Startup Weekend: And the winner is…

Rasmus Hørving-Mulberg
October 1, 2024

Rasmus Hørving-Mulberg

@Rasmus

This post is also available in: Danish

3 days. 54 hours. 10 pitches. 1 winner.

Startup Weekend was a fast-paced experience for the 60+ attendees, building startups from the ground up – ready for a 5-minute intense pitch to a panel of judges consisting of profiles from the ecosystem.

In the end, the judging panel decided on one winner – Diemond, who developed an AI and app concept where you can record and save memories for your loved ones when you are no longer alive.

“It’s for those who want to preserve memories in a way that makes them interact and give the feeling that they still have loved ones close by. We do this by capturing micro-memories in an app and using some AI magic. With our concept, the deceased can tell us about the stories we had together and preserve the memories,” explains co-founder Nils Kähler.

Friday – An idea grabbed out of a tight spot

On Friday evening, Diemond didn’t exist yet. The Startup Weekend participants had to pitch their ideas first, of which the most popular were voted on and the final groups were formed. Only at the last minute did what became Diemond over the weekend actually become an idea

“I went into this Startup Weekend with the idea that this time I don’t want to be the one coming up with the idea. I just want to be part of a team. But then I ended up talking to Nils by chance. I just said to him: ‘Give me an idea with an undertaker and it has to have something to do with diamonds.’ That was it. It just came to us in the moment,” says co-founder Mikkel Eskesen.

The idea was pitched at the last minute by Mikkel Eskesen and by Friday evening, there was suddenly a team of six people working on the project.

“I also pitched my own idea and I also had a small team that would work with me on it afterwards. But I found this idea so exciting that I had to disband my own team to join. I think the technology is now at a level where it’s possible. Everyone can relate to having lost a loved one. A lot of people want to leave something behind, but it’s so hard to get started. You need help with this. And I really think that’s what Diemond can help with. I think it’s a really good cause,” explains co-founder Tom Quast.

Saturday – An emotional journey

It quickly became clear that Diemond had hit on something important with their idea. They reached out to their own network, which sparked some important and personal conversations.

“The feedback I received from friends and family was extensive. It’s definitely the most emotional hackathon idea I’ve ever worked on,” says co-founder Daniel Graungaard.

Co-founder Nils Kähler had the same experience.

“The emotional journey we’ve been through with this project is something I’ve never experienced before. So much happened where we each had experiences that gave us so much more than just developing the product and presenting it,” he says.

Many of the participants are seasoned entrepreneurs who have participated in hackathons and entrepreneur weekends before. For others, it was a completely new experience.

“I think my experience is a little different than everyone else. It was my first hackathon and these people are so good. They’re so experienced and so knowledgeable. I really feel like I was so lucky to be on this team. The whole way through, they explained the process to me and said, ‘You have to believe in what you’re doing’,” says co-founder Jody Shipley.

However, the rest of the team doesn’t see this lack of experience as a disadvantage.

“It’s really great to get new energy and an outsider’s perspective. It’s also nice to have someone who is willing to work on anything because the rest of us have a specialization, so it’s good to have a generalist on the team. At the same time, new ideas are also necessary, and I think Jody brought both,” says Daniel Graungaard.

Sunday – A worthy winner

The competition was tough, and there were many very good suggestions for a winner when the 10 teams had pitched to the jury. But in the end, Diemond won the title as the best startup at Startup Weekend.

“Technology is not just about ideas, it’s also about execution, and we executed it really well, which is why we won. But are we the right people to take it further? Should we quit on Monday and pursue it? Maybe we’re not the right people to do that,” says Daniel Graungaard.

Although Diemond has clearly been an important project and has left an emotional mark on the team behind it, the project is likely to be shelved after Startup Weekend. But never say never.

“Sometimes you come across something and think: ‘There’s a business here and it’s a fun business. But I don’t know, and that’s the interesting thing about a hackathon. So I just want to quote our teammate Jesper (Weltz, ed.), who unfortunately couldn’t join us on the last day: We’re going home to sleep,” concludes Mikkel Eskesen.