Hotmart, a global tech company and leader in digital products, has announced the results of its challenge for young businesses, Hotmart Challenge - Startup Edition. In all, nearly USD$2 million was invested by the ecosystem, including a surprise merger and acquisition, as well as a donation and mentorship for a tech startup that created an alternative communication app for children and teenagers with special needs. The final winners were announced on the first day of On Fire, the company's online event that hosted over 100 hours of educational talks.

The challenge was documented as a web series with seven episodes full of innovation, shared ideas, and exploration of new technology from startups from throughout Brazil. There were over 600 entries. 

After several elimination rounds and mentoring stages, five startups received financial contributions, in amounts that far exceeded the initial prize of US$ 500,000. The jury decided to invest in the following companies: Izzi, Biti9, Ekyte, Easymovie, and Edita Fácil, in addition to donating USD$ 10 thousand to Matraquinha, which will receive additional mentoring. In a surprising twist, the jury decided to make an acquisition proposal to BeUni, at an estimated market price of USD$ 1.4 million. 

"We understood that there were opportunities and companies that are very compatible with the Hotmart ecosystem, regarding education, technology, and entrepreneurship. So, we decided to increase the initial investment and expand the positive impact for the ecosystem, always focusing on boosting businesses with the potential to change people's lives," said João Pedro Resende, CEO and co-founder of Hotmart, and also one of the challenge’s judges.

Selected companies

BeUni is a logistics platform for buying, storing, and shipping personalized gifts and products. "BeUni was a strategic acquisition for Hotmart. With it, our content creators will be able to offer physical products from their own brands to their most engaged followers. This is something that was already in our plans and BeUni is coming to speed up this process," explained Frederico Montezuma, Hotmart's Global M&A Director and also a judge.

The companies chosen for investment were EasyMovie, a platform that connects companies with video producers to ease production pains, and Edita Fácil, which connects people with video editors. Together, the companies received USD$73,000 and, while still in the middle of recording the episodes, surprised everyone when they decided to merge and continue as a single company. "The founders of the companies were looking for a solution to the same problem. Both had capacity gaps in their teams, which could be complemented by each other. EasyMovie’s strengths were in product and technology, and EditaFacil's were in distribution. It seemed like a good idea to work together. They talked to each other and decided to join forces. Everybody wins," explained João Pedro Resende.

Biti9, also from São Paulo, with solutions that automate administrative processes, and with a focus on increasing productivity and reducing costs, took home USD$ 200 thousand to invest and expand its APR (Autonomous Payment Receipt). The technology allows business processes to be automated by configuring a software "robot" to capture information, make calculations, process transactions, handle data, blast messages, and communicate with other systems. 

Izzi, from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, received USD$63,000. The gaming platform connects coaches and gamers, offering individual or group coaching sessions with more than 15 registered coaches, including well-known games, such as LoL (League of Legends). "We have little penetration in gaming. Izzi has a lot of potential and can be our gateway into this huge and growing market," explained Resende.

The last company awarded was eKyte, a software company for digital marketing management from Santa Catarina, Brazil, with USD$ 136,000. The startup has a digital marketing management platform that helps teams plan, produce, and optimize marketing campaigns. 

Finally, the Hotmart Challenge judges decided to donate USD$10,000 to Matraquinha. The amount will help the app that aids children with autism to structure itself as a company with the capacity to continue developing. Additionally, Hotmart will provide mentoring sessions with Matraquinha’s internal teams.

Giving back 

Launched as a way to celebrate Hotmart's 10th anniversary, the challenge was one of the ways the company found to give back after winning a similar investment competition in 2010. Today, Hotmart has surpassed the market value of a unicorn (more than USD$1 billion) and has established itself as one of the global leaders in the industry, with over 490,000 registered products, over 30 million users worldwide, and sales in 188 countries. 

"This project was designed especially for companies that have synergy with the creator economy. Companies that offer platforms, applications and tools to help creators with challenges encountered in content production, community development, online teaching, live broadcasts, monetization, ect," explained Nathalia Cavalieri, Hotmart GM and a Hotmart Challenge judge. "Those who followed the entire process learned a lot because one of the premises of this initiative was to produce content to inspire other companies and professionals," she added.

*After negotiations, Hotmart and BeUni have mutually agreed not to enter into the purchase and sale agreement announced in 2021. However, we remain in contact with BeUni to develop projects that benefit our customers and the creator economy ecosystem.