To promote and support innovative business ideas in the media space, the Media Lab of the Communications Commission has announced the fourth edition of the competition for startups, called “Ideadrome.” The goal of the Media Lab is to discover potential startups and help them turn their ideas into reality. The contest will identify the best startup ideas. The winning teams will then undergo a week-long training. They will have the opportunity to obtain the necessary knowledge for their future activities and prepare to take their startup ideas to the global market.

The contest is open to all. Contestants are selected based on their ideas. They will undergo intensive preparations and will present their projects to the jury panel. “Ideadrome” has a prize pool of GEL 10,000. Deadline for registration is 20 May. The five chosen teams will undergo practical trainings between 23 and 27 May.

To take part in the contest, teams of two or three people must prepare a video presentation where they present innovative solutions to current global challenges. The idea on which they will be working during the contest must relate to one of the following topics: facilitating communication in digital space, educational gaming, protection from fake news or facilitating access to information.

The chosen teams will spend a week working with Media Lab mentors, discussing important topics such as validating the startup idea, team management, decision-making strategies, prioritisation and product testing, easy access to funding, selecting the appropriate business model for the idea and creating the ideal presentation. All training will include practical tasks, allowing the startuppers to immediately turn their newly acquired knowledge into real experience.

The Media Lab of the Communications Commission has successfully held three editions of the “Ideadrome” contest in the past. The winners have already achieved success: Side Mission obtained funding from GITA for product development; the founders of FeedbacKit travelled to Poland to meet international investors and undergo training; while the social media platform Bubbler received GEL 15,000 in funding from GITA and attracted the interest of Arizona State University, which has launched the product in test mode. Another former participant, while abandoning the project presented at “Ideadrome,” later launched another business and is already selling a product on the market.