The closing date for applications to InterTradeIreland’s 16th All-island Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition is just two weeks away.
Early and new start companies from Limerick are being reminded to enter the competition to be in with a chance of competing for a no-equity total cash prize fund of €280,000. The deadline for submissions is Friday, 1st June, and companies can enter via www.intertradeireland.com/ seedcorn.
There are nine cash prizes on offer and entrepreneurs compete against each other regionally before competing at the national final for the ‘Best Overall’ Titles. As well as the cash prize, participants also benefit from expert mentoring, business plan development, introductions and access to investors, developing pitching skills and additional publicity opportunities.
Now in its 16th year, the competition is open to all independent companies incorporated in Ireland or Northern Ireland in the seed, start-up or early stages of business development and ideally targeting international markets.
The winners of Best ‘Early Stage’ Company and Best ‘New Start’ Company stand to win €50,000 respectively. The overall winner will be chosen from these two and they will win an additional €50,000, giving them a total overall winning of €100,000 – with no equity stake being taken by InterTradeIreland. There are also six regional prizes of €20,000 and a prize of €10,000 for the best venture stemming from a university spinout or a recognised support programme.
Connor Sweeney, Seedcorn Project Manager for InterTradeIreland said: “The Seedcorn competition gives Limerick start-ups a unique opportunity to refine their business plans, benefit from mentoring and potentially benefit from our overall, equity-free prize fund. I am really excited to see the different applications that we receive this year. Since its inception in 2003, companies which have gone through the Seedcorn Competition have raised in excess of €229m. Last year alone, in excess of €10m was raised. This shows the excellent opportunities on offer, especially in relation to building links with business investors.”
Initial applications will be shortlisted by a selection panel, with successful companies being invited to submit their full business plan. If shortlisted, companies then are invited to deliver an investment pitch in front of the judging panel comprising venture capitalists, business angels and some of the island’s leading entrepreneurs and business experts. Prior to attending regional finals, each company will be invited to attend an intensive one day investment pitch masterclass to help polish their presentation skills.
The final date for receipt of application forms is Friday 1st June and companies can register their interest at www.intertradeireland.com/ seedcorn. Regional winners will be announced in mid-November before going on to compete in the all-island grand final in November 2018.
You can follow all the action throughout the 2018 competition by searching for and using #ITIseedcorn and following @ITI_Seedcorn
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