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Friday, September 8, 2017

NÜWIEL qualifies for IKEA Bootcamp

NÜWIEL, the start-up founded by NIT alumni Natalia Tomiyama and Sandro Rabbiosi, has outperformed 1,300 competitors and qualified to attend the IKEA Bootcamp. The bootcamp is the work of the furniture group IKEA and the Swedish start-up network Rainmaking, which specializes in promoting young enterprises. In a mentoring program ten selected startups with products that make day-to-day life easier and make our world a better one are promoted. The IKEA Bootcamp begins on September 18. In August, 20 start-ups, including Nüwiel, traveled to Sweden for a two-day selection round. Natalia, Sandro and co-founder Fahad Khan convinced the jury of their battery-powered bicycle trailer that can transport loads of up to 100 kg noiselessly and emission-free.

It was an enormous opportunity for the start-up NÜWIEL

Along with free accommodation and a €20,000 infusion of capital Nüwiel now benefits for three months from a wide range of workshops, start-up courses, pitch training sessions and one-on-ones with mentors. In Älmhult, Sweden, about two hours by railroad from Copenhagen, IKEA has set up a co-working space specially designed for the training camp. At this facility the start-ups can inspire each other, experiment with different materials and benefit from the advice of teams of experts. Along with engineers and value chain experts they include marketing, financing and corporate law professionals. This all-round support aims to ensure that the start-ups are successful in the long term.

It was not Nüwiel's first successful participation in a startup competition. In January 2017 the young company was the only European start-up to take part in the Food+City Challenge in Austin, Texas, where it won the third prize. The IKEA Bootcamp ends on December 8. The startups will demonstrate the progress they have made to the media and selected entrepreneurs in a large-scale final presentation. According to IKEA long-term investments and partnerships with the start-ups are conceivable. It is a major success story for the Hamburg start-up Nüwiel.


The start-up NÜWIEL

In 2016 the NIT alumni Natalia Tomiyama and Sandro Rabbiosi and their business partner Fahad Khan founded their start-up Nüwiel. Their vision was to free the city from congestion, noise, and atmospheric pollution. With a battery-powered bicycle trailer they aim to improve the quality of city air without having to forgo the comfort of powered freight transportation. Their smart bicycle trailer not only relieves the cyclist of the burden of the payload; it also knows when to brake or accelerate.



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