Fifty Founders Battle

Bring your A-game on for up to 350K EUR + prize pool!

TechChill in collaboration with BADideas.fund and DEPO Ventures is on a quest to allocate up to 350 000 EUR syndicate investment opportunity to the best and most empowering startup in the game. Besides that, 10K no-strings-attached for the best pitch is also on the table!

Ready to pitch your startup in front of international investors and stakeholders looking for the next big thing?

About

➞ Your chance for a spotlight

Fifty Founders Battle is TechChill’s annual pitch competition for early-stage startups. Fifty of the most promising startups from across the Baltics, Nordics, Central and Western European regions as well as the rest of the world will be selected among all participants. Each semi-finalist will then have the opportunity to present their business idea on TechChill’s stage in front of over 200 investors and other attendees.

➞ How we pick the lucky 50

All eligible applications will be evaluated by VCs, accelerators, angel investors, and industry experts. In the first phase, the evaluators will focus on the business idea, its scalability, the team behind it, and the overall quality of the application. The platform of choice for multiple years running is our good friend HopoHopo.The fifty companies with the highest average scores will receive a confirmation. So.. channel your inner Jason Bourne and stay alert.

➞ Got Qs?

Still unclear about something? Feel free to reach out to Laila laila@techchill.co

➞ How we pick Top 10

TOP 10 will consist of 5 startups selected by the syndicate partners in advance + 5 startups selected by investor juryat the TOP 50 semi-finals happening on TechChill stage. All startups will be competing for the 10K no-strings-attached prize, while only the 5 startups selected by the syndicate jury will be evaluated for the up to 350K Eur syndicate investment prize.

➞ You should know these dates

March 4 Application deadline

March 25 TOP 50 announced

April 4&45 Pitch training for TOP 50 (online)

April 9 Growh training for TOP 50 (online)

April 10 TOP 5 finalists announced (for the Syndicate prize)

April 17 Pitch Bootcamp in-person

April 18 TOP 50 semi-finals on TechChill stage

April 18 Additional TOP 5 announced (for the 10K no-strings-attached and other prizes)

April 19 THE FINAL TOP 10 pitches & awards

Who can apply

➞ Stage & Previous funding

Your startup has not received more than 700k EUR in exchange for equity. Grants are fine. Most likely, the company is not older than 3 years, but there could be exceptions.

➞ Marketplaces, deeptech, and anything between

The 2024 competition is sector-agnostic. What it means in practice is that the applications are open to everyone regardless of their represented industry. The fifty best startups will then be split into five groups which make the most sense.

➞ No country restrictions, but...

You’re welcome to apply regardless of where you are based. We usually get applications from more than 30 countries.

HOWEVER, you must be able to join the event in-person so you can pitch live.

We don’t accept applications from Russia and Belarus.

Prize pool

➞ Up to 350k EUR syndicate investment

Led by BADideas.fund and DEPO Ventures ! 🎉

Since launching at TechChill '22, BADideas.fund has invested over €2M in 18 startups, and our global member pool keeps growing, spanning 200+ members from 20 countries and counting.

➞ 10K EUR no strings attached from Techchill community - TestDevLab, eazyBI, Mintos, Gravity Team, Lokalise✨

…or maybe more? Win a prize pot of a of 10,000 EUR, no strings attached.

So many things you can do with it:
🍾 team workation
🚀 buy a snowmobile or a 4 wheeler
📚 buy around 1000 books

➞ Fast track to Genesis Startup Academy together with Meta 4.0.

Deep-dive program for founders to boost their tech success journey alongside industry leaders.

➞ Up to €250K Investment Opportunity from Look AI Ventures

Attention AI startups! Look AI Ventures is on the lookout for an AI startup ready to shake up the industry! Pitch your business idea directly in front of their investment board committee with the opportunity to secure up to €250K funding, skipping the standard evaluation process.

➞ Prizes by TestDevLab

€10,000 check for a QA Audit

A sense of confidence for launching, scaling, and going forward. Win a full, 2-week-long QA audit with a test run for an assessment of the current development processes, a test plan for improvements, and an insights report on defects and system weak points.

3x €2000 checks for product health checks

Launch and promote worry-free. Win a product health check and a report on compliance with accessibility guidelines, compatibility on various devices, and a simple-to-read feature bug list.

➞ Startup brand development kit by IDealers

Brand positioning - Brand identity development - Pitch Deck development and design + GrowthHacking program with our methodology of fast brand development and scaling, which we created specifically for startups and their needs. Estimate worth of €5 000!

➞ JCDecaux advertising boost, Reach your audience!

€5 000 worth of outdoor advertising on JCDecaux digital screens in Latvia

➞ Snapchat Excellence Award

€10,000 Advertising Credit on Snapchat.

➞ Draper University Hero Program tuition

One or more finalists will receive a full tuition for Hero Training, an intensive, immersive five-week entrepreneurship program in Silicon Valley, CA. Their amazing alumni from 100+ countries have raised $950M+ in investment, have created 7000+ jobs and most importantly, have built a life-long bond with their fellow DraperU heroes.

The scholarship covers accommodation, activities and events with Draper, 10-15 meals. Extra expenses that are not covered are flight tickets, daily meals and personal expenses.

...and more

This is it for now but by the time the competition arrives, expect the list to be much longer. Some things you can expect:

💰 Exposure on stage in front of 200+ international investors, media and 2K+ attendees;
💰 Media and social media exposure.