The Boldbrain Startup Challenge 2019 is launched

Cash prizes totalling CHF 120K, over CHF 60’000 of prizes in kind, 600 coaching hours provided, over 20 coaches available, 20 startups selected for the 90-day accelerator program, 4 focused workshops, 1 exclusive investor day, and 5+1 finalists – these are the numbers that describe the 2019 edition of Boldbrain Startup Challenge.

Boldbrain Startup Challenge is the first and only accelerator in Ticino for early-stage startups that selects 20 innovative ideas to grow and develop through an intensive three-month training program (“accelerator”) with coaching sessions and four focused workshops (Value Proposition Design, Finance, Pitching, and IP). At the end of the accelerator phase, the regional jury of Boldbrain selects the ten most promising projects that will take part in the final awarding ceremony, on December 4 in Lugano. The final event, to be held at the USI Lugano campus Aula magna, will see the national jury of Boldbrain declare the five winning projects and award them with cash prizes ranging from CHF 40’000 for the first ranked to CHF 10’000 to the fifth ranked. From this year, a sixth finalist will earn a special prize of CHF 10’000 awarded by public vote from the participating audience.

In addition to the cash prizes, a series of awards “in kind” will be granted by a number of sponsors, starting with the coaching sessions, organised by Fondazione Agire and offered to all 20 competing projects, and the focused workshops, such as the Value Proposition Design module offered by INNO3 SUPSI. As for the finalists, the first ranked will earn a full scholarship for the USI Executive MBA program, worth CHF 45K, two full-days of consulting offered by yourCFO Consulting Group, consulting vouchers worth CHF 1500 offered by CONNECT Switzerland, and a packaged voucher for coaching, counselling and investors’ presentations worth CHF 1500 offered by Andromeda Innovation. Other in kind prizes include a special CHF 2700 granted by Hemargroup for 20 consulting hours in the field of electronics engineering.

The Application deadline starts on May 22, 2019 and on 23 May and 5 June two informational sessions take place at Lido di Lugano and Palacinema Locarno respecitvely. Interested startups can already register for the events.

The Boldbrain Startup Challenge is organised by Fondazione Agire, the competition for innovative entrepreneurial ideas, in collaboration with CP Start-Up of USI Università della Svizzera italiana and supported by the Department of the Economy and Finances of the Canton Ticino and sponsored, from this year, by BancaStato, the cantonal bank of Ticino.