2 Interesting (Swiss) Startup Awards

In Switzerland, there is a common joke that there are more events and awards than… startups! Of course, it is not true. But there are many, many startup awards and competitions. Most of them (if you win) give you some « free » press coverage (if you consider the time wasted in applying, it is not completely free) and the most interesting ones provide you cash money. As an entrepreneur, I think they are the only ones really worth applying (I’m not speaking about applications to pitch to events, this is different)!
Startup awards are compelling because it sounds as free financing for your startup. You normally don’t have to share equities with the award organizer. Yes, it a great idea to apply. But you also have to consider the chance of winning (as you would do with every kind of deals you’re trying to close). Because it’s time intensive. Especially if you have to (re-)write your Business Plan (which is a necessary step in your entrepreneurial journey, but also a document getting outdated as soon as… you’ve finalized it!).
Experience also shows that (few) winners takes them all (for instance, some years ago, medtech startup Abionic won almost every price awarded during 2 years).

This month, two startup competitions are especially worth considering: The UBS Future of Finance Challenge and the De Vigier Award.