Young startup companies wanted – the Coller $100,000 Startup Competition is underway!

In an information session held on March 7th, 2018 at TAU, during a Coller Ignite meetup, Dr. Iris Ginzburg, Head of the Sofaer Global MBA, encouraged the audience to submit applications for the Coller $100,000 Startup Competition. This is the only competition in Israel, where non-funded, early-stage startups, have the chance to win a $100,000 investment to develop their venture. The competition is being held at the Coller School of Management for the second year in a row, after last year’s success.

This year, 10 best startups will be selected during the first week of May and will prepare pitches for the competition finals on June 6th, 2018. However, only five of the startups will be selected to pitch, and the best startup – selected following the pitching session by a panel of judges - will receive a prize of $100,000 investment from Jeremy Coller, at a post-money valuation of $1 million.

A few other important details mentioned by Ginzburg were the eligibility criteria for startups submitted to the competition. Most importantly, at least one of the founders must be a TAU student or a recent graduate from the last 3 years, and hold at least a 10% share of the startup.

The startups should be early stage, with external funding so far not exceeding ILS 250,000 ($72,500). They do not even have to be incorporated – a founders’ agreement would be enough – however, it is strongly recommended to have a working prototype, while a mere suggestion of an idea would not be enough to win the competition.

Want to find out more and submit your application? The competition will remain open for submissions until May 1st, 2018. The complete set of rules and a link to the submission system are available on the Coller School of Management website. (link: https://en-coller.tau.ac.il/the-school/coller-competition2018 )