10.1.2018
- Due to the victory at Idea Knockout under the sponsorship of Hrvatski Telekom, the start-up CircuitMess participated at the greatest Consumer Electronics Show – CES in Las Vegas
- Tech journalists and investors from throughout the world were presented the video game console MAKERbuino intended for the acquisition of the basic knowledge in the STEM field
- HT is the largest start-up accelerator in Croatia, which, in addition to its own Hack it! hackathon and HT Innovation Camp, supports the academic and start-up community in different ways
The Croatian start-up CircuitMess presented itself with its game console MAKERbuino at CES, the world’s biggest Consumer Electronics Show, held in Las Vegas. Their journey to Las Vegas and the opportunity for presentation to tech journalists, investors, and distributors from throughout the world was the award for the victory at Idea Knockout 2017, whose partner is Hrvatski Telekom.
CES, one of ten events with the widest media coverage at the global level, was held for the fifty-first time. Hence, the opportunity to exhibit at this event was a praiseworthy opportunity for the promotion of Croatian products. CircuitMess is amongst some six hundred start-ups from throughout the world that was given the opportunity for exhibition in Eureka Park. Over six thousand start-ups had applied for it, yet only the most innovative amongst them were granted this opportunity. MAKERbuino game console arouse the interest of Amazon, and the Indiegogo team was also delighted with the project.
"CES certainly opens the door to the international market for us. Our Kickstarter campaign left the door ajar to the world. 90% of devices in the campaign have been distributed beyond this region, primarily to the US, yet also to the United Kingdom and Germany. These are extremely large markets compared with a country like Croatia. Consequently, I believe that CES, as an internationally recognised show, will help us in our commercialisation and in fully opening the door that is currently ajar", noted the founder of CircuitMess, 19-year old Albert Gajšak.
MAKERbuino is a game console that is delivered in components and needs to be assembled following the instructions provided on the Internet, which is a process through which the users develop a passion for programming, electronics, and technology. It is only after the assembly of its components that one can play video games using MAKERbuino. Over three thousand such devices have been sold thus far. Moreover, the game console has raised $100,000 through a recently implemented Kickstarter campaign, exceeding the previously defined objectives tenfold.
The general sponsorship of Idea Knockout, the biggest and the most exciting technology idea competition at the regional level organised by the magazine Bug, is a part of a long-term strategy by Hrvatski Telekom, which has been establishing itself as the biggest start-up accelerator in Croatia. In addition to the organisation of Hack It hackathon and HT Innovation Camp, HT supports the academic community through the STEM:HUB project focused on providing scholarships for students in the most in-demand STEM professions.
In addition to STEMI, Eureka Park saw the presentation of the start-up me:mum from Split, which won second prize at Idea Knockout. The company’s eponymous gadget in combination with a mobile app calculates the most fertile day in a woman’s menstrual cycle in an extremely accurate way, hence significantly increasing the chances of getting pregnant.