23 March 2018 – was a key European event of a series, and more particularly one of the Startup World Cup semi-finals in Luxembourg. On this occasion, Largowind was proclaimed winner of the 2018 edition in Luxembourg.
Presentation of the winner
Connected Rope is the name of the product created by Largowind, run by Mathilde Argaud, 32, French Engineer and CEO of this Luxembourgish startup, which provides an innovative design – but also connected – analytics tool, aiming at providing you with real-time information about your boat anchorage. Therefore if your anchor is dragging or if your boat is drifting, the Largowind innovative product enables you to be informed in real time and to act proactively.
Yesterday, during the award ceremony in Luxembourg, Mathilde Argaud, said: “The creation of Largowind is a story of passion for the nautical sector handed down by my father, who has always worked in the sailing world. As I have always looked for new ideas and innovation, the application of new technologies – and connected objects in particular – to the nautical sector emerged as an obvious response to a real need and an opportunity for rapid growth.”
Above all, Mathilde Argaud is already looking forward to the future. While being established in Luxembourg, which lies in the heart of Europe, the startup’s CEO is seeing excellent opportunities to grow across the borders of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, while also focusing on the continued development of her innovative product.
A world-class event
Startup World Cup is a global series of conferences and competitions with the goal of bridging startup ecosystems worldwide, and encouraging the most talented entrepreneurs to battle for the prestige title of winning the Startup World Cup.
30 regional events – of which the regional semifinal in Luxembourg – are scheduled all over the world, leading up to the Grand Finale in Silicon Valley.
This world unique event dedicated to startups supported by the Luxembourg Government, is organized by Fenox Venture Capital, an early stage, Silicon Valley based VC firm and, locally, by Farvest.
Due to its strong local anchorage and well-known international experience in supporting startups from all around the world, from inception to transformation into multinational companies, including through the famous EYnovation program, EY Luxembourg is the main partner of this event, which took place in the EY premises for this 2018 edition this year again.
European Startups, of which a vast majority is established in Luxembourg and in the Great Region, are therefore given increased exposure to Silicon Valley and can access to some of top VCs and tech entrepreneurs in the world.
The jury’s selection criteria
The jury scores each finalist across several criteria to decide on the winner.
Each finalist of the local competition was evaluated against the following criteria:
-The idea, the concept (10 points)
-Problem-solving skills (10 points)
-Ability to meet market needs (10 points)
-Traction ability (10 points)
-Competitive advantage (10 points)
-Business Plan, sustainability (10 points)
-Strength of the team (10 points)
-Overall presentation (10 points)
The 14 finalists of the regional semifinal in Luxembourg
- algoreg
- C4Diagnostics
- Coinplus
- Edoo Education
- Inatic
- Kairos Capital S.A.
- Koosmik
- Largowind
- Mu Design
- MyBataz
- Pascal Development
- Tetrao
- Univize
- Yotako S.A.
The jury
As part of a rigorous selection process, jury members composed of personalities from the entrepreneurial world in Luxembourg had to decide on the winner of this local edition from among 15 finalists, each with exceptional qualities.
The jury members of the Luxembourg competition were Anne-Catherine Ries (Digital Policy Advisor, Luxembourg Government), Edith Magyarics (CEO of Victor Buck Services), Jean-Michel Ludwig (Director, Startup Support & SME Performance, Luxinnovation), Polina Montano (COO, Jobtoday) and Alain Rodermann (Founder and Managing Partner, Expon Capital).
Benefits for the winner
The winner of the regional semifinal Startup World Cup in Luxembourg will participate in the Grand Finale in Silicon Valley and will receive the following benefits:
-Compete against international teams in Silicon Valley and show the world what his/her startup is all about,
– Benefit from one year usage of EY Finance Navigator
The EY Finance Navigator, is an online financial planning tool for startups. It makes it very easy for entrepreneurs and startups to build a complete financial model, even if they are not financial experts themselves. On top of that the EY Finance Navigator helps to understand financials and improve financials projections using checks and benchmark information.
-Participate in prestigious global conferences and networking sessions,
-Get spotted by notch corporate leaders, serial entrepreneurs & accelerator directors and investors,
-Maybe have the privilege to win a US $ 1,000,000 prize investment in their startup as the winner of the Startup World Cup.
The Grand Finale in Silicon Valley
Largowind will represent Luxembourg at the Grand Finale in San Francisco on 11 May 2018 with 30 other startups for a chance to win the first prize.
A gala ceremony dedicated to startups
The award ceremony in Luxembourg included keynote speakers:
-Bill Reichert, Managing Director of Fenox Venture Capital
But also…
-Karim Oumnia, CEO of Epsilon and winner of the previous edition in Luxembourg
-Jonathan Prince, Moderator of the ceremony, co-Founder – Sales & Partnerships – Finologee
-Olivier Lemaire, Partner – Eynovation Leader, EY Luxembourg
-Kamel Amroune, CEO, IT One.
The Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL) was also a sponsor of this prestigious event.
Link to the Startup World Cup website (Luxembourg & global):
