The Ministry of Economic Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia has been awarding the best digital startups from North Rhine-Westphalia the state prize OUT OF THE BOX.NRW (OOTB.NRW) since 2020. The winners were announced yesterday, June 13, at the Hinterland of Things conference in Bielefeld.
Bielefeld, June 14, 2024 – The winners of the OUT OF THE BOX.NRW Award have been announced! At the renowned Hinterland of Things conference, the best digital startups from North Rhine-Westphalia were honored with the prestigious state prize. 1st place went to the startup Synctive. Sponsored by NRW.BANK, the competition, which is endowed with a total of €50,000 in prize money, was organized by Founders Foundation gGmbH for the first time this year.
“With a great deal of courage, technological know-how and unconventional thinking, founders in North Rhine-Westphalia are driving the digital and climate-neutral transformation forward. We are honoring this outstanding commitment with the OUT OF THE BOX.NRW state prize, thereby shining a spotlight on the tremendous innovative strength of the start-up scene in North Rhine-Westphalia. The winners of the OOTB.NRW show how start-ups with forward-looking digital and sustainable business models can be successful in North Rhine-Westphalia and beyond.”
Mona Neubaur, Minister MWIKE
“Without startups, Germany’s economy does not have a bright future. Only through technology transfer from domestic startups can our companies remain world leaders. NRW is the fastest developing startup ecosystem in Germany. The Top 24 of 2024 list already shows how diverse the potential is. We are particularly proud that the best NRW startup comes from our region, East Westphalia-Lippe.”
Dominik Gross, co-founder and managing director of Founders Foundation gGmbH
At the Hinterland of Things conference in Bielefeld, the top 10 start-ups identified in advance presented their innovative business models to an audience of 2,500 participants, including investors, medium-sized companies, technology experts and other founders.
In the end, the jury of experts chose three finalists, who pitched for the win again on the big Hinterland stage in the afternoon. The jury included: Dr. Johannes Velling (MWIKE), Thorsten Heldt (NRW.BANK), Christine Rittner (Business Angel), Katharina Neuhaus (Vorwerk Ventures), Jan Rombolotto (Vaillant Group) and Viktoria Lindner (Bloom). In addition to the jury, the audience was also allowed to vote for their favorites.
The most creative and innovative startups in North Rhine-Westphalia were honored with the award to great applause. The winners of the OUT OF THE BOX.NRW Awards 2024 are:
“Setting up in North Rhine-Westphalia, and particularly in the Bielefeld region, is special. Our target group is mechanical engineering. If we do it right, the first 100 customers will be right on our doorstep.”
Albert Gorlick, founder of Synctive
The award ceremony took place during the annual Hinterland of Things conference in Bielefeld. The event provides the ideal setting for an exchange between startups, investors and medium-sized companies. Under this year’s motto “Go Beyond!”, current technologies, trends and innovations in areas such as artificial intelligence, industrial technology, climate protection solutions and educational technology were discussed. More than 100 renowned speakers, including Verena Pausder (Startup Association), Sascha Lobo (author), Brigitte Mohn (Bertelsmann Foundation), Jan-Hendrik Goldbeck (Goldbeck) and Florian Heinemann (investor), provided inspiring insights and shared their expertise.
© 2024 Hinterland of Things
