Connecting people and business in The Ultimate Startup Contest.
The Contest
THE QUALIFICATION PHASE
A Country Partner will appoint a national panel to vet and assess the contributions from the country in question. The startup contestant left standing will be invited to the Unicorn of Tomorrow grand finale event. In other words, only one contestant from each country, representing the flag and colors of the homeland, will compete for the title.
If you are a startup and aren´t sure whether your country has a Country Partner, you can still apply – see below. If you want to become a Country Partner, read more here.
Each aspiring startup contestant (or the Country Partner, on their behalf) will submit the application on this webpage. The application only needs to include general information, formalia on the company, and a free text presentation explaining the business. The free text portion however should explain how the concept is scalable into a potential unicorn, and also include a distinct clarification on how the innovation/business idea will make our planet a better place for present and/or coming generations. In particular, the presentation must explain how the business idea incorporates one or more of the UN Global Goals.
If your presentation attracts the interest of the panel, you will receive a request for the Unicorn Pitch – a seven minute, seven slides digital presentation! At this stage you will also be promptly notified by your Country partner if there are further qualification criteria to be applied.
In order to be considered for next year´s grand finale, all Unicorn Pitches must be submitted no later than May 1st, 2022.
THE FINAL PHASE
The 2022 Unicorn of Tomorrow Grand Finale is held in Stockholm, on October 1st, 2022.
If you have been chosen to represent your country, you will receive the nomination no later than June 15, 2022. Your Country Partner will give you all the practical instructions, including details like hotel, accommodation, etc.
The Grand Finale will be a live event. The jury panel, consisting of an eclectic mix of 7 international investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders, will have read up on your concept beforehand. But you will need to present the business again, from the stage, as well as be prepared to take questions from the jury and from the audience. The moderator allocates the time and the equal number of questions. At the end of the evening, the Unicorn of Tomorrow winner will be crowned!
The Winner takes it all
The final Unicorn of Tomorrow winner receives a unique Unicorn of Tomorrow New World Award, and the prestige and exclusive bragging rights affiliated with the win. In addition, we are building a prize smorgasbord which will give enormous advantages to the winning contestant:
- a unique agency contract to be invited as a speaker around the Middle East
- a six month PR retainer with an American global PR agency
- free international IP registration & consultancy services (TBA)
- free international legal services (TBA)
- mentorship from industry experts
- press exposure
And last, but not least:
- guaranteed exposure to a multitude of investors, family offices and investment funds around the world, through the matchmaking platform Unicornification. A chance to pitch some of the biggest investors around the world for a potential multi-million dollar equity investment prize. The investors are coming with cheque books!
The Rules
Your business must be scalable on an international level
Your business must incorporate one or more of the UN Global Goals
If selected to a follow-up presentation, you must be prepared to create a 7 minute, 7 slides digital pitch
If your are selected finalist, you must be prepared to go to Stockholm and represent your business as well as your country on Oct 1, 2022
