Are you a deep tech startup? That’s great! You’re in the right place. Now, why apply to this Challenge? The answer usually lies in those famous three words: funding, connections and visibility.
Not to mention, a chance to take part in the Global Summit, aka the best deep tech event around. Frankly, it’s a good start and definitely reasons enough to apply.
But for some of you, three simple answers may not be enough. We agree. Let’s dig a little deeper, shall we? We bet you haven’t thought of these six reasons you should apply to the Global Challenge.
Reason n°1
It will take you more than 5 minutes to apply… And it’s a good thing.
Seriously, who has time nowadays to sit down and give their project some good, long, hard thought? How often do you get the chance to pause and think about your mission, your ambition, timeframes?When you’re launching your startup, it’s generally a matter of ‘keeping your head in the game’ as much as possible. You think, eat and breathe startup, you sleep… actually there’s a good chance you’re not getting that much sleep at all.
Use this unique chance to reflect on what you’ve accomplished so far and where you want to go in the future. By building a robust application, you’re also strengthening your company.
To get you started, here’s some advice from a jury member and deep tech investor, Hemai Parthasarathy:
“For the application process, focus on your particular solution, not the global problem statement. We all know that cancer is a scourge, we all know that clean air is important. Tell us about your own technology, but don’t fall in love with it.”
To apply, just go here.
Don’t worry; you can save your draft 😉
Reason n°2
There are only around 3,000 attendees during the Summit…And that’s the way we want it.
We’re planning for our Global Summit to take place in-person in Paris, on the 2nd-3rd December 2021. That means the full experience: our fantastic speakers, our gorgeous stages, our VIP events and our startup showcases…Don’t worry, we have a covid-contingency plan. We are optimistic, but not fools! Our priority will be to have a safe event while making sure the Challenge participants’ experience is not impacted by their local Covid situation.
Anyway, back to the attendees. Our goal with the Global Summit has always been to offer our Deep Tech community, worldwide, the best environment to grasp the future and accelerate business. A place where you can convene, discuss, challenge and thrive. We value the connections that matter, rather than a headcount on your Swapcard or LinkedIn account. We’re more on the “Meet the right people” side of the Force than the “Meet as many people as you possibly can” one. You could say that we value quality over quantity. Our venue is not overcrowded, and there is a lot of space to work, network, cowork, etc.
“We met our CEO at the Global Summit. Hello Tomorrow is one of the best things that happened to us!” Founder, Onward, Switzerland.
Reason n°3
You could have a day filled with meetings… But only good ones!
Honestly, don’t we all hate the days of endless back-to-back meetings? But what if those meetings were 1-to-1, with the best and most prominent VCs and CVCs in the world? Now that would be something else altogether, right?
That’s what our Investor Day is all about. If you’re selected as one of our Deep Tech Pioneers, you’ll land a full day before the Summit to build powerful relationships with deep tech focused investors.
“We found one of our main investors at the Global Summit” CEO, Skypull, Switzerland
“I first met Total Ventures 2 years ago at Hello Tomorrow when Deep Branch was only a few months old. We’ve stayed in touch and when the time was right to reach out regarding participation in our Series A, we already knew the strategic value of their investment”. CEO, Deep Branch, UK
Reason n°4
You might get stage fright… But it’ll be worth it.
At the Summit, if you’re among the finalists of the Global Challenge, you’ll pitch in front of a jury obviously, but also in front of 400 people on a fantastic stage. Trust us, here’s a picture of the Pitching Stage at our 2019 edition.
400 people discovering your solution, getting wowed by your ideas and ready to meet you at the end of the pitch to chat and maybe build something together.
Bonus: if you win your industry tracks, you get to pitch again on the Main Stage this time, which means you’ll get some time on the most impressive stage of all (600 people). Check out all of our 2019 finalists after their pitch!
Reason n°5
You might get a bit famous. Ready to take the risk?
For example, our Grand Winner 2019, RxAll, got around 30 digital articles in the month following the Summit, including full profile by Fast Company, Deutsche Welle and Le Monde.
When Lilium won the Grand Prize in 2016, they were, in their own words, “4 students with big dreams and not even a full scale prototype” and the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit was “the first time that [they] got public recognition”. Since then, they built and flew their prototype, raised a few hundred millions euros and recently announced a SPAC merger of €3.3B!
“The Hello Tomorrow Challenge moved us from doing our work tediously in the background to having the reflector to be on us. Ever since we won we get emails pretty much every week.” CEO, Agora Energy Technologies , 2020 Winner.
Reason n°6
Even if you don’t win the Grand Prize, there’s plenty of opportunities to grab!
Sure, being first is always nice! But for each Grand Winner, there are countless success stories from the hundreds of Deep Tech Pioneers we select every year from the pool of Challenge applicants.
Some found their investors during the Investor Day or through virtual introductions all year round, others met strategic partners through our regular calls for applications from our corporate partners or during engineered 1-to-1 meetings.
The Global Challenge is more than a one-time competition, it’s an entry point to an opportunity-filled deep tech community!
“Hello Tomorrow is doing more than just providing a stage for startups and to share ideas that will change the world. We actually had the privilege to experience how Hello Tomorrow can connect businesses, capital and government, and how you genuinely want to help founders make things happen in the market. That’s not easy to find and it was an amazing and beautiful experience.” CEO, X-Zell, Singapore
