Where to start
The first thing you need to know is that if you’re going to succeed in this competition, your idea needs to be innovative. If you have that, then it's definitely worth your while to participate.
It’s as easy as one, two three:
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Check the requirements
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Register
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Upload your startup plan
Key dates & events
Please save the following important dates in your calendar so that you can make sure you are available to participate in person should you become a finalist and winner.
November, 2022
Competition opens and startup plan submissions are now accepted
March 2, 2023
Deadline to submit your entry midnight CET
April 11, 2023
Top 10 entries per business vertical and NPO Track announced. Finalists are encouraged to choose mentors from our network and begin to work together
April 27, 2023
Pitch content training for Industrials & Engineering vertical finalists with our industry experts
April 28, 2023
Pitch content training for Retail & Consumer Services vertical finalists with our industry experts
May 2, 2023
Pitch content training for ICT vertical finalists with our industry experts
May 3, 2023
Pitch content training for Finance & Insurance vertical finalists with our industry experts
May 4, 2023
Pitch content training for Health & Nutrition vertical finalists with our industry experts
May 5, 2023
Pitch content training for NPO Track finalists with our industry experts
May 10, 2023 – 5 PM to 10 PM
Live pitch to jury for Industrials & Engineering vertical finalists. Top 3 winners are selected and announced the same evening
May 11, 2023 – 5 PM to 10 PM
Live pitch to jury for Retail & Consumer Services vertical finalists. Top 3 winners are selected and announced the same evening
May 12, 2023 – 5 PM to 10 PM
Live pitch to jury for ICT vertical finalists. Top 3 winners are selected and announced the same evening
May 15, 2023 – 5 PM to 10 PM
Live pitch to jury for Finance & Insurance vertical finalists. Top 3 winners are selected and announced the same evening
May 16, 2023 – 5 PM to 10 PM
Live pitch to jury for Health & Nutrition vertical finalists. Top 3 winners are selected and announced the same evening
May 17, 2023 – 5 PM to 10 PM
Live pitch to jury for NPO Track finalists. Top 3 winners are selected and announced the same evening
June 26, 2023
Final live pitches for all vertical winners and Award Ceremony. The ranking of the winners and the 2023 >>venture>> overall winner will be announced the same evening
Entry requirements
Swiss residency
Each participant must have a minimum of one team member who is a Swiss resident. We accept all types of residency permits.
The startup can be active in Switzerland or abroad, but it must be headquartered in Switzerland or the team must intend to do so.
For the Business Track: If your startup is registered in Switzerland, you may only participate if it was registered after January 1, 2021.
For the NPO Track: If your organization has already been established based on the submission to the >>venture>> competition, it cannot be older than five years (not established prior to January 1, 2018).
Please find a link to our General Conditions.
Previous >>venture>> participants
If you are a previous >>venture>> participant, and did not win, you may re-enter the competition.
If you are a previous >>venture>> participant and you won a prize in the 2022 competition, you are not allowed to re-enter the competition with the same startup plan.
If you participated before and want to enter the competition with a different startup plan, you are welcome to participate as many times as you like. You may also submit more than one startup plan per competition.
Startup plan format
Startup plan document
Submit a systematically structured document of 10-20 pages (including appendices) before the competition deadline. Complete all sections with as much detail as is available.
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Use data, figures, diagrams to illustrate a point rather than narrative and long text if possible.
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The best indicator of the solidity of your startup is feedback of your customers/target group - try to get as much as possible through surveys, tests or interviews.
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Show your progress where possible with e.g. signed LOIs, implementation planning, paid pilots, sales, financing secured, key hires etc.
We encourage you to use what you have i.e. PowerPoint presentation, Word document, etc., as long as it contains the relevant information.
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Audience: make your document compelling and convincing for investors. This is not an academic paper.
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Don’t be concerned if your data is not a hundred percent complete, this is an opportunity to learn and develop your startup plan. Our experienced jurors will still be able to evaluate your startup plan even if some parts are incomplete or missing, and you will benefit from their feedback in order to develop your plan further.
Evaluation criteria
Above you can download the models of the components of a startup plan which we encourage you to follow. Some sections have more weight than others for the evaluation of your startup plan in the first jury round. In addition, the suggested content of some sections varies per industry vertical. Please note that even if you do not have all the answers, give each section your best shot. At the >>venture>> Draft Feedback workshop, you will have the opportunity to speak to industry experts about the gaps and continue to build your startup plan.