3Pi competition event at ETH Zurich

On Pi Day, March 14^th (3/14 - representing the first three digits of Pi), the ETH ieLab (Innovation & Entrepreneurship Lab) held its fourth annual 3Pi competition. Ten ETH start-ups presented their Pioneer Pi Pitches (in 3.14 minutes per pitch, of course!) to over 100 attendees.

25.03.2019 by Sybille Zimmermann

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The Pi Day event brought young ETH entrepreneurs together, giving them the opportunity to pitch their start-up ideas to a broader audience which included investors, media representatives, ETH spin-offs, fellow students, and other key players in the Swiss entrepreneurial environment.

Pioneer Fellow Xavier Garrabou Pi, presenting Quiralex

Pioneer Fellow Claudia Hössbacher, pitching Polariton Technologies

In a nod to Swiss culture, the jury and audience cast their votes using chocolate gold bars (jury) and coins (audience) to vote for the Pioneer Pi Pitch with the most promising start-up idea. The jury included Mike Baur (Swiss Startup Factory), Lea Firmin (Venture), Peter Seitz (Kenzen) and Jean-Pierre Vuilleumier (Swiss Startup Invest).

The winner – Etienne Jeoffroy’s FenX – presented a novel, highly porous foam made from mineral waste (such as ash) for building insulation, and usable in any form thanks to being printable in 3D. Etienne won two tickets to the SEF4KMU (SEF Wachstum) on 23 May, the side-event to the Swiss Economic Forum in Interlaken, to network with leading personalities from business, academia, politics, and the media.

Team Microcaps (offering precise, industrial-scale microencapsulation), with Alessandro Ofner and Michael Hagander, came in second, winning tickets to the Swiss Startup DAYs at the end of May, dedicated to exponential technology, corporate innovation, and startup internationalisation.

Lukas Böni’s project, planted, garnered third place. This next-generation, meat-like plant protein from sustainable protein sources is produced through high moisture extrusion – a food preparation method similar to pressure-cooking – yielding plant-based meat substitutes with meat-like texture and taste. Lukas won two tickets for the Swiss Innovation Forum. Taking place in November in Basel, the event promotes creativity, design, and innovation.

The three winning ETH Pioneer Fellow teams with their winning cheques

While the jury convened to select the winning pitch, four Pioneer Fellow projects were awarded certificates for completing their respective ETH entrepreneurial programmes. The recipients are: Philipp Furler with Sunredox; Marcel Gort and Manuel Heckhorn with RapidGraft; Pascal Guillet and Lea Pokorny with microPow, and Manuel Schaffner and Petar Stefanov with Spectroplast.

Pioneer Fellowship certificate ceremony, from left: Tomas Brenner (head ieLab), Pascal Guillet and Lea Pokorny (ETH spin-off microPow) and Silvio Bonaccio (head, ETH transfer)

After the pitches, the guests enjoyed a networking dinner with traditional American Hot Dogs and Banh Mi sandwiches featuring planted’s prize-winning meat substitute.