The Ireland-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (ILCC) is organising its fourth Innovation Contest to promote the concepts of innovation, entrepreneurship and pitching (business ideas), with the support of a number of other organisations including Enterprise Ireland. Entrants should be early-stage start-ups where the entrepreneurs have formed their business ideas but not necessarily yet created their company.
Scope
Launched today, with the Pitching Event scheduled for Monday 8 May, the ILCC Innovation Contest is based loosely on the Dragon’s Den concept of pitching ideas to potential investors with market experience. As long as the project would be operated from Luxembourg, is an early-stage start-up (<€50k raised) and has a technological component, there is no restriction as to whether it is product- or service-based, nor whether the participating entrepreneurs are ILCC members or not. The project should fall within one of the following categories:
(1) Connected Objects / IoT (Internet of Things)
(2) Mobility / Smart City
(3) FinTech / RegTech
(4) Healthcare / eHealth Tech
(5) AI / Machine Learning.
How to Participate
Applicants need to demonstrate that they have covered the four basics:
(1) market research;
(2) product prototype;
(3) (financial) business plan; and
(4) have the ability to deliver a pitch.
Once you have ticked the four above boxes, please contact [email protected] with a brief outline of your business idea and the ILCC will be in contact with you. Please ensure that full applications are submitted by Sunday 30 April 2017 for screening, so that entrepreneurs can be selected to pitch their ideas in front of the “Dragons” on 8 May 2017 (venue to be confirmed).
Pitching Event
The selected/screened entrepreneurs will be invited to pitch their ideas in front of a panel of “Dragons”, each for a maximum 5 minutes. During the next 5-10 minutes, the “Dragons” can then ask questions to better understand the business concept.
When all pitches have finished, the “Dragons” will deliberate to choose the best pitch(es) for the awarding of prizes. Judging criteria will be along the lines of the four basics detailed above, with the individual “Dragons” bringing their own market expertise to their critiques and decisions.
Prize-Giving
The pitching event will be followed by a networking reception during which the winning pitches will be awarded prizes from organisations including the ILCC, Bonn Steichen & Partners, ATOZ, Enterprise Ireland, The Huggard Consulting Group, LuxFutureLab and possibly more…
