Exactly one year ago, I picked up the phone and called someone I’ve known for over 20 years. Someone I had traveled the world with, shared countless ideas and experiences with. I asked him one simple but bold question:
“Do you want to build a Unicorn company with me?” (A Unicorn 🦄 — a startup valued at over $1 billion.)
That someone was Mario Uher — my friend, my co-founder, and today the CTO of TAGBASE.
We both knew we didn’t want to build just another company. We wanted to build something truly exceptional — something bold, world-changing, and lasting. A billion-dollar vision. A company that reshapes the way industries operate.
Since that moment, we’ve both gone all in. No salaries. No funding (yet). Just belief, grit, and relentless execution. We’ve been living off savings and betting on our ability to build something big. And it’s working. 💥
🏆 What We’ve Achieved So Far
Over the past 12 months, we’ve already accomplished a lot:
🌍 Top 10 at the Cardano Summit “Battle of the Builders” in Dubai (Oct 2024)
🚀 Top 120 at LEAP 2024 during the Rocket Fuel Pitch competition in Riyadh (Feb 2025)
🛒 Top 30 Nominee at ECR 2025 in the category Innovations in E-Commerce
🏭 Top 5 at Salt ‘n’ Venture 2025 in Salzburg in Enterprise & Manufacturing
🏆 Top 12 finalist at Startup World Cup Austria, nominated in Vienna (June 2025)
We’ve also been accepted into several high-quality accelerator programs:
✅ Accent Accelerator – https://accent.at/
✅ egg Accelerator – https://www.theegg.gr/en/
🕐 Currently awaiting results from Avery Dennison‘s AD Stretch Accelerator (Cohort 4)
💰 Early Grant Funding Secured
In addition to all of the above, we’re also happy to share that we’ve secured our first grants from the Austrian government, through the FFG Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft mbH Basisprogramm. This support is a meaningful validation of our innovative approach and an important first step toward scaling with public and institutional backing.
We’re grateful for the recognition — and it shows that both the private and public sectors believe in what we’re building at TAGBASE.
🌎 Incredible Experiences Along the Way
The last 12 months have been an incredible journey — packed with growth, insights, and unforgettable moments. Most recently, we were accepted into the GoUSA 2025 program by Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, which gives us a gateway into the U.S. market. We are looking forward to spending three weeks in San Francisco this September and October as part of the program’s bootcamp — gaining first-hand market insights, meeting investors, and building meaningful connections in the U.S. ecosystem.
At LEAP 2025 in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), we also had the opportunity to meet members of the L’Oréal team — including senior leadership. They showed real interest in our solution and validated that there’s a strong need for what we’re building. That conversation was incredibly motivating for us, and we hope to reconnect soon to explore potential proof-of-concept opportunities together.
And all of this is happening with zero external funding so far. It’s a sign of the product, the market interest, and the strength of our team. Mario is a true genius when it comes to software and infrastructure — and he’s already had a successful exit before. But this time, we both know: it’s going to be much, much bigger.
💡 Early Direction & First Pilots
We’ve also started validating our technology in the real world.
One of our first pilot projects is with Synergotron, a medical device company from Croatia. We’re incredibly grateful to be working with a partner already operating in such a highly regulated and innovative industry. Having their trust so early on in our journey gives us strong validation and deep insight into what’s possible across verticals like healthcare and life sciences.
We’re also collaborating with Rubberduck Labs, who are using our solution to certify paper documents through our smart tag technology — adding a layer of authenticity and security to physical certificates by linking them to verified digital identities.
This is just a glimpse of how we’re exploring real-world use cases — with more pilot projects currently in discussion and further steps already in motion.
💸 Now Raising Our First Round
We’re now raising our first round of funding and aiming to close by the end of July 2025. If you’re an investor looking to back a world-class team with early traction and a bold vision — let’s talk.
Thank you, Mario Uher. For your belief, your brilliance, your friendship — and for building this rocket ship with me. 🚀
🙏 Thank You to Our Supporters
I also want to take a moment to thank a few others who’ve played a key role in helping us get to this point:
🙏 accent Inkubator GmbH Sandra Heissenberger – for believing in us and bringing us into your program
🙏 egg – enter grow go – for your support and access to a great ecosystem
🙏 AD Stretch – for offering invaluable insights into the broader industry landscape
🙏 Upma Arora and Malak Marzouk – for organizing and taking care of this year’s AD Stretch cohort and creating such a valuable experience through Avery Dennison
🙏 The L’Oréal Team — Vismay Sharma, Yasmina Tahan, Raja Yazigi, and Olfa Messaoudi — for taking the time at LEAP 2025 in Riyadh to stop by our booth multiple times, engage with us, and show genuine interest in our solution. Your encouragement and feedback meant a lot to us, and we’re excited about the possibility of exploring a proof-of-concept together.
🙏 Gigi Wang – for mentoring us over the past few months and sharing invaluable insights into both the business world and the startup ecosystem in San Francisco
🙏 Shomit Ghose – for mentoring us and helping us understand that in today’s world, data is everything
🙏 Rick Rasmussen – for sharpening our thinking around financials, unit economics, and business modeling
🙏 Louis Baravalle – for making powerful business connections that opened important doors
🙏 Markus Weiss – for giving us such a high score on our business plan and for your support. We’re looking forward to participating in the i2b business plan program!
🙏 Florian Urbanek — our contact at NXP Semiconductors for connecting us with tag manufacturers and helping us explore the hardware side of our solution. Your support is opening key doors as we scale.
🙏 Moritz Weinhofer — from AWS, for your support and guidance with AWS Connect. Your help has been key to connect with the right ecosystem partners.
🙏 Michael Dobersberger, Jeff Wallace , and Kal Deutsch – for organizing and supporting our participation in the GoUSA 2025 program, and for the guidance and connections you’re helping us build as we take steps toward the U.S. market
🙏 Johannes K. Wieser and Maximilian Geyer – for your invaluable support in navigating the Austrian grants landscape
🙏 Thilo Schmalz and Andreas Gehring – for your expertise and support in guiding us through the patent application and protection process
🙏 Emil Barić and Domagoj Prebeg – for your trust, feedback, and partnership. We’re grateful to have a medical device company like Synergotron already on board during this early phase
🙏 Andre Savic– for working with and using our technology to pioneer new standards in digital verification of physical assets
Once again, Thank you Mario Uher – We’re just getting started. 🦄🚀
– Manuel, CEO & Co-Founder | TAGBASE
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FFG Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft mbH, Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws), qubitec – Förderungen für Software Startups 🚀, Synergotron, Rubberduck Labs, ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA, invest.austria, Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, accent Inkubator GmbH, Cardano Foundation, ECR Retail Loss, Avery Dennison, AD Stretch, egg – enter grow go, AustrianStartups, Austrian Blockchain Center – ABC Research, tecnet equity, Eurobank, BibanGlobal, L’Oréal, RINGANA, Frank Janßen, OÖ HightechFonds, SCE Freiraum Ventures, Land Niederösterreich, Oguz S. U, Erich Gaertner, i2b – Businessplan Initiative, L’Oréal, Kambis Kohansal Vajargah, Firas Saedaddin, NXP Semiconductors