EIT Jumpstarter has reached its second phase with 220 teams entering the Bootcamps in seven distinct categories. Applicants will learn basic entrepreneurial skills and will evaluate and upgrade their ideas with the help of expert trainers and mentors. By the end of their journey, the most committed teams will be ready to launch their start-up.
is the biggest edition of the programme ever with 220 ideas entering the competition. This long list of competitors represent 37 nationalities living in 30 countries and gives us a sneak peek into the growing European start-up scene.
This is truly their first step into the EIT ecosystem as only 15% of the attendees have ever participated and only 7% received funding from a programme organized by any EIT organization.
Teams, in general, need 1-5 years to fully commercialize their idea, Jumpstarter helps them from the business side: to identify their business model, their customers and understand their industry and plan next steps. They are also encouraged to develop their minimum viable products or prototypes by the end of 2022.
“The majority of the teams have submitted an idea or a proof of concept only. The first meeting with the teams shows that they expect to get advice on their business model, work with experts and network. Some teams even mentioned >>world domination<<… well, they will definitely get advice on how to dominate their niche.” – said Dora Marosvolgyi, Programme Manager. The aim of the training during Bootcamps is to deliver the fundamental skills of developing a business case for an entrepreneurial idea. Teams will also learn how to pitch the business case, which will be a valuable skill when they want to get investor funding.
Program extension allows welcoming new EIT Jumpstarters.
Program extensions in 2021 allowed us to welcome even more innovative Jumpstarters from the Western Balkans and in a brand new thematic category, called the New European Bauhaus.
We have 15 teams joining the Bootcamps from the Western Balkans region. Dora explained also that “expansion to the Western-Balkans aims upskill the talent pool by entrepreneurial education and open the doors for them to join European initiatives. We have been working closely with local incubators during the call for applications phase and met a big group of participants during local pre-Jumpstarter workshops.”
By the end of the evaluation, 29 teams got to the Bootcamp phase in the inaugural year of the New European Bauhaus category. We received a wide variety of ideas that try to imagine and build a future that is sustainable, inclusive and beautiful for our minds and our souls.
During the Bootcamps, teams will develop their pitch deck and identify areas for further development and validation. All Bootcamps run along with the same curriculum, while the teams are mixed from the seven thematic areas.
They are trained and mentored by experts from the EIT Community and Knowledge and Innovation Communities. At the end of the Bootcamps, teams will pitch their business ideas at an online, thematical Pitch Day. The pitch will be recorded and evaluated by the KIC’s evaluation committee. Teams will answer the jury’s questions and based on their pitch and delivery, KICs will select the best performer, most committed 120 teams and invite them to attend the Local Joint Trainings.
Since this is a competition for early-stage start-ups even before a company is established, the management of intellectual property rights is a fundamental question in the case of future business. Only 30% of the applicants stated that they own the IP rights to their idea. Therefore, for the first time this year, participants will have the chance to participate in a training session delivered by EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office), which is uniquely designed to fit our Jumpstarters’ needs.
