Innovation Contest / Innovation Competition – Get to know Startups

Innovation Contest / Innovation Competition – Get to know Startups

Today’s and last article in our series “Get to know Startups” is about the Innovation Contest or Innovation Competition. After we have already reported on the Innovation Challenge, Startup Challenge and Startup Competition in our previous articles, we now present the Innovation Contest, another exciting way to discover and promote innovations. We answer all questions about the process and the advantages of the Innovation Contest, as well as what the difference between Innovation Competition and Startup Competition is.

What is an Innovation Contest/ Innovation Competition?

In today’s innovation culture, the Innovation Contest or Innovation Competition is becoming more and more important. The basic structure of an Innovation Contest is similar to that of a Startup Competition. It is a competition that aims to discover and promote innovation. These competitions can be announced by companies, incubators, accelerators or even research institutions. The conditions of participation can therefore vary greatly, both in terms of duration, industry, location, language and prizes.

What is the difference between Innovation Competition and Startup Competition?

As already mentioned, Innovation Contest and Startup Competition are relatively similar in their basic structure and process. But what is the difference? This is a small, but nevertheless essential criterion, which the applicants must fulfill. For example, in a Startup Competition, only applicants who have not yet reached the age limit of a startup, i.e. are usually younger than ten years, can participate. This, of course, clearly limits the group of potential participants. An Innovation Competition is somewhat broader in scope. Startups, but also individual innovators and larger or older companies can apply here. There is also the further option of announcing an Innovation Contest within a company. This is usually practiced by larger companies and serves to promote their own innovation in-house. In this way, it may also be possible to motivate and spur on the company’s own employees. This form of competition differs somewhat from the Innovation Contest in its classic sense.

What should I pay attention to if I want to run an innovation contest successfully?

In order to carry out an Innovation Contest successfully and to arrive at new solutions in the end, a few things should be taken into account. First, the problem should be defined: Am I looking for a specific solution? Do I want to promote innovation in a specific industry? Am I interested in more than one topic at the same time? How specific the call for proposals is designed should be adapted to the corresponding need. In order to increase one’s own reach and reach as many applicants as possible, it can make sense to work together with established companies and brand ambassadors.

Now, not only do you have to reach the right participants with the call for entries, but you also have to keep them active. The best way to do this is to divide the competition into several levels or rounds. This not only provides an incentive for further improvements, but can also separate the wheat from the chaff. It is also important to create the appropriate approaches through prizes. This includes not only prize money and funding, but also access to resources, networks, infrastructure and valuable contacts.  In the final evaluation of the results, while not losing sight of the actual goal, one should remain objective and open-minded. Because the beauty of the innovation process is that on the way to the “perfect solution” many other ideas and solutions may be developed, which can offer added value in other places.

If we have aroused your interest, you will find exciting startup challenges as well as some innovation contests or innovation competitions in our airtable. If you are organizing an Innovation Competition yourself, please use our form to register it.