Are you considering building a startup from your research? Win $20,000 in funding for your startup and acceptance into the Velocity Garage incubator program.
APPLICATION PROCESS:
The top eight teams that submit a written application will be invited to a 45-minute interview (5 -10 minute presentation, with 35-40 minutes of Q&A and discussion). You will receive an email by January 30, 2019, to let you know whether or not you have been selected for an interview. All interviews will take place at the Velocity Garage in downtown Kitchener during the day on February 6, 2019. After the interview, your team will be notified if they were selected as the $20,000 winner. The winning team, as well as the top two finalists, will have professional showcase videos produced about their research, commercialization path and startup ambition.
ELIGIBILITY:
- Your team must have at least one co-founder who is currently, or has been in the last 12 months, a University of Waterloo graduate student, who owns (or is anticipated to own) at least 20% of the company.
- You are not eligible to apply if your company (if already incorporated) has received more than $100,000 in external investment (convertible debt, equity, etc.), including government grants. Note this does not include personal scholarship funding (e.g. Canada Graduate Scholarship).
IMPORTANT DATES:
Applications open: December 10, 2018
Applications close: January 20, 2019 at 11:59pm
Applicants notified if moving on to interviews: January 30, 2019
Interviews at the Velocity Garage: February 6, 2019
APPLICATION TIPS:
- Given the volume of applications we receive, we can’t spend very long reviewing each application. Therefore, it is strongly advised to be concise and use bullet points (full sentences and paragraphs are not appreciated).
- Answer the question, as it has been asked. We know you’re passionate/excited about your research and its commercial potential and want to tell us all about, but we simply won’t get through it all if you write us essays. For now, we just need our questions answered, directly and concisely.
- Have someone else who doesn’t already know much about what you’re working on (i.e. not a close peer/colleague) review your application before you submit it.
Please contact Carly at carly.cameron@uwaterloo.ca with any questions.