Ten student teams compete for startup prizes in Lappeenranta

Ten student teams are developing startup companies this summer at LUT University in Lappeenranta as part of the Forward program, organized by 23-year-old Ekaterina Laari and 20-year-old Gleb Ershov, Yle reports.

Applications far exceeded available spots, with 72 teams vying for 12 positions in a four-stage selection process. Two teams have already dropped out in the early weeks.

The teams are refining business ideas ranging from an AI tool for packaging material companies to an app comparing car repair services. Some already have their first customers.

In three weeks, the teams will pitch their ideas at Lappeenranta Airport. A jury will award €5,000 to the winner, €3,000 to the runner-up, and €2,000 to the third-place team to support further development.

Laari and Ershov, both students at LUT University, say Lappeenranta has all the ingredients to become Finland’s next growth company hub. “All that’s needed are people willing to solve problems,” Ershov said.

Participants like 18-year-old Tserenpuntsag Chinbat from Mongolia and 20-year-old Dániel Szentimrey-Vén from Hungary, both international business students at LUT, say the program has taught them more than traditional courses. “Here, you learn by doing,” Szentimrey-Vén said.

Last year’s Forward program saw only two of its startups survive, but organizers aim to lower the barrier to entrepreneurship. “The biggest impact is what participants do in the future,” Laari said.