On January 31, as part of sTARTUp Day, the Tartu Centre for Creative Industries and EIT Culture & Creativity hosted a pitching competition where Mediamodifier won the grand prize—€5,000 in development support. The company’s mission is to help everyone succeed in digital marketing and create a professional brand presence with user-friendly online tools.

For the ninth consecutive year, the Creative Industries Pitching Competition has been part of the sTARTUp Day business festival program but for the first time it was powered by EIT Culture & Creativity. Seven strong teams took the pitching stage—three startups were selected from the EIT Shape accelerator program, while four finalists showcased the vitality of Estonia’s creative sector. Each competitor had three minutes to present their business model to an international jury and audience.

The jury panel included Külli Hansen (Director of the Tartu Centre for Creative Industries), Javier Arias (Director of Business Creation at EIT Culture & Creativity), Xenia Joost (Fashion Designer and Business Development Manager), and Ivo Remmelg (Angel Investor and Mentor). The jury evaluated the finalists based on clarity—how well their business model addresses a specific need—along with originality, market potential, and team competence.

Külli Hansen, director of the Tartu Centre for Creative Industries, was delighted with the competition’s success in collaboration with EIT Culture & Creativity. “I am grateful to all the teams for their outstanding presentations, but this time, Mediamodifier had the most well-developed idea and the jury recognized the company’s potential to expand into the international market,” she added.

Mediamodifier’s Business Client Product Manager, Mikko Žmilko, praised the event’s excellent organization and expressed gratitude for the jury’s recognition of their growth and development potential. “The victory came as a big surprise to us, as the competition was tough, and all the teams presented innovative solutions,” said Mikko and continued: “Winning this competition confirmed that we are on the right path and gave us a strong boost to continue even more ambitiously. This recognition validates that our solution has a practical impact—helping businesses save time and reduce repetitive and tedious tasks.”

In addition to the grand prize, several special awards were also presented. Eva Leetma from Creative Estonia selected three finalists for direct entry into the Creative Business Cup 2025 final: Franz Raver – Custom-designed corporate clothing and promotional gifts; Mediamodifier – Online marketing tools; Spiiker – Software that uses Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) and AI to support individuals with limited speech abilities. Spiiker was also recognized by the Tartu City Government by receiving tickets to Latitude59 and Tartu Multifilm was granted a three-month access to Loomeka HUB, awarded by the Tartu Centre for Creative Industries.