Innovate! is a unique program dedicated to fostering relationships between local entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world and the global entrepreneurial ecosystem centered in Silicon Valley through in-person events and the annual Innovate! 100 list of top startups.
Innovate!’s mission is to identify and showcase the most promising early-stage startups across the globe, and to help dramatically accelerate those businesses by connecting them with world-class partners, investors and press.
Innovate! 2010 will kick off this October when Guidewire Group starts accepting applications from promising technology startups around the world. On a rolling basis, Guidewire Group’s analysts – led by Chris Shipley – will review all applications for eligibility and will select the best ones as semifinalists.
Those companies will then be invited to participate in one of the Innovate! 2010 Pitch Slams which will be held in over 20 cities throughout Europe and the United States between November 2009 and April 2010. Like the poetry slams by which they’re inspired, the Pitch Slams will provide entrepreneurs with valuable feedback from their peers and a panel of expert judges.
Using Guidewire Group’s proprietary assessment framework, each Innovate! 2010 startup will be given a G Score that reflects its overall viability, and offers a detailed evaluation of its business and product execution strategies, team and business model. Participants will also be invited to take part in the Innovate! 2010 Silicon Valley tour, a weeklong trade mission featuring intensive mentoring workshops, private introductions and meetings, and exclusive visits to some of Silicon Valley’s leading companies.
The top-ranked companies will be named to Guidewire Group’s Innovate! 100 list of the most promising early-stage technology, media and telecom startups. Selection as one of the Innovate! 100 confers extraordinary endorsement, validation and promotion. Contact us to be informed when applications and nominations open.
You’re also invited to learn more about Guidewire Group’s 2009 Innovate!Europe program, which helped to accelerate the global expansion of Europe’s top startups.
