Audience Award: When an Idea Resonates with People
Tori won the Audience Award at Start Night, voted for by the founders, investors, and students in the room. An early proof that her vision resonated.
Every startup begins with uncertainty: You build before anyone asks for your product. You pitch before anyone knows your name. And you spend months (or years) wondering whether the vision you see is one that others will see too.
For Tori, one of the first answers came from the people themselves.
Winning the Audience Award at Start Night
In 2024, Tori received the Audience Award at Start Night, one of Vorarlberg's leading startup events. Organized as part of the Start Business program, the event brings together founders, investors, entrepreneurs, students, and the regional innovation ecosystem to celebrate promising new ventures.
Unlike jury prizes, the Audience Award is decided by the people in the room.
"Great ideas don't become companies because they're clever. They become companies because people believe in them."
- Tori, Founder & CEO
After hearing the startup pitches, the audience voted for the idea they believed had the greatest potential... and they chose 
.
A Different Vision for Fashion and AI
wasn't built to help people buy more. It was built to help them value what they already own, feel confident getting dressed, and discover clothing that genuinely belongs in their lives.
By combining artificial intelligence with personal style, behavioral insights, and thoughtful design, aims to make fashion more personal, more sustainable, and more human: for both people and brands.
Validation Beyond the Stage
For founders, external validation matters because they signal that a problem is real and that others believe in the proposed solution.
Receiving the Audience Award gave Tori confidence to keep building, continue researching with fashion brands, and transform from an ambitious idea into a funded AI venture.
It became another reminder that meaningful innovation starts by listening to people.
Building Products People Want
Technology changes quickly. Human needs evolve more slowly.
The startups that endure aren't always the ones with the most advanced technology. They're the ones that understand people deeply enough to build something they'll return to again and again.
That belief continues to guide everything Tori builds at : creating human-centered AI that helps people express themselves authentically while helping fashion brands create products that are worn, remembered, and loved.
For Future Founders
Winning the Audience Award didn't happen because Tori had all the answers. But because she started before she felt ready, tested her ideas, listened to feedback, and kept improving.
If you're carrying an idea that won't leave you alone, you don't have to figure everything out by yourself.