Sportkart d.o.o. — Amazing Minds

The challenge

Sportkart came to us with a bold and unusual idea: to use Pixar’s Inside Out as the conceptual foundation for an interactive, technology-driven experience that would help children aged 7–9 develop socio-emotional intelligence. The concept was creative and compelling, but it existed entirely as a vision — there was no structured project proposal, no funding logic, and no clear pathway from idea to implementation.

The founders knew what they wanted to build. They had experience running an indoor entertainment park, which gave them operational credibility, but the gap between “we have this idea” and “we have a fundable, deliverable project” was substantial. They needed someone to take that concept apart, validate it, structure it, and then translate it into the language of EU funding programmes — without losing the original spirit of the idea in the process.

Beyond that, Sportkart was also a growing business with broader operational and digital needs. They needed support not just for Amazing Minds, but for digital skills development among their staff, a new reservation and ticketing system, and a financing structure for working capital. These were separate challenges, but they all had to be addressed in parallel.

What we did

Our first task was to transform the Amazing Minds concept into a concrete, structured project proposal. That meant defining the intervention logic — what problem does this project solve, for whom, and how — and translating that into the format required by the NPOO funding programme under which the project would be submitted. We worked through the educational and psychological framework underpinning the concept, ensuring it was grounded in established research on socio-emotional learning, and aligned the creative vision with the eligibility criteria and impact metrics required by the programme.

The result was a complete project proposal, with clearly defined activities, target groups, expected outcomes, a realistic budget, and a governance structure that the organisation could actually manage. The project was approved and funded — modest in absolute terms, but significant for the organisation, and more importantly, a proof of concept that opens doors to larger R&D and innovation projects in subsequent phases.

Alongside Amazing Minds, we supported Sportkart in securing two digital innovation vouchers: one for AI skills development among their staff (VDV — Voucher for Digital Skills Improvement), and one for the introduction of a new IT-based reservation system (VSD — Voucher for Complex Digital Solutions). We also advised on and supported the structuring of a working capital credit facility, ensuring the financing was aligned with the organisation’s cash flow and growth plans.

Currently, we are supporting the full implementation of the Amazing Minds project — managing milestones, coordinating reporting, and ensuring compliance with programme requirements. At the same time, we are working with Sportkart on a longer-term innovation pipeline that includes a potential Eurostars application focused on new immersive and virtual content for indoor parks, an R&D credit line for business expansion, and an additional R&D project exploring overlapping reality concepts. These are in preparation and have not yet been publicly announced.

Outcome

Project approved and funded. Two digital innovation vouchers secured. Working capital financing structured. Full project implementation ongoing. Long-term innovation pipeline in development across multiple EU and R&D financing instruments.