Startup Competition Rules





1. Timeline and Duration

The Call of the Startup Competition will open soon.

2. Promoter

The company that promotes the initiative is Search On Media Group S.r.l. - Operational Headquarters: Via Ugo Bassi, 7 - 40121 Bologna, VAT 02418200800 - Share Capital 10.000€ Phone: (+39) 051 09 51 294 - Email: info@searchon.it - that organizes the WMF - We Make Future.

3. The Goal of the initiative

The WMF wants to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, enhancing economic growth and social development. The Startup Competition is therefore aimed at promoting innovative digital projects that have social and environmental impact and giving concrete support to innovative startups.

4. How to participate

Send your request by filling out the form with the requested information and documents:

  • Proposer and the team;

  • The company;

  • The project and the Challenges of the Future

  • Documentation.

Startups have to indicate how they are accepting the Challenges of The Future. For each challenge, we are leaving below some examples of trends and technology:

  • Future of Cities & Communities - Smart City, Smart Community, IOT, Mobility, Energy prosumer market, Energy storage, efficiency & management, Renewables & alternative fuels, Platform economy, Big Data & Analytics, Environmental sensors, Digital twins, Smart home & Buildings

  • Future of Health - Digital Health, Well-being, Telemedicine, Healthcare supply, Patient Engagement, Medical devices, Fitness apps, Remote monitoring, Biotech, ageing, Omics

  • Future of work - New ways of working, Digital HR, Change management, Diversity and inclusion, Intranet, Intrapreneurship, Meta* for work, Tools for digital nomads, Design and project/Task management, Voice&Video, Data protection

  • Future of Culture & Travel - Artificial Intelligence for the tourism sector, Mobile Apps, QR Codes, IOT and big Data, Augmented Reality, Smart luggage, Sharing & rentals, Booking & search, Revenue Management, Channel managers

  • Future of Food & Agriculture - Climate-smart agriculture, Smart or vertical farming, Smart Aquaculture, Autonomous Vehicles and drones, Precision farming, Optimization of supply chain, Big Data and analytics, 3D food printing, Ingredient innovation, Cell-based nutrition, Delivery

  • Future of Marketing - Advertising & Promotion, Content&Experience, Social&Relationships, Commerce&sales, Data, Management, Display& Programmatic Advertising, Search&Social Advertising, Content Advertising, Video Advertising, PR, Proximity Marketing, Sales automation, Affiliate marketing, E-commerce Platforms e Carts, iPaaS, Cloud management, Vendor Analysis, Business Intelligence& Data Science

  • Future of Learning & Education - EdTech, AR, VR, AI, Robotics, Learning Management Systems, Learning analytics, Classroom engagement, Online to Offline, Learn from anywhere

  • Future of Media & Entertainment - Subscription on-demand, Connected home, AI, Curated Content, Streaming, Gesture control, VR/AR/XR, Infotainment, 4K, Contextual media, video intelligence, Consumer engagement via new medium

  • Future of Retail & Customer Experience - Sustainable Materials & Production, Digital Marketing, Customer Engagement, Efficiency of Supply Chain, Phygital Stores, SaaS marketplaces, In-store marketing & analytics, Cashierless checkout, Bots & chatbots, Fraud prevention solutions, Last mile delivery, Guest wi-fi

  • Future of Sports & Events - Tech for events, eSports, Digital fitness, Fan engagement, Player engagement, Data for events, Team and coach success, Ticketing, Broadcasting & Streaming)

  • Future of Finance and insurance - Payments, Financial inclusion, Buy Now Pay Later, Blockchain and crypto-currencies, Identity and authentication, Insurtech, Cybersecurity, NFT, Complementary currencies, Crowdfunding, POS, Lending, Online banking, Real Estate & Mortgage

  • Future of planet earth - Climate Change & Decarbonization, Space tech - downstream; Water consumption and sanitation, Waste to resource, Reuse of products, IOT based & AI-powered smart waste management, Bio-based materials, Remanufacturing, Traceability, Bees preservation, Circular economy

Please follow our guidelines for your Pitch.

5 . The Competition

At the end of the selection process, our team will choose 6 startups who will have the opportunity to present their project at WMF2023 through a 3-minute speech.

Following the presentation, the jury will have 2 minutes to ask for further clarification. The jury and the audience will then express their preference through an online voting system, on the basis of the following criteria:

Skills and knowledge of the team, feasibility of the project;

  • Product/service development stage;

  • Degree of innovation and defensibility of the same;

  • Competitive context and positioning;

  • market needs;

  • Business potential of the idea.

6. Prizes

The finalists of the Startup Competition will be evaluated by a technical jury of experts and by the audience. The remaining prizes will be awarded by the same partners according to the following criteria:

  • Clarity of the speech;

  • Knowledge and skills of the team, feasibility of the project;

  • Product/service development stage;

  • Degree of innovation and defensibility of the same;

  • Competitive context and positioning;

  • Market needs;

  • Business potential of the idea

  • Completeness of the documentation presented.

The winners will gain funding through digital marketing consultancy products and services. The prize is not convertible to cash. The value of the prize is made up by services offered by our partners. The promoter declines any responsibility for the prizes awarded by the partners.

7. Privacy

The promoter reserves the right to contact the winners and any third parties present in their list of addresses.

8. Decree 430/01

In accordance with Article 6 of the Presidential Decree 430/01, this initiative cannot be considered a prize contest. The competition was conceived for projects or studies that belong to an industrial context, in which the award consists of the recognition of personal merit and other benefits.

9. Responsibilities

No liability can be accepted by the promoter for the awarding of prizes. Should the contest not be carried out as foreseen, the promoter reserves the right, at its complete discretion, to modify or cancel it, without this resulting in any responsibility for the promoter. To participate in the initiative, it is not necessary to purchase any products sold by the promoter. Participation is free of charge.

10. Applicable rules

The initiative is regulated by the Italian law.

Bologna, 07/08/2022