Deadline: November 30, 2020 00:00 CET| Apply here
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Eligibility: Participants must have an optics or photonics technology or application that they wish to publicly present as the basis for a viable new business.
Location: Online
SPIE Startup Challenge 2021
The SPIE Startup Challenge is more than a simple pitch competition, but an entry point into the community of high tech business development.
Numerous mentors attend the competition training to volunteer their time in support of new business ventures.
Who should apply
In 2021, the challenge is accepting applications for:
- Healthcare
- Deep Tech – involving scientific or engineering innovation (no apps)
The focus is on new businesses and potential startups. Students, post-docs, professors and other first-time business starters are encouraged to apply. The Startup Challenge accepts applications from the worldwide community of entrepreneurs.
Companies must select a track based on their development stage:
- Pre-revenue for the pre-seed stage
- Below $500k in revenue from product sales for seed stage
- Actively raising a Series A or B round with some demonstrated market traction for the Series A/B open pitch
at the time of the written application. In all cases, revenue means revenue generated from products sold, not funding acquired through investors, grants, or other support. Teams (unestablished companies) should join the pre-seed stage.
Why apply?
Training: Applicants to the to the Startup Challenge will be invited to attend the online Entrepreneur program.
This includes a pitch clinic, customer discovery training, and investor relations training. Online courses to prepare teams to pitch will be offered in the months before the Semi-finals event.
Networking lunches and discussions will introduce you to the right people to help solve your business questions.
Representatives from investment firms, IP Law, finance, marketing, federal agencies and capital funding are looking forward to learning about your plan and answering your questions about creating a successful venture.
Interested in applying for the SPIE Startup Challenge 2021? Register your participation by following the registration link and taking the suggested steps.
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