At the final of the national competition for entrepreneurial ideas of young people POPRI, organized by the Primorska Technology Park, 35 teams or 98 out of a total of 322 participants competed in Nova Gorica on Tuesday, April 5, 2022. The Jury decided who was the most convincing pitcher - presenting their entrepreneurial project in a startup way in five minutes. Teams competed for the top three spots in the categories of elementary school students, high school students and young people up to 29 years old. Winning brings financial, as well as other prizes provided by the co-organizers - Spirit Slovenia, public agency, the Slovenian Enterprise Fund and the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia. The results were announced at the gala closing event, which was facilitated by the Municipality of Nova Gorica and the Municipality of Šempeter Vrtojba. In the final round, a special guest, a well known entrepreneur Ivo Boscarol, provided a special prize for the most inspiring business model
The school year was marked by Covid, but this did not prevent the young talents from dedicating themselves to developing their innovative ideas in an enterprising way. One hundred and twenty-two teams (342 participants) from all over Slovenia came up with sound business models with the support of 85 mentors in 66 educational institutions. The best 98 teams made it through the regional pre-selections organized, not only by the Primorska Technology Park (covering western Slovenia and Slovenian students living abroad), but also by the Ljubljana Technology Park for central Slovenia, the SAŠA incubator for northeastern Slovenia, and the Novo mesto Development Center for the southeastern part of the country.
During the last phase of the national competition, that took place in Nova Gorica, the finalists presented their work to the jury , which is composed of the following members:
| UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND PARTICIPATS TILL 29YRS | |
| Ana Mrzlikar | SPIRIT Slovenija, public agency |
| Marjan Batagelj | Postojnska jama d.d. |
| Elvis Janežič | Instrumentation Technologies d.o.o. |
| Luka Mali | MakerLab Ljubaljana |
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS | |
| Mateja Grobelnik | Slovenian Enterprise Fund |
| Matej Peršolja | Protectus Technologies, Inc. |
| Nina Dremelj | Business angels Slovenia |
| Manca Šalehar | Wolt d.o.o. Slovenija |
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PUPILS | |
| mag. Jana Beton | Ministry for Economic development and technology |
| Nika Kristina Butina | Epidemic d.o.o. |
| Mateja Lavrič | Kolektor Ventures d.o.o. |
| Rado Daradan | Hooray Studios d.o.o. |
Members of the jury selected the three best teams in each category. The third-place winners received EUR 700 each, the second-place winner EUR 1,300, and the winners EUR 2,000 each from the prize fund provided by the competition's co-organizers: the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Spirit Slovenia, the Public Agency, and the Slovenian Fund for Entrepreneurship. The competition was also supported by the Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Slovenians Abroad, as students from Trieste and Gorizia also participated. Popri also opens the door to the world, as the first placed students will also participate in the international POPRI EUSAIR Youth in May 2022 in Albania, and the first three teams of students will also participate in the Genius Olympiad in New York. In addition to the financial prize, the winning elementary school team will also receive a video production course offered by RTV Slovenia.
The POPRI competition proved again that even difficult school conditions cannot stop young people from shaping their future with innovative ideas and optimism - and gaining adult support in the process.
1ST PLACE
TEAM:: E-FAIRYTALES
TEAM MEMBERS: Lovro Zajc Pino Lukežič Naja Decevec Blažka Petohleb
MENTOR: Uroš Turk in Dolores Keš
SCHOOL: OŠ Miroslava Vilharja Postojna
Regiional partner: Primorski tehnološki park
Business model description: E-FAIRYTALES is a global website where families from all over the world can find new, original fairy tales that we write, draw, dub and animate for children ourselves. Fairy tales can be browsed and read by families, listened to dubbed and watched animated like cartoons.
2ND PLACE
TEAM: Route Security
TEAM MEMBERS: David Nograšek Maj Novak Max Mirtič Srečko Matjaž Berginc Karla Zobarič
MENTOR: Lea Burger, Petra Nograšek
SCHOOL: OŠ Grm Novo mesto
Regiional partner: Razvojni center Novo mesto
Business model description Our product Route Security is intended for all those who transport bicycles or other cargo on the roof of a car. With our product we prevent unusual accidents - when you drive your car with a load on the roof under a canopy that is too low or into a garage, causing serious damage to the bike or the load it is carrying.
3RD PLACE
TEAM Seed Loop
TEAM MEMBERS: Kristjan Šturm Aljaž škvarča Lin Čadež
MENTOR: Tina Lisac
SCHOOL: OŠ Cerkno
Regional partner: Primorski tehnološki park
Business model description
We present a project in the field of urban gardening. We have developed an intelligent heat bed called Seed Loop, which allows less experienced gardeners to garden without much effort. The beam mimics a closed ecosystem, which means that all processes are automated.
1ST PLACE
TEAM: Passionis, naravna sadna šminka
TEAM MEMBERS: Ema Novak Brina Goleš Naja Kambič Sara Absec
MENTOR: Mateja Nemanič
SCHOOL: Ekonomska šola Novo mesto, Srednja šola in gimnazija
Regional partner: Razvojni center Novo mesto
Business model description:Passionis is a natural fruit lipstick made from real freeze-dried fruits. During the freeze-drying process, the water is removed from the fruits so that all the vitamins and minerals are preserved and enter the body through the lips. The lipstick is a great solution for those who are aware that it is not only important what they put in themselves, but also themselves.
2ND PLACE
TEAM: Nighttime Secret
TEAM MEMBERS: Zoja Popovič Lea Lazar Deja Pečar Gaja Bijelić Maša Šemrl
MENTOR: Tanja Skok
SCHOOL: Srednja ekonomsko - poslovna šola Koper
Regional partner: Primorski tehnološki park
Business model description: Nighttime secret is a small and portable intimate fragrance for sexually active women. The organic bottle is filled with a natural filler, making it suitable for women with allergies and sensitive skin. The company's goal is to help women solve their sex life problem.
3RD PLACE
TEAM: TIKVA
TEAM MEMBERS: Lara Širovnik Petra Ouček Luna Kočar Lena Kočar Lia Bauer
MENTOR: Nina Žuman, Mateja Godec
SCHOOL: Gimnazija Franca Miklošiča Ljutomer
Regional partner: Razvojni center Novo mesto
Business model description: Our idea is called pumpkin. It is a natural night face cream that contains pumpkin oil. Pumpkin seed oil benefits the skin in several ways. If you struggle with acne, dry skin or other types of blemishes, be sure to include it in your skin care routine.
TEAM: Zvočna zakladnica Mesečina
TEAM MEMBERS: Janez Goršin, Martin Božič, Filip Plešnik, Jakob Čuk
MENTOR: Milan Lazarević iz Tehnološkega parka Ljubljana
FACULTY: Fakulteta za strojništvo (UL FS)
Regijski partner: Tehnološki park Ljubljana
BUSINESS MODEL DESCRIPTION: An online platform that provides access to the largest database of sound recordings, fairy tales and other children's literature. It is designed to be interactive, so that listeners to the content can also contribute and help expand the amount of stories read.
2nd PLACE
TEAM / BUSINESS MODEL: rEboard
TEAM MEMBERS: Matevž Cimermančič
MENTOR: Marko Vukobrat, Simon Jeraj from the development center Novo mesto
SCHOOL: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (UL FS)
Regional partner: Novo mesto development center
Description of the idea: rEboard is a portable multifunctional write-erase board. Its peculiarity is that it is made from discarded television and computer screens.
3rd PLACE
TEAM / BUSINESS MODEL: GreenMeal
TEAM MEMBERS: Evelin Redjeposka, Tjaša Drobnič
MENTOR: /
SCHOOL: Faculty of Economics (UL EF)
Regional partner: Technology Park Ljubljana
Idea description: GreenMeal is a sustainable company that allows customers to buy ready-made, weighed and cut, and organically packaged ingredients for meal preparation. The company also adds appropriate recipes to the product for customers.
In addition to 2022, Ivo Boscarol also participated in a round table where he shared his entrepreneurial experience with young entrepreneur Rebeka Udvanc from Beesmetic, who won POPRI years ago as a student, and Niao Krstina Butina, founder of the startup Epidemic. Boscarol surprised at the award ceremony with additional prize of € 3,000 for the entrepreneurial idea that inspired him the most. These were the winners in the category of elementary school students from Postojna, who presented the business model E Fairytales.
