Present your Startup in our Startup Contest 2021!

Last year the Startup Contest was a success, so we decided to repeat the experience. This year we present to you The Startup Contest 2021 which provides unique opportunities and support for the emerging startups in our Alumni community. Our previous winners imagiLabs, WISEBATT and Ellure enjoyed fully funded participation at some of Europe's most renowned tech conferences!

Why should you apply?

Get visibility for your startup. We will promote all startup applicants on our communication channels. Your startup will be known by EIT Digital ecosystem partners and potential investors. Most importantly, you may find your next teammates or supporters from our alumni community, as we are a group of people with an entrepreneurship mindset and IT knowledge from all over the world!

Gather feedback on your startup. You will receive valuable input on your business ideas and startup operation plans from our expert jury members and feedback from your alumni peers.

Yes, you will get a prize!! In the past years, we sent the winners to big tech conferences such as Slush and TechCrunch Disrupt to meet future customers and investors. Though we cannot foresee how the big conferences will be held in 2021 due to the COVID19 precaution, we will find a suitable alternative for the winning prize this year! Stay tuned ;)

Submit your application HERE!

In this application form, you will explain what your startup is about and how its business model works. After applying, please also be prepared for an online pitch to our Alumni community on 30th of September or 7th of October, as shown in the timeline below.

Important dates and deadlines

(subject to change, all times are CEST)

*Due to unforeseen circumstances we are delayed in announcing the results. We aim to have them up on our website by the 24th of October 2021.

Evaluation criteria

All applicants' submitted documentation and online pitch presentations will be evaluated across three dimensions:

1) WHAT: Overall context & relevance of the proposed solution

This criterion includes aspects such as:

• Clarity and depth of the user's problem or need
• Problem-solution fit, coherence and feasibility
• Unique Selling Point / Degree of innovativeness of the solution

2) HOW: Business model and plan

This criterion includes aspects such as:

• Financial return (or alternatively, high social impact) of the venture
• Market potential, competition and other entry barriers
• Go-to-market, growth strategy and future outlook
• Risk assessment and contingency planning

3) WOW: Branding and communication strategy

This criterion includes aspects such as:

• Consistent branding, colours, logo or other audio-visual elements
• Audience engagement, motivation and enthusiasm while pitching
• Quality of responses to the questions from the audience

PRESENT YOUR IDEA!