Startup Competition

Join the Startup Competition

CROATIA | NEXT EDITION 2023

  • DIGITAL TRAINING sessions
  • STARTUP competition
  • INNOVATION

    key driver

  • INSPIRATIONAL talks

Some partners of the WMF International Roadshow Event

CCIC - THGK
ZICER
aws
barilla
HubSpot
ENEL
Oracle
Unicredit Start Lab
Ferrovie dello Stato
Milano Investment Partners
Infinity
NTT Data
Arduino
Innogest
Pam Innovation Lab
Vueling
Prana Ventures
Zanichelli
RDS
DPixel
Digital Magics
Cariplo Factory
LVenture Group
Luiss Enlabs
Tim WCAP
Nana Bianca
Pelliconi
SIamo Soci
Boost Heroes
Panorama
ARXivar
H-FARM
GDA - Fondazione Social Venture
Code Motion
Bip
Meta
IBAN

The Purpose

We at Search On Media Group - designers of WMF, the biggest Festival in Europe about Digital & Social Innovation - have always been committed to fostering innovation, entrepreneurship and startups growth. To pursue this goal the company plans, sponsors and networks many events and initiatives to promote and support the creation of an innovative ecosystem.

During the past years we have hosted more than 3,300 Startups at WMF, while organizing Startups Competitions, Startup Districts and other types of activities to work towards the creation of a vast startup network. 

Impressively, during WMF's editions more than 200 between partners and investors have delivered and received awards with a total value of over 2 million Euros.

Today we want to take our innovative ecosystem - made up by startups, digital professionals, institutions and partners - abroad, to involve every country and create an international network. From this idea came the plan to set up an International Roadshow.

The Event

The WMF International Roadshow Event in Croatia is part of a long series of international events dedicated to innovation. The realization of each international event is due to a strong collaboration with foreign partners.

The WMF International Roadshow Event in Croatia hosts a Startup Competition, where innovative startups will have the opportunity to pitch in front of many investors and several leading players of the innovative sector.

The Partner

The WMF International Roadshow Event | Croatia is the result of the cooperation between the WMF, the Italian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce (CCIC THGK) a private-law organization whose aim is to promote economic exchanges between Croatia and Italy, and the Italian Trade Agency in Croatia (ICE) that supports the business development of Italian companies abroad and promotes the attraction of foreign investment in Italy.

How it works

The Startup Competition is open to any type of startup or business, both for individuals or teams, who wants to share their innovative projects or ideas.
The application is open to any kind of startups, with no specific requirement for development stage or type of industry.

Participants can attend the event as part of the public, as investors, or as candidates for the competition.

All startups applying as candidates in the WMF International Roadshow Event in Croatia are evaluated by a dedicated jury. Ten startups will be selected to pitch during the event, in front of major investors - they will have few minutes to present their project through an elevator pitch in front of the jury, composed by investors and professionals. At the end of the event, the jury will select three winners.

Read the instructions

The Elevator Pitch

The "elevator pitch" is a brief presentation that describes your business venture in a nutshell. A solid elevator pitch needs to convey the business idea concisely, to quickly attract your audience's attention.

Download support material

Awards

Every startup attending the event is guaranteed 1 free ticket - valid for only one member of the team - for the following WMF in Italy, both online and onsite in Rimini.

Winners of the Startup Competition - Croatia:

3rd and 2nd classified:

- Free access to the following WMF in Italy for the whole team (both online and onsite in Rimini).

- Direct access to the "Startup Stage", a conference room entirely dedicated to startups within the WMF, where Startups will have the opportunity to give an elevator pitch to illustrate their projects in front of several National and International Investors and Startup Incubators, and the opportunity to access to several prizes offered by WMF partners and investors that populate the Room.

- Chance to compete against startups from all over the world in order to be selected among the 6 finalists of the Italian Startup Competition.

1st classified:

- Free access to the following WMF in Italy for the whole team (both online and onsite in Rimini).

- A Booth in the "Startup District" of the following WMF in Italy, both onsite in Rimini and online. The "Startup District" is the innovation expo area of the WMF where startups can show their expertise, be seen from investors and the audience and also collect profiled leads.

- Direct access to the "Startup Stage", a conference room entirely dedicated to startups within the WMF, where Startups will have the opportunity to give an elevator pitch to illustrate their projects in front of National and International Investors and Startup Incubators, and the opportunity to access to several prizes offered by WMF partner and investors that populate the Room.

- Chance to compete against startups from all over the world in order to be selected among the 6 finalists of the Italian Startup Competition.

Final Startup Competition within WMF, in Italy:

In the Final Startup Competition, National and International Startups compete to win the final prize. Only 6 startups will be selected as finalists for the Final Startup Competition. The final 6 will have the possibility to pitch on the WMF Mainstage (with 7 thousand attendees based on 2019 data). The winner of the Final Startup Competition will have access to the final prize. Until today, the prize's value has been of more than 2 million euros.

Selection Criteria

Applicants will be selected according to the following criteria:

  • Skills of the team, knowledge of the sector, feasibility of the project;
  • Development stage of the product/service;
  • Degree of innovation and its defensibility;
  • Positioning in relation to competitors;
  • Consistency with market and customers’ needs and potential outreach;
  • Business potential of the idea.

Compete in the next edition of WMF International Roadshow | Croatia


Would you like to compete with your Startup?

Fill in the form to apply

Some members of the jury


Cosmano Lombardo

Cosmano Lombardo

Vito Esposito

Vito Esposito

Alberto Gusella

Alberto Gusella

Alessio Cioni

Alessio Cioni

Nikola Pavešić

Nikola Pavešić

Damir Brčić

Damir Brčić