Startup Grind Kyiv, with the support of USAID, USF, Western NIS Enterprise Fund and the Ministry of Finance, will organize the first national delegation to the international conference SXSW (South by Southwest) 2022 and invite Ukrainian startups to take part in the competition.
Conditions of the competition
As a result of the competition, 6 winners will travel to SXSW 2022, which will be held in Austin, Texas, from March 11 to 20, 2022, at the expense of USF and partners and will be able to present their product as part of the Ukrainian Corner.
Among the winners’ expenses covered by partners – the cost of the stand, as well as tickets to the conference, accommodation, flights within the framework of an innovative voucher from USF in the amount of $ 10,000.
To participate in the competition, you must submit an application before January 10, 2022. You can do it — here.
Requirements for startups
- The startup must be ready to demonstrate a product or service (mockup / prototype);
- The founder must be fluent in English (or must have an English speaking representative);
- Also meet a number of SXSW 2022 requirements, namely:
- The startup is registered as a Ukrainian legal entity or at least one of the founders of the startup is registered as an individual entrepreneur in Ukraine;
- The startup team is fully or partially located in Ukraine (residents live and / or work in Ukraine);
- The startup uses technologies that are created in Ukraine and continues its R&D development in Ukraine;
- The startup positions itself as Ukrainian in the public field (interviews, articles, public speeches);
- The startup intends to raise investments and, in addition, a clear knowledge and justification of the amount and assessment of the round and the purpose of using the money;
- The startup has paying customers and good customer retention and / or acquisition dynamics;
- The startup has an institutional readiness to attract investments: preliminary investment rounds of famous angels and / or funds;
- The scope of a startup can qualify as a product or service in the creative industries and has growth potential and a large target market.
How the winners will be determined
- Deadline for submission of applications – January 10, 2022;
- All applications are checked for compliance with the terms of the competition;
- Applications that were not rejected as a result of internal compliance will participate in the pitch and present the startup to the jury on January 21, 2022.
- The top 6 startups will be selected by a jury and invited to participate in SXSW 2022.
About SXSW 2022
SXSW (South by Southwest) — an international conference that includes tracks dedicated to advances in technology, innovation, culture and other areas. The event also includes a number of music, film and media festivals and conferences. In total, it is visited by more than 70,000 people and about 10,000 companies..