Call for participants: Entrepreneurship Workshop and Award 2019
We invite all entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs in the robotics field to join the competition for the prestigious Entrepreneurship Award.
The euRobotics Entrepreneurship Award is given out each year at the European Robotics Forum (ERF) to the most promising robotic start up as judged by a jury of robotic entrepreneurship pioneers and experts.
Entrants to the competition stand the chance to gain valuable skills in how to pitch an investment idea together with the potential to gain interest in their company from the robotics and investment community. The 2019 edition of the Entrepreneurship Award will take place on 20-21 March, at the European Robotics Forum 2019, in Bucharest, Romania.
Benefits from participation
Each selected participant will have their flight and accommodation (up to € 500) and ERF attendance fees paid for one person, and will furthermore receive feedback on their pitch and project from the screening committee and an offer of a further 3 * 1 hour of counselling from European level robotic entrepreneurship experts.
Three participants will be selected as Finalists and pitch in the open Entrepreneurship Award workshop along with robotics entrepreneurship role models, and will receive a Finalist diploma, an ERF banquet fee paid for one person and recognition on stage during the ERF banquet.
The Entrepreneurship winner will additionally receive extensive coverage on ERF social media and recognition in ERF public promotion materials and in an press release and an ERF Entrepreneurship Award winner diploma and announcement on stage at the ERF banquet.
A further exceptional feature of this years competition is, that the winner additionally will have the opportunity to take advantage of a RobotUnion Fast Track invitation. That is, the winner of this years ERF Entrepreneurship Award will be invited directly to the upcoming jury day in Robot Union, and stand the chance to gain up to €223,000 in cash plus acceleration services. Read more about RobotUnion here: https://robotunion.eu/
Motivation and objective
The objective of the workshop is to encourage the wider acceptance of entrepreneurship in robotics researchers by providing Entrepreneurial coaching to several teams who themselves have ideas for developing robotics products or services.
Time of workshop
The workshop will take place over three sessions on 20March. The first and second sessions are private screening and coaching sessions, and will take place between 8:30 and 10:30 and again between 14:00 and 15:30. Each participant will be invited for just one of these private sessions. All participants will receive feedback immediately after 15:30 on 20March, and the three selected Finalist will be invited to pitch in the Entrepreneurship Award 2019 workshop on 20 March between 16:15 and 17:45.
The first two sessions will be closed sessions for the entrants only, while the last session will be open to all ERF participants, and will also feature role model presentations by a successful robotic entrepreneur.
Organisers
Troels Oliver Vilms Pedersen, Danish Technological Institute, [email protected]
Jon Agirre Ibarbia, Tecnalia, [email protected]
Approach
Three sessions will be held. The first two are private pitching and discussion sessions at which the 10 best entrants are invited to individually pitch their ideas to a panel of expert robotic entrepreneurship coaches. These sessions will result in three entrepreneurs going forward to the ERF Entrepreneurship Award workshop – the three finalists will do a public pitch in front of a jury of robotics entrepreneurship role models and experts. This jury will then consider the presentations and declare a winner of the Entrepreneurship Award.
The private coaching sessions will involve each selected entrant pitching their existing business in a 10 minute slot followed by questions from the panel.
The number of entrants will be restricted to a maximum of 10. If we receive more applications, the organizers team supported by some of the coaches will select the most promising or innovative ideas based on the application.
In order to address the confidentiality issues the workshop will adopt the following guidelines:
1. The first, second and third sessions will be closed sessions.
2. The fourth session will be open to all registered attendees of the European Robotics Forum.
3. It is suggested that presentations be kept to information you are happy to be in the public domain.
4. If there is any information that you feel is essential to your presentation but you do not want to be fully public then this can be discussed with the coaching committee during the first sessions, but no NDA’s will be signed by the coaches.
Coaching committee, jury and role models
The entrants will be followed by a team of expert coaches, that are also open for follow up counselling after ERF. Robotic entrepreneurship role models and experts will form the jury, and could give specific input and assistance in the further development of your investment pitch and your company.
Participants
How can participants contribute to, and prepare for, the workshop?
The participants are expected to have already developed an idea for a product or service and done some background work in researching the marketplace in which it could be exploited. Entries can be both individuals who have not yet established a company or teams with established companies and proof-of-technology, but without sales and turnover yet. However, only one person will be subsidized to join the event.
Participants will be coached and judged based on these parameters:
Innovation
Scalability
Team/roadmap
Interested participants must submit an application with the following format by 12:00 CET on 25 February 2019 to the following email address: [email protected]
Entrepreneurship Award 2019 – Application Form
1: Contact details (Name, company/affiliation, email, phone number, etc.)
2: Abstract text of your idea (no more than 2500 characters):
Which problem/opportunity in the market, that you are addressing with your idea?
Your solution to that problem/opportunity
What is the market size for your solution?
Which are the existing solutions? (the competence) and how do you compare them to your solution?
At which level of development is your technology? Which are the next steps? What is your roadmap from here? Do you have access to the right competencies or a good plan on how to acquire them?
3: A presentation/your current pitch as attachment in .pptx or similar format
Deadline
Application is to be send by 12:00 CET on 25 February 2019 to the following email address: [email protected]
Important notice
In order to promote the participation of entrants from different European countries, accepted entrants will be entitled to the cost of transportation and accommodation covered for one person until a maximum of 500 euros. The ERF registration fee for one person will be covered by euRobotics aisbl. Each of the three finalists will be entitled to the cost of the ERF banquet for one person.
Sponsorship
This event is sponsored by euRobotics aisbl and Odense Robotics.
RobotUnion has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Grant Agreement no 779967. The content of this website does not represent the opinion of the European Union, and the European Union is not responsible for any use that might be made of such content.