From page to stage

The deadline for the first stage, the Idea Stage, is on the 1st of November. During this stage, you have the option to submit your idea on one page in the format of an executive summary. Our working partner: Graduate Entrepreneur, will provide you with feedback from their investor’s perspective.

Graduate Entrepreneur is a €56M early-stage venture capital fund that invests from Pre-seed to Seed stages. Besides Capital, Graduate Entrepreneur offers a large community of successful entrepreneurs, investors and consultants who coach startups in the areas of their expertise.

The 5 best executive summaries receive a price of €500, €400, €300, €200 and €100 euros respectively! Important to note here is that we make sure your idea remains your idea. Everyone will sign a nondisclosure agreement. The next step is to improve certain aspects of your idea and transform your idea into a real business plan according to our guidelines. This will take place during the Developing Stage!

During the Development Stage, you will hand in your business plan, using our guidelines. These guidelines provide clear instructions on how to write a business plan. By handing in your business plan, you will be one step closer to participating in the semi final.

After you submit your business plan, it will be reviewed by our business panel, which consists of experienced entrepreneurs, businesswomen and businessmen. The business panel will evaluate your business plan according to several criteria such as originality, sustainability and degree of innovation, and provide you with personal feedback. The thirty startups with the highest scores will make it to the semi final which will take place during the next stage: the Refining Stage!

During the refining stage, 18 Innovators and 12 Rough Diamonds are selected to participate in the semi final. Before the semi final takes place, the startups are invited to join a workshop during one of our prototype days and our coaching day in order to improve a certain aspect of their startup.

The semi final consists of an Innovation Market held at Schiecentrale in Rotterdam. At the Innovation Market, the 30 best teams will compete against each other in the pitching rounds to secure a ticket for the final on the 15^th of May 2023. The Innovation Market is there to create an opportunity for participants, partners, investors and motivated students to have an interactive and dynamic dialogue about their projects. By pitching for the jury and showing their product at their stand, participants will try to convince all the attendants of their product and their place in the final. At the end of the day, the jury will choose five Innovators and three Rough Diamonds to participate in the final stage, the Grand Final.

During the Final Stage, the Philips Innovation Award will reach its climax. Five Innovators and three Rough Diamonds will battle for a price worth €50.000 and €10.000, respectively. To prepare for this day, we will organize a finalist day and a pitching day.

The coaching day will be held at one of our partners in order to finetune certain business aspects. During the pitching day the startups will get the chance to practice and improve their pitches. The Grand Final will be an inspiring evening full of great pitches, innovation and excitement. It will take place at the Rotterdamse Schouwburg theatre.