Innovate!Europe $30,000 competition

Home

Round details

Is your business ready to go global? Do you have what it takes to succeed in Silicon Valley?

Innovate!Europe is searching for Europe’s most promising startups in the IT, Internet and mobile sectors, and you are invited to be part of the competition!

Produced by Guidewire Group, the world’s leading analyst firm focused exclusively on startups and emerging markets, Innovate!Europe offers you invaluable mentoring and promotion while you compete to be named Europe’s top startup and win a free 90-day stay at Guidewire’s business accelerator in the heart of Silicon Valley, worth over $30,000.

The Innovate!Europe program encompasses two competition rounds.

Round 1: Applicants compete to participate in one of Innovate!Europe’s Going Global Workshops, held in cities around Europe between March 30th and April 8th.

Round 2: Finalists compete during a two-day Master Class held in Spain in early May. The winner will be announced during the Innovate!Europe Trade Mission to Silicon Valley in June 2009. This second-round competition will be launched on April 15, once finalists are announced.

When to submit:

Deadline for Round 1 submissions: March 25, 2009

Finalists announced: April 15, 2009

How to apply:

The first step in the Innovate!Europe program is to apply to attend one of the complimentary Going Global Workshops taking place in cities throughout Europe between March 30 and April 8, 2009.

To apply, first complete the online application on the Innovate!Europe site.

Then, create a brief video describing why your company should be considered, and how you think you could benefit from the opportunity to be part of the Innovate!Europe program. Once your video is ready, upload it to Vator.tv, then click on “participate in this competition.” Your video application will be seen by the thousands of entrepreneurs, investors and potential partners that rely on Vator.tv for their daily technology news.

There is no cost to apply or to participate in one of the Going Global workshops.

Hurry, though, because the deadline to apply is March 23rd!

see more details

More Details

Innovate!Europe Going Global Workshops will be held in the following cities over the next couple weeks, and successful applicants from anywhere in Europe or Israel may attend the most convenient workshop for them.

•    March 30 – Bern, Switzerland
•    April 1 – Tel Aviv, Israel
•    April 3 – Berlin, Germany
•    April 6 – Paris, France
•    April 8 – London, UK

During the Going Global Workshops, Guidewire Group’s analyst team will help you hone the presentation skills you need to best compete in fast-paced markets like Silicon Valley, while evaluating your company’s value proposition and market opportunity. Each Workshop will be followed by a Networking Meetup open to local entrepreneurs, investors and other members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The most promising startups to participate in the Going Global Workshops will be invited to participate in Innovate!Europe’s Master Class, which will take place May 4- 6, 2009 in Zaragoza, Spain.

Taught by serial entrepreneurs, financiers and experts from Europe and the United States, the Master Class curriculum will highlight proven strategies and best practices that are integral to becoming a successful global entrepreneur.

Graduates of Innovate!Europe’s Master Class will then have an opportunity to put their knowledge to use as participants in an invite-only Trade Mission that will visit Silicon Valley the week of June 8, 2009.
Innovate!Europe will culminate with the selection of one company that shows the greatest potential to shine on the global stage. That company, which will be chosen by the faculty from Innovate!Europe’s Master Class, will win an exclusive spot at Guidewire STUDIO, an in-residence business accelerator in Silicon Valley.

This 90-day STUDIO engagement typically costs $30,000, plus equity, but to the winner of the Innovate!Europe search for the top European startup, the STUDIO is absolutely free.

It all starts when you apply to attend one of the Going Global workshops, and upload your video entry here at Vator.tv. We look forward to learning more about why your company has what it takes to become Europe’s top startup.

Who’s Eligible

Companies ready to participate in Innovate!Europe’s search for the top European startup have:
•   Fully incorporated in their home market and are planning global expansion
•   Developed a complete product and validated it in the local market
•   A technology that has relevance in the global market
•   A product or service that meets or exceeds offerings from global market leaders, creates disruption among global market competitors, or establishes new capability or category in global market
•   Assembled a team ready for global growth

For More Information

Please visit the Innovate!Europe website at www.innovate-events.com.

And don’t forget to join Innovate!Europe’s groups on Facebook and LinkedIn to connect with other members of the entrepreneurial community.