Dienstag, 29. Juli 2008

venture lounge - apply & compete for vc attention

venture lounge is a platform for start.ups to pitch vc and get in touch with them directly afterwards.
originated in germany and supported by catcap and neuhaus partners the best start.ups get selected to present. different events have special themes. the upcoming lounge in berlin on the 2nd sept. 08 will be about "web 2.0, iptv, mobile & games". look out for the upcoming events, venture lounge will bei in munich on the 28th oct. 08 and in vienna/bratislava on the 21st nov. 08. apply using the document here. be aware of the 90€/100€ excl. tax price tag.

Samstag, 26. Juli 2008

seedcamp application opened

uk based seedcamp has started another round of their challenges. the online application is open until the 10th of august. apply here.
looking at the progress of the former seedcamp finalist zemata, this can be a worthy investment of time.

Mittwoch, 23. Juli 2008

semantic business ideas - ready to compete?

the 2nd edition of the semantic business idea contest is open for applications!



the competition is hosted by the european semantic technology conference. outstanding ideas in the field of semantic technologies from scientists, entrepreneurs and young start.ups compete against each other.

applicants challenge their ideas with the semantic business community, leading scientists and to potential investors. the winners will walk away with great exposure in the semantic community, the media, venture capital and cash prices and hopefully enjoyed the ride all along.
the start.up financing mindmap, which gives a wide overview about financing opportunities as well as similar competitions got updated accordingly.

Sonntag, 6. Juli 2008

what start.up success & football have in common

building a successful start.up is a tough competition. from the early preparations, the foundation, financing and breaking-even it is a ongoing competition. against all the nay sayers, against one´s own doubts, against all the other strong competitors.given these characteristics, creating a successful start.up is no different then competing in the recent european football championship, like turkey did. the match turkey vs. croatia showed how not giving up until the game is over, leads to outstanding results. turkey was behind in terms of goals and they were considered to be inferior to croatia. still, turkey went until the very end with their spirits high and won the match.
overcoming setbacks by well thought fast and tough offensive play - and not defensive resignation made them win in the end.the did not win the championship though, but speaking in terms of start.ups: not everyone will be the next google - but it´s o.k. to on the upcoming top 50 companies of the ict sector! and who says, turkey (respectively a recently founded start.up) will not win the upcoming world championships. therefore the field manual crossover from successful played football to creating successful start.ups is:„the start.up competition is not over, until the final whistle sounds.“