FAST FORWARD
START-UP AWARD

What is the electronica Fast Forward Start-up Award?

Start-ups and Makers with innovative electronic ideas often lack the expertise and backing to successfully market their products to a wide audience. This is where Elektor and electronica step in with the Start-up platform.

It’s Start-ups that seed economic growth and create future jobs. Often they face major challenges when it comes to finding the right partner or securing financial backing to develop their ideas further. Now with the electronica Start-up platform together with Elektor a new forum has been created where innovative ideas come into contact with influential movers and shakers of industry.

Following a preselection process the three entrants judged with the best innovations in the categories of Start-up, Prototype and Idea will pitch their product to a final judging panel at the 2016 electronica trade fair to win the ‘Fast Forward Start-Up Award’. On offer to the three winners is a PR and marketing package with a total value of €150,000 and a free appearance at electronica 2016 and 2018.

What is an Innovation?

• A completely new electronic development or
• Improvements to an existing product which uses a radically different approach to the current state of technology.

In which category should I apply?

• Start-up:
In the Start-up category all existing companies are eligible, providing the company was founded within the last 24 months.  The product or service provided by the Start-up must be considered to be innovative.

• Prototype:
In this category you will already have a working prototype of your technical innovation for marketing but do not have a business plan.
 
What are the most important criteria for the evaluation process?

• The level of technical innovation
• Its feasibility and the potential market
• The efficiency and sustainability of the concept
• The design and preparation of the draft

Who can apply?

All innovators may apply in any or all the three categories for the electronica Fast Forward Award (Start-up, Prototype and Idea). After choosing the appropriate category all participants must register by submitting a short description of their entry to the web page at www.elektor.com/elektronica-startup-award. All proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by the judging panel.

Any selected entrants will be notified and asked to submit a more detailed description to us. This can take the form of a video (2 minutes maximum) or an abstract (500 words maximum). Make sure that the documentation is as comprehensive as possible (schematic, parts list or source code where appropriate. Note that your documentation will not be published, see below). Incomplete or unreadable entries will not be considered. The submission of multiple entries is allowed.

Any interested party from every corner of the world is invited to participate in the electronica Fast Forward Award powered by Elektor.

The application must be made online before the deadline. The decision of the judges is final.

The closing date for applications is 04 October 2016.
 
How will the winners be selected ?

All of the entries will be reviewed and evaluated by a judging panel made up of expert engineers and trade journalists at Elektor International Media.
1. The first stage of the judging process.
From the short application descriptions the panel will select the entrants with the best proposals and invite them to supply a more detailed description.

2. The second stage of the judging process.
From the detailed descriptions the panel will select the best ideas submitted in each category. 
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3. The third stage of the judging process.
The winner in each of the categories will be invited to pitch their ideas against each other at electronica 2016 in a bid to win first prize. Start-up companies selected by the panel can make use of the electronica 2016 start-up platform to showcase their ideas at a maximum cost of €1,000. We will gladly answer any questions you have regarding this opportunity. Please note that if you are selected to make a presentation at electronica 2016 you must undertake to be present in person. Any expenses incurred cannot be reimbursed.
 
How and where will information about the innovations/new products be published?

By submitting the application form, the candidate agrees to the following terms and conditions.
By submitting/uploading the application form, the applicant agrees that the information about the company, the short and long description of the project as well as any photos submitted by Elektor and the Electronica Trade Fair in relation to the applications, documentation and reporting of the Fast Forward Award may be used publicly exclusively by Elektor in print and on the Internet.

The copyright will remain the property of the applicant/creator.

Furthermore, the applicant agrees to inform Elektor for 24 months at first about the progress of the project and any other news about the project so that Elektor can report to its partners/readers.

In the event that any video and/or sound recordings are carried out during the awards ceremony, the candidate in filing this application agrees that such recordings may be used for the purposes of reporting and/or public relations for the Fast Forward Award and for promotional purposes for Elektor and the Electronica Trade Fair without compensation, and these recordings may published and made publicly available on the internet. The innovators selected by the jury in the category Start-up Companies are expected to be present in person at the Electronica Start-up platform along with their product, with the presentation space subject to a fee of €1000 maximum. All selected participants in the category Ideas and Prototypes qualify for complimentary exhibition space. We will gladly answer any questions you have about this. Please note: In the event of a successful nomination for an appearance at Electronica 2016 you must agree to be personally present. Unfortunately expenses cannot be reimbursed.

In addition to their own ticket, selected participants will receive for free 10 further tickets for family and friends.
The decision is final. The applicant agrees to work with Elektor and the electronica trade fair free of any third party rights.
 

1st Prize

• A PR and marketing budget valued at € 75,000: • An exhibition stand at electronica 2018 free of charge.
 
2nd Prize

• A PR and marketing budget valued at € 50,000:  
3rd Prize

• A PR and marketing budget valued at € 25,000: