Deadline: October 8, 2020 00:00 (CEST)| Apply here
Eligibility: The call is dedicated to individuals, teams, startups and companies with innovative projects or ideas.
Location: Rimini, Italy and Online

WMF Startup Competition 2020

It is widely acknowledged that Innovation and entrepreneurship are driving forces of economic growth and social development in today’s modern society.

WMF, for the seventh year in a row, aims to combine innovation and entrepreneurship, promoting one of the most important South European initiatives to support innovative ideas, development and business creation.

Calling startups and businesses with innovative projects or ideas

The call is dedicated to startups and businesses – made up of individuals or teams – with innovative projects or ideas.

Participants will have the opportunity to increase visibility and make their project known within Italy’s biggest innovative projects, presenting it to an audience made up of the major players in the digital sector, investors, and experts who may decide to support the realization and growth of the business idea.

6 startups will enter the final, while other startups will be selected to enter the Startup Room and thus present their idea to the public and to the representatives of major incubators and accelerators.

Competition overview

By October 22, the Festival’s Innovation Team will announce the 6 startup finalists that will have the opportunity to present their pitch to the jury and the public at WMF in Rimini.

Each team will have 3 minutes to present the key elements of their idea. The jury will then have another 2 minutes to ask further questions.

The ‘elevator pitch’ is a brief presentation where you describe your business venture in a nutshell. A solid elevator pitch needs to convey the business idea in a concise manner, so as to attract the audience’s attention quickly.

Voting and announcing the winning startups will follow, at the end.

Selection criteria

Applicants will be selected according to the following criteria:

• Skills of the team, knowledge of the sector, feasibility of the project;
• Development stage of the product/service;
• Degree of innovation and its defensibility;
• Positioning in relation to competitors;
• Consistency with market and customers’ needs and potential outreach;
• Business potential of the idea.