The Fifty Founders Battle received applications from 39 countries, making it the most international pitch battle in TechChill history, with applicants from the USA and Canada to Indonesia and Ghana.
On day 1 of TechChill, 50 semi-finalists pitched on stage to the jury. At the end of the day, five finalists were announced, who would be contenders for the grand prize. Those were:. This wind comes from the Baltics, and it brought a different air, energy, and conversations to Milan's innovation ecosystem. As we create an international culture of doing innovation β the Italian way β we look at what we can add. TechChill is one of those components, and my hope is that it will continue with more traction, more energy, and the same fresh wind from the Baltics.
This is the second year that TechChill Milano has been held, the first international branch of TechChill's annual flagship conference in Riga, Latvia. That's what TechChill has always been β a platform to strengthen the ecosystem, build the community, and give it the tools to propel it further.
And we're happy to have brought that to Milano. TechChill was originally held in Riga, Latvia in After celebrating 10 years of the event, the TechChill team has stepped out of its Latvian borders. The decision to come to Italy stems from local demand, international interest, ecosystem support, and TechChill's own goals. Milan, an economic hub and startup hotspot in Italy, was the logical choice. After one successful year with excellent feedback, TechChill saw the need, demand, and benefit of returning for a second year.
TechChill is a startup community non-profit that hosts the largest tech event in Latvia, and is now expanding its scope to include Italy. Having grown from a small grassroots movement of like-minded tech enthusiasts, TechChill celebrates the best of the startup community by annually bringing together thousands of attendees, including fastest-growing startups, most innovative corporations and speakers, investors active in the region and talented tech enthusiasts.
