On a sound journey from India to Struer

Before the summer holiday, a selected group of entrepreneurs visited Sound Hub Denmark for the ambitious SoundTech Accelerator Program’s second camp. One of the participants was 27-year-old Navajith Karkera, who travelled from India to participate.

He will return to Struer again this week.

As a vibrant metropolis for companies, developers, and entrepreneurs – both local and global, all within the field of sound – Sound Hub Denmark has managed to appeal to startups from Asia, the US, and Europe with their SoundTech Accelerator. This year, Navajith Karkera and Jagath Biddappa from India took the longest journey.

The program targets entrepreneurs and start-ups using sound tech or sound design. Being the only one of its kind, the program offers acceleration support for both sound technology and business aspects, in which the participants receive sparring and tools to optimise their business potential. The interest is therefore high to get accepted.

A unique tech and business opportunity

One of the passionate entrepreneurs heading to Struer was 27-year-old Navajith Karkera from Rapture Innovation Labs. Together with his friend and co-founder Jagath Biddappa, he travelled from India to Struer to access the sound experts at Sound Hub Denmark.

Rapture is a ten-person company from Mangaluru, India. The company develops headphones under their brand name SonicLamb, which give users a unique and immersive sound experience. They achieve this by using their patented hybrid driver technology that reproduces the melodies through air conduction and bass using bone and skin conduction.

Thereby, you can feel the music throughout your body,

Navajith explains. The team is currently developing two models.

The co-founders had a clear goal in mind as they arrived in Struer by train late one evening; They wanted help optimising their product but were also seeking insight into how to improve their current business practices and market approach.

The great thing about coming to Sound Hub is that there are people who understand sound and can help us build a better product and improve its performance. For us, it’s mainly the expertise in sound and acoustics that is attractive about joining and we’re also keen to explore the market opportunity in Denmark.

One aspect is the technical side, developing and optimising the experience, and the other is the business and commercial potential. Since we are an audio company, what should we have in mind? How do we become effective in our market approach? How do we test in the market with the right target audience in mind?

It’s all part of the programme. Through the program it has helped us find our values, understand our customers better, and target the right market,

Navajith Karkera enthusiastically emphasises.

In June, the intense, three-day camp focused on how the selected 7 startups could optimise their marketing and business practices.

Similar to the other startups, Rapture obtained more skills and competencies during their stay – all useful tools and ideas to incorporate into their future marketing and business model.

Photo: Participants visiting Bang & Olufsen

First time in Europe

In addition to focusing on their businesses, all participants had the opportunity to experience a bit of Denmark, in particular Struer – the City of Sound. The camp included this time a Puch Maxi ride around Venø – a small island in the vicinity of Sound Hub. The ride allowed for time to visit the island’s oyster farm, Venø Seafood, and Denmark’s smallest church. A joyful ride for everyone, maybe even more for Navajith and Jagath as it was their first trip to Europe, where the long, bright summer evenings and nature left a strong impression.

Photo: Navajith Karkera at his Sound Hub workspace

The startups will return again this week

At Sound Hub Denmark, the team is delighted with the great interest the SoundTech Accelerator Programme has received. It’s the seventh cohort selected since 2019. Navajith and Jagath were made aware of the program by a previous participant recommending them to apply for the sound-focused and tailor-made program.

This week, the participants return to Struer to embark on the program’s last camp. The theme is sustainable business and focuses on how to build a versatile team using a personalised leadership style.

Ending with a pitch event

The camp also includes investor pitch training. The camp ends with a pitch event where the 7 participants from 6 different countries take the stage, hoping to bring home their first investor and maybe even their next business partner. This final event will also include exciting interviews, engaging debates, great food, and plenty of time to network with the country’s leading players in audio technology and business development.

The SOUND Pitch & Buzz event will take place on September 7th and is exclusively for investors.

About the SoundTech Accelerator Program

The SoundTech Accelerator Program is an intensive program for startups, entrepreneurs, product developers and others working in the sound field. The program runs over 5 months and consists of 3 individual camps, spanning 3 days each. During these camps, participants receive feedback and knowledge on value proposition optimisation, targeting, marketing, partnerships, investment plans, management styles, and pitch training.

Even before the SoundTech Accelerator’s official launch, the program had received international interest with applications from 47 international sound-focused start-ups from 22 countries.

THE SOUNDTECH ACCELERATOR PROGRAM 2023 IS DEVELOPED AND RUN BY SOUND HUB DENMARK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DANISH CREATIVE INDUSTRIES, AND LEADING GLOBAL KEY PLAYERS WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL SOUND INDUSTRY.