One dozen days. That’s how much time you have left to apply for the Startup Battlefield at Disrupt Berlin 2017. If you want to introduce your early-stage company to the world, there’s no better place to do so than from the Startup Battlefield main stage. It’s the premier launching pad for startups, as Battlefield alumni — like Mint, Dropbox, Yammer and TripIt — can attest.
Can competing in Startup Battlefield really launch your business? A quick look at the numbers shows that, as of February 2017, 648 companies that participated in a Battlefield have raised $6.9 billion and generated a total of 95 exits. This is your opportunity to join their ranks.
Here’s how Startup Battlefield works. TechCrunch selects anywhere between 15-30 of the top early-stage startups to vie for a $50,000 check and possession of the Disrupt Cup. And — some say this is the best part of competing in a Battlefield — all participants will benefit from the global media exposure and investor networking opportunities.
Each team gets six minutes to pitch their company and to present a live product demo to the Battlefield judges, who follow up immediately with a rigorous Q&A. In addition to TechCrunch editors, the panel of judges have included in the past names like Eileen Burbidge (Passion Capital), Sonali De Rycker (Accel), Roelof Botha (Sequoia Capital) and Carlos Eduardo Espinal (Seedcamp).
After the first round of pitches, the judges narrow the competing field to approximately 4-6 finalists. Those finalists pitch a second time to a new panel of judges who, along with TechCrunch editors, select the winner and a runner-up.
Startup Battlefield pitches all take place in front of an audience of several thousand people, and they’re live-streamed to a world-wide audience on the TechCrunch homepage. A TechCrunch editor will also write a post about each Battlefield participant during their presentation, and provide participating startups even more exposure to influential media and investors.
If that’s not enough to get you clicking over to the application site, consider this: Applying won’t cost you a thing, and Startup Battlefield contestants also get free tickets to Disrupt Berlin and a free demo booth in Startup Alley.
Startup Battlefield takes place at Disrupt Berlin, December 4-5, 2017 at Arena Berlin, Eichenstraße 412435. Applications are open, and the deadline is September 25 at 5 p.m. PT. You have one dozen days left. Apply here today.