[Startup Interview] Founders, pozi.io, Hungary

POZI is a Hungary-based marketplace that assesses and connects members of the startup ecosystem by offering structure to the messy processes of finding an idea, building a team, or launching a new product. The startup’s founders explain.

Introduce your company

POZI.io is an innovation meeting point, a digital engagement platform to assess and connect the members of the startup ecosystem.

POZI brings structure to the messy processes of finding an idea, building a team, or launching a new product.

Who are the founders and what are their professional backgrounds?

Turcsán Tamás Péter Founder / COO / Visioner of Pozi.io. He is a startup advisor, mentor, communications specialist and social innovator. He is also the founder of Hackathon-in-a-Box and The Connect East Incubator.

Kovács Roland is the Co-founder / CEO / Strategist. He is an engineer, Innovation strategist, mentor, advisor, CEO of RESTART2020, Founder of Balance and Bloom, Reline.

Müller Tamás is the Co-founder and CMO. He is a digital marketing expert, Founder of Women Startup Competiton Europe, president of Budapest Launchpad Association, co-founder of The Connect East Incubator.

How is POZI financed?

A business angel is funding us currently, but we are looking for investors.

What in your opinion are the dynamics that have shaped the innovation sector?

The innovation sector is undergoing tremendous change. Large companies, unsustainable business models are changing fast as a result of the crisis. The startups can set an excellent example regards flexibility and viability these times.

Why did you start POZI? What opportunities did you see?

Generations Y and Z have no innovation meeting point; large companies have no direct connection to the startup world. So we created one. We see the possibility of networking. The international ecosystem offers a solid opportunity for everyone (idea owners and corporates included) to connect directly to the topic or project they are interested in.

What problem or problems does POZI solve?

The mortality of ideas is huge. In a large corporate idea competition, 3-4 winners are selected from thousands of projects so no one cares about the others. We believe that in addition to the winners, we can discover many ideas and talents through an event. These talents can be further developed, their idea can pivot, we can connect them to possible mentors, team members, investors, etc. We provide the platform for the whole process.

What are the USPs of POZI?

There has never been a similar idea/project and talent pooling community in the market that has thought openly. There is no place to this day where simply one-pagers could be scrolled and picked.

Who forms your customer base?

We address several layers of the startup ecosystem. We offer community-building services to service providers, like incubators and accelerators. Validation and team-building opportunities for startups. The platform can provide an optimal deal-flow for investors, VCs.

What does POZI need in order to grow?

Innovative companies. We can also organize fully online hackathons, ideathons. We have just finished our first online competition the RESTART2020, in which 500 talents from 29 countries participated in over 100 projects.

What is your growth strategy?

Addressing young people with a free-to-use system. Our platform is based on the user's interests. So you can receive information only that matters to you. Contrary to social media platforms, we don't put anyone in bubbles based on the number of connections. If you like, in POZI everyone is your connection.

By the end of 2021, we are targeting 10,000 users. After that, we want to get to 100,000 users quickly. Our goal is to reach innovators in many countries with a system that is accessible to all. We kick-off in Europe, but we can help the most where the growth of the ecosystem is strong. Thus, it is likely that the biggest startup centers will quickly be involved.

In which markets are you looking to establish your presence?)

We want to grow globally. The start was pretty good. We are looking for business ambassadors and partners in the world's largest startup hubs. We have already started to sign agreements with large international organizations and student organizations interested in innovation.

What are your plans for the coming 12 months?

Get funded, achieve 10.000 users, set-up incubation & acceleration system, thematic groups, live portfolios, follow-up system for online hackathons and other startup events, extend our current team of developers and staff members.

www.pozi.io

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