Tuesday, 24 July 2012

The Complete Guide to European (and especially UK) Startup Competitions:

In the last few days I have been asked several times how, in one week, we featured in both the Startups100 and the Pitch80 competitions as one of the UK’s most exciting, disruptive, and innovative startups.
Here are my 3 (Flat-Club) rules for success:
  1. Always look for opportunities
  2. Apply on time
  3. Make a brilliant pitch!
I have already discussed the third point in an earlier post about how we won the 2012TechCrunch One-Sentence Pitching challenge, so this time I’ll focus on the first two points. Finding opportunities and applying.
Together with Chris Ramshaw from Flat-Club, we have built the most extensive and detailed database of competitions, grants, and prizes for UK and EU based startups. There are business plan competitions, awards, government grants, pitching opportunities and all the information you need to win! Yes, we included the deadlines, requirements, and links as well – you just need to apply. This list contains 85 competitions, and links databases of many more. The prizes range from some good publicity and a couple of thousand pounds or some mentoring all the way to £1,000,000! Or for a very special prize, the opportunity to ring the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange. Each competition has its own merits, so pick what you think your business needs. They range from Pitch battles to Business Plan Competitions and we've even included a section for social enterprise. There is also the link to the website for UK Government Grants which offers another source of funding. Get applying and good luck!

UK Competitions:

  1. Business Plan Competitions
Criteria: Students and Grads with a totally new idea.
Deadline: End of March
Prize: Investment Opportunities

Competition Name: Innotech Summit
Target: Seeking Seed/Venture Investment
Deadline: Beginning of April
Prize: £5K Mentoring and Support
Application: Enter a Business Plan then finalists Pitch.


Competition Name: Enterprising U
Criteria: Any Student or Grad from the last 5 years
Deadline: Mid June
Prize: 1st Prize is £25K, 2nd - £10K, 3rd - £5K

  1. Social Enterprise
Application: Application Form containing all details of company
Prize: £50K Capital
Deadline: Early June

Competition Name: Richmond Den
Criteria: Company earning less than £30K grants/annum.
Application: Describe your idea in 500 words, then finalists pitch
Prize: £10K Package
Deadline: Late June

Prize: Up to £50K
Deadline: Early July

  1. Pitching Competitions

Competition Name: Orange Different Business
Application: Finalists Pitch to a panel of judges
Prize: Package of £200K
Deadline: End of March

Competition Name: The Pitch UK
Contest: 3 Minute Pitch
Prize: Package worth £50K
Deadline: May

Competition Name: Thinking Digital
Contest: 3 Minute Pitch to a panel of Startup Stars.
Deadline: Mid-Late May

Competition Name: DublinWeb Summit
Criteria: No more than 3 years old, no more than €5M revenue in the previous year, no more than €5M in funding.
Prize: Largest fund to date TBA
Deadline: End of July

Competition Name: Derry'sCulture Tech Festival
Criteria: Digital Business in Derry
Country: Ireland
Prize: 1st - £10K 2nd/3rd £5K
Deadline: Held at the end of August


Competition Name: Discovering Startups
Criteria: Technology Startup
Contest: Pitch
Prize: Package worth £2K
Deadline: Mid-November

Competition Name: Barclays - One Small Step
Application: Video Pitch
Prize: £50K

Competition Name: ShortList and Wayra New Digital Entrepreneur
Contest: Pitch
Prize: £40K
Deadline: August

  1. Startup Awards

Competition Name: UCL Bright Ideas Awards
Criteria: UCL Students and Alumni
Prize: Share of £50K Funding
Deadline: Announced end of March therefore check early in the year

Competition Name: Market E-Test
Criteria: New Business Idea
Prize: Up to £1000 Market Research
Deadline: Mid-April

Competition Name: House to Home
Application: Download and fill in an entry form
Criteria: You must have a country based business
Prize: £6K of advice
Deadline: End of April

Competition Name: British Innovation Gateway
Application: Enter your idea online
Criteria: UK Based small businesses and startups with technology based prototypes/proof of concepts.
Prize: $200K Package inc. $100K Cash
Deadline: Beginning of May

Competition Name: Million Pound Startup
Criteria: Less than 10 years old, less than £1M Turnover, willing to relocate to London
Prize: £1M in equity investment
Deadline: 1st May 2013

Criteria: Less than 2 years old, UK resident, Over 16 years old
Prize: TBC/Showcasing your business at the party conference
Deadline: May

Competition Name: Future 50
Application: 400-500 words on why your firm has outstanding potential
Criteria: Less than 4 years old, steady turnover and employment growth, innovative and disruptive
Prize: Media Coverage and Prestige
Deadline: Published around the end of September – Get entries in over the summer

Competition Name: Startup Awards 2012
Criteria: Less than 3 years old
Application: Online form – 4 questions, answer all 4 for each of the 13 categories you are entering
Deadline: 14th September 2012

Criteria: Aged 16-30 – Open to international entrants
Prize: £1000 – Awarded Monthly
Deadline: Last day of each month

Criteria: Open to international entrants
Application: Cumulative result of the above competition
Prize: £10K

Competition Name: PEA Awards
Criteria: Demonstrating Sustainability
Application: 500 words
Prize: Prestige
Deadline: 24th September 2013

Competition Name: Competition Wayra UK
Criteria: Businesses in Cloud Services, Financial, Mobile, Digital/Video, E-Health, Social Networks, Internet and Mobile Applications and E-Learning. Open to International Entrants
Prize: €50K-€70K + Support for 10% Equity

 Competition Name: Young Foundation Accelerator
Criteria: Businesses that have a positive social impact, are ambitious about growth and are able to demonstrate successful delivery in at least one location.
Application: Online application form at http://www.growingsocialventures.org/
Prize: £50K Training and Support Package
Deadline: 16th September 2012

 Competition Name: Young Entrepreneurs' Challenge
Criteria: Businesses that have been trading for under two years and with a maximum of 20 employees or prospective start-ups with a credible idea and business plan that is close to maturity. 
Application: A detailed business plan (no more than 10 pages). 
Prize: £10,000 investment from the judges; £10,000 from Investec Specialist Bank; £5,000 of consultancy from creative agency Albion London; A year's free financial and tax advice from Berg Krapow Lewis; Profiling in the business pages of the JC and via its digital channels.
Deadline: 9 November 2012

  1. Non-Entry Top 100's
Competition Name: Telegraph Startup 100
Contact: startup100@telegraph.co.uk

Competition Name: Enternships – Top 50 Startups to watch

Competition Name: Guardian – Top 20 Startups to Watch

  1. Non-Government Grants
Competition Name: BT Startup Grant Competition
Application: Complete an online form with details of your business
Grant: Depends on your business

  1. Government Grants
Criteria: Fewer than 500 employees, less than €100M annual turnover, balance sheet no exceeding €43M
Application: Visit the website for more
Grant: For SME's 200% of R&D Tax Relief (Corporation Tax)

For a full list of all the Government Grants available visit:

European:
      1. Business Plan Competitions

Competition Name: BBVA Open Talent
Criteria: Tech, Innovation, Banking and Financial Services
Country: Spain
Prize: €100K for 10% Equity
Deadline: End of April

Competition Name: Intel Business Challenge
Prize: $50K Cash
Deadline: Early May

Prize: €3K
Deadline: Mid-May


Competition Name: Arctic15
Criteria: Baltic and Nordic Startups
Countries: Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
Prize: €15640
Deadline: 31st August 2012


      1. Pitching Competitions

Competition Name: European Student Startups
Criteria: Only Students can enter
Prize: As much investment as you can get
Deadline: Late January

Competition Name: Le Web
Criteria: Received less than €1.5M in Investment, address consumer or business users, Launch at Le Web
Cities: London/Paris
Deadline: Mid-May – London/ Beginning December – Paris

Competition Name: Tech All Stars
Criteria: Less than 3 years old, less than $1M Capital
Prize: Exposure
Deadline: Mid-May

Competition Name: InnoPitch
Criteria: Under 36, EU Resident, Company no more than 18 Months old
Prize: Promotional Opportunities and Award
Deadline: End of May

Competition Name: MLOVE Confestival
Criteria: Raised less than $2M since previous January
Application: Online Questions followed by Presentation
Country: Germany
Deadline: Mid-June

Competition Name: SWITCH
Hosted by: Startup Pirates
City: Lisbon
Deadline: Being held 15th and 16th June

Competition Name: Tech Garage
Application: Elevator Pitch
Country: Italy
Deadline: Beginning of July

Competition Name: CleanTech Open Spain
Criteria: Less than $1M Private Investment, Less than 5 years old
Country: Spain
Prize: Package worth $100K
Deadline: Beginning of July

Competition Name: Webit
Criteria: EMEA Startup
Application: Apply Online
Country: Turkey
Prize: Worldwide Media Coverage
Deadline: Mid-July

Competition Name: PitchSlam
Application: Apply Online
City: Berlin
Prize: Tickets to the Tech Open Air Festival
Deadline: Being held on August 1st,

Competition Name: European Pirate Summit
Criteria: Minimum Prototype
Prize: Free Web Hosting and More
Deadline: August 15th

Competition Name: MIPCube Lab
Country: France
Prize: Networking and Pitching to potential investors

Competition Name: European Venture Forum
Criteria: Must win regional version – Italian, Balkan, Nordic or Turkish.
Prize: €90K
Deadline: Varies by Region – See Below

Competition Name: Balkan Venture Forum
Criteria: Balkan Registered Company
Prize: Entry to European Venture Forum
Deadline: Held at the end of March so apply at least a month before

Competition Name: Nordic Venture Forum
Criteria: ICT, Life-Sciences, or Clean-Tech and Nordic or Baltic Headquarters - Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
Prize: Entry to European Venture Forum
Deadline: 5th October

Competition Name: Turkish Venture Forum
Criteria: High-Tech Turkish Entrepreneurs
Prize: Entry to European Venture Forum
Deadline: Held 18th October so apply at least a month before

Competition Name: Italian Venture Forum
Criteria: Italian Registered Company
Prize: Entry to European Venture Forum
Deadline: Held 13th November so apply at least a month before

      1. Startup Awards
Competition Name: Lovie Awards
Criteria: Web Based, Created by a European Company
Application: Online Form
Prize: Media Coverage and Prestige
Deadline: Mid-July

Competition Name: Startup 2.0
Criteria: Video Gaming, Not older than 2008 and European
Prize: Prestige
Deadline: End of May

Competition Name: ICT Spring Europe
Criteria: Less than 3 years old
Application: Online Form
Prize: ICT Award – European Startup of the Year
Deadline: Not Given – Held in Mid-June

Competition Name: TheEuropas
Criteria: Formed in the Last 2 years, not taken Series B funding.
Awards: 13
Deadline: 7th October

For further EU startup events please visit:

Global:
      1. Business Plan Competitions

Competition Name: Q Prize
Criteria: Less than $2M Funding
Regions: Held in 8 worldwide – Brazil, China, India, Israel, North America, South Korea, Eastern and Western Europe.
Prize: Up to $250K
Deadline: 17th August 2012

Prize: 10M KRW (South Korean Won)
Deadline: Mid-March

Competition Name: Startup Open
Criteria: Started trading from 22nd November 2011 - 21st November 2012
Prize: Conference Tickets, Mentoring
Deadline: September 15th 2012
      1. Social Enterprise
Application: Enter a Business Plan
Prize: 1st £25K 2nd £10K 3rd £5K
Deadline: Join Mailing list for Notifications

      1. Pitching Competitions
Criteria: Financial Tech, Less than 3 years old and no more than $1M Revenue and Investment combined in the last year
Cities: New York, Belfast, Singapore
Prize: $50K Cash
Deadline: NY – Mid Jan, Singapore – End of March, Belfast – Mid May

Criteria: Live for fewer than 3 months, less than 2 years old
Prize: $50K and Digest Cup
Deadline: Mid-July

Competition Name: Microsoft BizSpark Summit
Criteria: Cloud Based
Prize: $20K Seed Funding, $60K Cloud Benefits from Azure, Mentoring
Deadline: Mid-July

Criteria: Implemented AWS in your business – Hold an account
Application: Online followed by Pitch
Prize: $50K Cash + $50K Vouchers for AWS
Links to compilations of US based competitions that already exist?
Did we miss anything? Add your comments below.
Deadline: Not open yet but you can register for updates.

Competition Name: Pitch It! - Asia On the Edge
Criteria: Asian Company
Prize: SGD$10K (Singaporean Dollar)

      1. Startup Awards

Competition Name: Startup Smart Awards 201X
Criteria: Less than 4 years old, more than AUS$250K Revenue
Prize: Advertising worth AUS$10K
Deadline: Register your interest now

Competition Name: TheCrunchies Awards
Application: Nomination
Deadline: End of January (For voting)

Competition Name: Telstra Business Awards
Criteria: Entry is by Nomination
Country: Australia
Deadline: Mid-May

Competition Name: Visa Elevator Pitch
Application: Video Entry
Country: Canada
Prize: CA$10K
Deadline: Mid June

Competition Name: James Dyson Design Award
Criteria: Product Design or Engineering Students within the last 4 years
Countries: All
Prize: £10K for you and £10K for your University
Deadline: Early August

Criteria: Less than 50 Emplyees, Based in BC
Country: Canada
Deadline: End of November

United States:
Competition Name: MIT100K – Consists of 4 contests
Competition Name: Business Plan Competition
Prize: $100K
Deadline: Mid-March
Competition Name: YouPitch
Prize: $5K
Deadline: Late April
Competition Name: Elevator Pitch
Criteria: Received less than $15K funding
Prize: Cash Prizes
Deadline: Mid-October
Competition Name: Accelerate
Criteria: MIT Student, received no more than $100K
Prize: $100K
Deadline: Early December

      1. Business Plan Competitions

Criteria: Entrance by Invitation Only or by winning one of several smaller local competitions
Prize: $135K Package
Deadline: End of March
Competition Name: NY Startup
Prize: From 1st - $15K up to 5th – $1.5K

2. Pitching Competitions:

Criteria: Part of an accelerator/ Left one no later than a year before
Application: YouNoodle Questionnaire, Followed by Video Pitch, and then Comprehensive Interview
Countries: EU, Latin America, US
Prize: Prestige
Deadline: Europe – Beginning of March /Latin America – Beginning of July US – TBA

Competition Name: Funding Post
Prize: As much Investment as you can get
Deadline: Regular Event

Competition Name: Startup World
Criteria: Launched in the last 2 years, no more than $500K External Funding
Application: 10 Online Questions
Prize: Package worth $332K
Deadline: Unspecified

Competition Name: LaunchSilicon Valley
Criteria: Not been launched for more than a few months
Prize: $25K Investment and $75K of Benefits and Services
Deadline: Mid-May

Competition Name: MDCMillion Dollar Challenge
Application: Email Pitch
Prize: $1M for 51%
Deadline: Not Given

Competition Name: Startup201X
Prize: $75K
Deadline: Early May

3.Startup Awards
Criteria: Member of Startup America or EO
Prize: To ring the bell at NYSE opening
Deadine: Mid-April


For a list of competitions in the US please visit either:

or for a list of predominately University based competitions:


Did we miss anything? Please add more competitions in the comments and we’ll update the list.

Thanks,
Nitzan Yudan
Co-founder & CEO
Flat-Club


Posted by at 17:55
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4 comments:

  1. this is great! thanks so much guys!

    ReplyDelete

  2. The link to the BT competition doesn't work :(

    ReplyDelete

  3. Thanks for letting us know! They have removed the link.

    ReplyDelete

  4. Startupbootcamp Investor Demo Day London will take place on the 25 March 2013 at the University College London. Follow the link below for more information about the SBC teams pitching!

    Register Now! http://londondemoday.eventbrite.com/#

    ReplyDelete

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