re:Marc event

re:Marc is the international celebration and pitch event of the Marc Impact Programme to recognise impact excellence. This year’s re:Marc final took place in Budapest, Hungary, bringing together impact ventures from six programme countries: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Serbia, for a full day of pitching, panels and honest conversation about turning impact ambition into impact delivery.

A keynote was delivered by Uli Grabenwarter (European Investment Fund) on pitching for survival and impact business models. One of the day’s highlights was the panel on turning impact ambition into delivery, moderated by Florian Bauer (ERSTE Foundation), followed by three rounds of pitching in front of a jury of investors, operators and a 2025 MARC winner.

Our two ventures from this year’s MARC Austria cohort took the stage and made it count. VeloConcerts founder Jonas Skielboe cycled from Vienna to Budapest on an unfolding-stage cargo bike, through three flat tires, a 40km detour and a dead motor, and still delivered a pitch that earned a standing ovation, drawing a parallel between the chaotic ride and the daily unpredictability of building a startup.

TalentsLounge by DaVinciLab founder Anna Gawin went home with the Scalability Champion Award, €15,000 for the venture showing the strongest scaling plan, team and fundability.