5 Startup Competitions to Apply for in April

In Fundraising, Startup Scene by Sébastien FluryLeave a Comment

Time to apply for startup competitions is back! OK, not all use the same application form (check my post on the topic: “Startup competitions, don’t waste entrepreneurs’ time“), unfortunately… but anyway. These competitions are worth the time.

Here are 2 startup acceleration program and 3 pitching competitons you should consider applying for:

  1. Pioneers Challenge, Vienna (deadline: April 3rd): Pioneers Festival will take place on May 28-29th this year (therefore no more colliding with WebSummit!). Be one of the top50 startups selected and compete to win EUR 100k in pre-seed investment. APPLY HERE!
  2. SICTIC Investor Day Lausanne (deadline: April 12th): the 20th SICTIC Investor Day will take place in Lausanne on May 11th, at Debiopharm. 8 selected startups will pitch the audience (90 seconds, 1 slide) and then the audience will vote for the 4 startups that can make a longer pitch (7minutes). APPLY HERE!
  3. Finance 2.0, Zürich (deadline?): the number one FinTech conference is happening on May 5th (see my post on FinTech in Switzerland here). Startups can apply to pitch the whole audience. APPLY HERE!
  4. Disney Accelerator (deadline: April 19th): for the second time (read my post on the topic here), Disney and TechStars will power a 13-weeks acceleration program at Disney HQ, dedicated to 10 media and entertainment startups. With $120k funding. APPLY HERE!
  5. TechStars London (deadline: April 26th): if you are doing a tech startup (at least in software/web/mobile space), you have already heard about TechStars. Or you should! TechStars is the #1 startup worldwide accelerator (sharing the rank 1 with Y  Combinator, of course). Started in Boulder, Colorado, there are now many acceleration programs around the world. London was the first location outside US, started in 2013 (and first program in Berlin will take place this Summer – applicationdeadline passed, however). APPLY HERE!

If you are a startup company in the entertainment space, you can save time by applying to both Disney and Techstars London (same application form). Otherwise, there is a long Eastern weekend to apply to all these programs! And for Swiss startups: apply at least to SICTIC Investor Day Lausanne…

Good luck!