Swiss startup competition >>venture>> has opened its application for entrepreneurs who are working in one of the five sectors – health care & nutrition, industrials & engineering, retail & consumer services, ICT or finance & insurance.
>>venture>> is the leading competition for up-and-coming entrepreneurs in Switzerland. It was founded by Dr Thomas Knecht in 1997. The competition aims to empower young innovators to develop their business ideas into startup companies. A joint initiative of public research university ETH Zürich, McKinsey & Company, Swiss transportation company Knecht Holding, Swiss Innovation Agency Innosuisse and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), >>venture>> has been led by the >>venture>> foundation since 2013.
This year, the Finance and Insurance vertical is the latest addition to their long-standing competition. The selected startups competition will get the opportunity to win up to 150,000 Swiss Franc in non-dilutive cash prizes, a McKinsey business consulting package and mentorship by industry and entrepreneurial experts.
How it works:
· Startups can submit their applications by March 24, 2021.
· >>venture>>’s team of experts will select ten most compelling startup ideas in each of the five verticals and give applicants personalized feedback as well.
· Selected startups will get their own mentor(s) and a chance to be selected for participation in the Audience Award.
· The top 50 finalists will get a chance to pitch their ideas to an industry specialist jury of renowned investors and entrepreneurs. Jurors will select 15 winners– three teams per vertical.
· These teams will advance to the final round and compete for the grand prize of 100,000 Swiss Franc.
· The first, second and third place winners will receive 50,000, 20,000 and10,000 Swiss Franc respectively. The five first-place winners will further pitch to the entire Advisory Board for a chance to win an additional 100,000 Swiss Franc.
To inaugurate the competition, >>venture>> has organised a networking event called ‘Kick Off’ with mentors, industry experts, and investors within the Swiss fintech ecosystem on February 10, 2021.
Attendees will also get an opportunity to talk to the curated list of speakers speaking about building a successful business.
Speaker line up:
- Dr. Lea Firmin, CEO of >>venture>>
- Ursula Oesterle, Vice President for Innovation of EPFL
- Prof. Dr. Vanessa Wood, Vice President for Knowledge Transfer and Corporate Relations of ETH Zurich
- Dr. Samantha Anderson, Co-founder and CEO, DePoly (winner of >>venture>> 2019)
- Fajer Mushtaq, Co-Founder & CEO at Oxyle AG (winner of >>venture>> 2020)
- Carmen Escaño Serrano, Director and Co-founder at Nuniq (winner of Retail and Consumer Services vertical 2020)
- Silvia Marquez Calvet, Co-founder at Nuniq
- Nanci Govinder, juror, business and leadership executive coach at >>venture>>
Registration link for Kink Off – https://www.eventbrite.ch/e/venture-kickoff-tickets-132219069797
Apply for the competition here – https://venture.awardsplatform.com/
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