning from the summer break with a new thematic event series. Following the success of their ‘Good Company for Good Causes’ event held at the end of June, they are continuing with the same concept in a fresh format. As the opening event of the autumn conference season, on September 8th, a relaxed and informal professional meetup is scheduled at the Roxy Rooftop bar. Their Super Social & SDGs event serves as a meeting point for professionals and enthusiasts in the field of Sustainability and SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). Additionally, you can get to know various Hungarian initiatives and organizations. So, in September, they are organizing their first Super Social program around the themes of Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), connecting representatives from various industries and fields during the evening. More information and registration can be found here: https://www.startupgrind.com/events/details/startup-grind-budapest-presents-super-social-and-sdgs/

An exciting new initiative is helping young people in Hungary bring their ideas to life: the Hungarian Young Minds, launched by Tech in the City, serves as a dynamic platform for innovative and motivated young individuals. In this regard, they will collaborate with the Youth Business Stimulating Association, who will provide the institutional background for their activities.

In line with the activities of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards, they aim to create opportunities for community members to meet, exchange knowledge, and connect with each other, as well as with industry experts, both domestically and internationally. More about the upcoming platform can be found here: https://www.techinthecity.hu/hym

They are also organizing their first Super Social event, which will always revolve around a specific theme. Organizations, individuals, businesses, and companies are diverse, and this event aims to function as a meeting point for their encounters. Their goal is to establish a dedicated entity that finances university projects, primarily focusing on financing university projects from the very early stages to the growth stage, practically in any field.

János Moll, founder of the Youth Business Stimulating Association, announced the passing of the baton and encouraged those present to take the events mentioned at the meeting to universities and introduce them to young people.

Imre Hild only mentioned that we should look forward to his big announcement, which will be coming in the next few weeks! 🙂

And what is the point of such an event if not to meet new, fantastic people? Anikó Kövesdi returned home after spending 18 years in Japan, where her encounter with a Japanese expert who pointed out the world’s problems had such an impact on her that she decided to make it her life’s purpose to solve problems and contribute to creating a better world. During her marketing management studies, she also mastered the basics of eco-marketing and sustainable development.

After completing her studies, she and her husband moved to Japan’s largest lake, where she was responsible for the environmental activities of a waste recycling company. In 2010, along with several motivated entrepreneurs, they founded their nonprofit organization focused on environmental education, Ekora (Lab for Sustainable Society). They helped families, companies, and other organizations aspiring towards sustainability through creative workshops, various eco-events, corporate training, and Japanese traditional tours. Through their reusable waste collection program, they donated a total of over 1,300,000 yen (approximately 9500 EUR) for the protection of Japan’s largest lake. After 12 years of sustainability activities in Japan, she continues her work in Hungary. Since 2018, she has been conducting training sessions for schools, companies, universities, and organizations. Using a Japanese card method, she promotes a deeper awareness of sustainability, which she will also introduce to us!