For a full working week, Cammy and Mike devoted themselves to the growth of Movely during the Present Your Startup Academy in Haarlem. A week full of training, assignments and coaching. Resulting in a spot in the next round. Semi-final on April 1, here we come! Would we make it to the final?

Present Your Startup is an acceleration program for StartUps. The entire program started with the first round in February, where we were selected for the Academy during the introduction day. After the Academy, several pitch rounds take place, ultimately leading to a final in July. In this article we tell you how the week was, what we learned and how we reached the semi-finals.

During lockdown

A week in Haarlem, during the lockdown? Yes that’s right! From our hotel rooms, behind the laptop, we follow the training program. The assignments were done with two people, outside in the fresh air. For a few moments, such as in the morning or before the pitches themselves, we were able to go to a large hall.

What is a Start-up?

According to Wikipedia:

“A start-up is usually a fast-growing company that wants to meet a market need by developing a viable business model around an innovative product or service, business process, or platform.”

Translated to Movely: we want to make it easier for groups of people to meet. You may have experienced this at LOTS last summer, here you could easily come together via our test app. We do this by means of technology, so that ultimately the whole of the Netherlands can use it. Besides coming together to dance, you can also easily share the organization of a bachelor party or family weekend in the same way.

Why are we participating?

It takes a lot to make Movely a success. Present Your Start-up offers us the opportunity to expand our network, gain new knowledge and receive critical feedback from professionals. Last week we ticked all three boxes. As icing on the cake, after the Academy, we will have the opportunity to meet investors via a pitch. A bit a-la Dragons Den.

What did the Academy week look like?

During this week we are prepared for the pitches. With substantive workshops on, among other things, different types of financing, value proposition model canvas and business model canvas. We have processed the main points from this in a three-minute pitch, after a full pitch training by the very skilled pitch trainer Sheila Schenkel.

The result

With this pitch we are through to the next round! Check out the recording of the broadcast here (in the right corner the presentation by Cammy):

On to the finals!

Before the final takes place, there are two other rounds to be won: the semi-final on April 1 and the final in July.

Thanks to

The organization and coaches of Present Your StartUp: Valerie Vallenduuk, Mike Rijkers, Jildou Steensma, Claudia Flores Jiménez, Sylvan Boonstra. All trainers during the Academy: Nicolas Morgan, Robbin Hoogstraten, Samed Sökmen, Dirk Lange and Sheila Schenkel. And grateful for the feedback from our new connections, the participating StartUps: LIMEG, Omniwind, Bolster, Bouwboom, OneApp and Whoomp.