1. What does South Summit mean to you? Why did you decide to participate in the competition?
Back in 2014 when
HOMYHUB was just an idea and the team was getting formed, we visited South Summit as attendees and spent three days listening to speakers and getting to know various startups that took part. At that time there was a thought in our mind, a zeal to be here again but this time as a spartup and with a possibility to showcase our idea.
With the team's hard work and a disrupting idea, our dream came true and we became one of the 100 finalists. South Summit is not just an event, rather it is a platform for young and growing startups. Aside from the immense number of people taking part, it allows entrepreneurs and startups to share their ideas across the boundaries of the nation and even continents.
2. How did you feel when you knew you were the finalists?
In one word : “thrilled“
3. How was your experience at South Summit? What were your impressions?
The experience was intriguing, amazing and extremely collaborative. Being a new startup, the amount of attention we got and the number of people showing their interest in our product was really mesmerizing. It is really difficult to gain so many positive comments or reviews on your ideas from people of different sectors and with different backgrounds in such a short time but South Summit, with their immense network and audience, made it possible.
4. How has your startup developed since you applied for the contest? Any funny anecdotes or successful stories to mention?
From the first hour of the South Summit, people started to know what HOMYHUB is and what is the idea behind it. They understood that it is not just a device to open garages but something much greater and more vivid. Over the past year there has been no speed breaker or halt in the success of HOMYHUB. Our product is fully developed and we have successfully collaborated with Correos for the entrega segura service. Just to mention a few success stories:
1. Winning the Impact connected cars challenge ( 6 months acceleration and 60K grant)
2. Finalist in the Porsche Accelerator
3. H2020 first phase ( 50k grant )
4. Successful pilots with correos for the Secure Delivery service
5. Finalists in the Explorer by Santander
6. Collaborations with various companies and startups to use our product in their service
These are some of the successes that HOMHUB has been able to grab and apart from that, the team has grown and has gained a very wide national media attention.
5. What do you think will happen in the future of startups?
Startups are the present and the future. Especially in the coming years the startup culture in Spain is surely going to flourish. More ideas, more and more corporations trying to collaborate with startups to solve issues which sometimes are difficult for them to counter. Most importantly, startups can fail but the spirit of entrepreneurship will surpass everything.
6. What advice would you give to those who want to participate in South Summit?
As Ankit Pareek , Head of Marketing and Communication says: “South Summit was my first event as an entrepreneur. The amount of ideas and thoughts I gathered in those three days took me me weeks to process. At each and every point there was something to learn, something to see and something to think about. From the speakers to all the startups present there, the vibe of entrepreneurship was just mind-boggling”
So if you are a startup or an entrepreneur, or wanting to be one, or someone who loves to learn, book your calendar for those three days and prepare yourself to be intrigued. As we say: “the north is good but the SOUTH has it all” .
(Also be ready to watch HOMYHUB win the South Summit challenge this time, hopefully :D)
