BLC Women's Start Up
Business Evening - June 4, 2026
To ensure the finalists are pitch-ready, each has been assigned a mentor. The mentors are: Svetlana Grishankova, an experienced finance and ESG professional and PwC Dragons' Den winner; and Julie Ayres Smith, a transformation and operations specialist with experience in international organisations, focused on execution and scalability.
The judging panel will be chaired by Joanne Olivier, the British Ambassador to Luxembourg. She will be joined by: Giulia Iannucci, Vice Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce for Luxembourg (BCC) and Deputy CEO of MAQIT, with expertise in branding, strategy and business development; and Christine O'Bright, founder of Bright Futures and a certified professional coach and trainer specialising in leadership and transformation.
The winner of the competition will receive a €500 cash prize donated by a former BLC chair, while the runner-up will win a startup course offered by the Luxembourg-Poland Chamber of Commerce (LPCC).
The initiative is being supported by local partners including the House of Entrepreneurship and Banque Raiffeisen. Chronicle.lu is media partner for the event.
The Women's Startup Pitch Evening is open to the public, as well as other applicants who were not selected as finalists. The event will begin with registration and networking from 18:00 to 18:20, followed by opening remarks from moderator Emilie Fitzgerald Wagner, PR & Marketing Officer at BLC, BLC Chair Amy Grech and British Ambassador Joanne Olivier (on entrepreneurship in Luxembourg). House of Entrepreneurship representatives will then discuss how to set up a company, while Banque Raiffeisen will explore business banking.
On Monday 20 April 2026, the British Ladies Club (BLC) announced the four finalists selected to compete in its upcoming Women's Startup Pitch Evening, scheduled for Thursday 4 June 2026 at Hall Victor Hugo in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg.
Finalists and Projects
The four women selected to pitch their business visions are as follows:
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Olga Meaurault, presenting "Go-To-Market – The Revenue AI Growth Flow"
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Mariya Erokhina, presenting "EyeTrustAI"
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Roksana Skubis, presenting "RÉACLYSE"
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Jess Bauldry, presenting "EarGlasses"
While the jury deliberates, attendees will hear from Jessica Cooke of DEFINANCE, who will share her personal entrepreneurial journey in a fireside chat.
The jury will then unveil the two winning pitches, with the awards ceremony set to take place around 20:45. The evening will conclude around 21:30 following another networking opportunity.
The evaluation criteria for the winning pitch is similar to that used to select the finalists, looking at how innovative is the solution is in today's world, as well as the quality of the pitch. More specifically, the criteria considers:
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Problem & Need - clarity of the problem identified, relevance in the Luxembourg context and whether the need is well understood and justified
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Solution & Value Proposition - how clearly the solution addresses the problem and the tangible value it brings to users or customers
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Target Market - definition and understanding of the target audience, including realism and relevance to the Luxembourg or cross-border market
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Feasibility & Implementation - practicality of execution, including resources, timeline and ability to deliver in a realistic way
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Cost Structure & Revenue Logic - understanding of costs and whether the business model can realistically generate revenue
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Innovation & Differentiation - degree of originality and how clearly the project stands out from existing solutions
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Pitch Quality & Communication - clarity, structure and ability to communicate the idea effectively within the time given
Our Partners
A huge thank you to our Sponsors, who make this initiative possible.
