For the third consecutive time, the Startup Incubator Berlin (SIB), the entrepreneurship center of the Berlin School of Economics and Law, presented awards on 02/11/2021 for innovative startup ideas implemented using the Lean Startup method, in the context of the Make It Lean Contest.

More than 30 young startups with an academic background had applied for the three main prizes, as well as two special prizes in the categories “Best Lean Method” and “Best Software”.
The award ceremony was broadcast via livestream from the Startup Incubator Berlin at the HWR Founders Campus in Berlin-Siemensstadt.
Following welcoming remarks from the President of HWR Berlin, Prof. Dr. Andreas Zaby, and the Director of the Startup Incubator Berlin, Christian Gurol, the winning teams were announced:

Main Prizes

Partiri · 1st Place · €5,000
A sharing platform for everyone willing to share items, promoting sustainable consumption and protecting the environment — without a profit orientation.

UrbanFarm · 2nd Place · €3,000
An eco-friendly, mobile production system for nutrient-rich microgreens that uses the recycling of food waste from restaurants for their own on-site needs.

Juriverse · 3rd Place · €2,000
A platform for free learning materials in legal studies that students need for optimal exam preparation, and through which authors can earn money.

Special Prize “Lean”

The Special Prize “Lean” goes to the team that, in the jury’s opinion, applies the Lean Startup method in an outstanding manner for its project and also presents this appropriately in the application video.
Due to the very close vote between two first-placed teams, the jury recommended that, as an exception this year, two special prizes be awarded in the “Lean” category. The Startup Incubator was happy to follow this recommendation and awards both prizes to teams that dedicated themselves to a highly relevant societal challenge — one using software, the other using hardware — and demonstrated their methodological approach in the best possible way:

Novaheal · Special Prize “Lean” · €1,500
A learning app specifically for nursing training and preparation for a successful nursing examination, combining proven learning methods with modern AI-supported learning analytics.

Thing · Special Prize “Lean” · €1,500
A safety robot for seniors who can be supported around the clock within their own four walls with monitoring functions such as fall detection and support within their network.

Special Prize “Software”

The prize goes to the team that, in the jury’s opinion, has implemented or plans to implement a software development (app, web platform, or similar) for its project in an outstanding manner.

Aivy · Special Prize “Software” · €1,500
Detection of professional talents and individual strengths on the one hand, and promotion of diversity, equal opportunity, and sustainability in the workplace through game-based assessments on the other.

The winning teams reflect the breadth of content of the international field of participants, with many innovative solution approaches to relevant societal challenges.

The prize money was funded by sponsors from the Berlin business community and the startup scene, who were also represented on the expert jury and additionally provided content expertise to the participating teams.