DETROIT – The early bird deadline to apply for the $1 million Accelerate Michigan business competition is Aug. 4, the last chance to throw your company’s hat in the ring for only $50.
After Aug. 4, the application fee rises to $100. After Aug. 26 to $150. The final deadline for submissions is 11:59pm on Friday, September 1st. Payment can be made through PayPal or Visa, Mastercard and Discover.
Accelerate Michigan highlights the state as a powerhouse for business opportunity and next generation technology. The competition features the best and brightest seed-stage businesses to regional investors.
Eligibility
Technology
- Innovative & past the proof of concept stage
- At a commercial stage
- Must be a scalable product-based business (service businesses are not eligible)
- Must qualify in one of the following sectors:
- Advanced Materials / Manufacturing
- Alternative Energy
- Business Services
- Consumer Products
- Information Technology
- Life Sciences / Healthcare
- Media
- Mobility
- Other
Finance
- Potential to achieve $10M+ in annual revenue by 2021
- Have raised no more than $2M in private investment (including angel & venture rounds / does not include private or public grants)
- Have current annual revenue of no more than $5M
Miscellaneous
- Accelerate Michigan is targeted at innovation-based, technology-led companies
- US companies must provide their EIN
- Winners must be located in the state of Michigan to receive the award
- Companies that have previously won a total value of $25,000 in AMIC awards are not eligible
- Companies that have competed as a Semi-Finalist at least twice are not eligible
Deliverables
First Round: Preliminary Application
Deadline Friday, September 1st
- Two page executive summary
- Slide Deck (10 slides max)
- Documents may consist of:
- Problem
- Solution & Value Proposition
- Market Fit & Market Size
- Customer Acquisition / Product Distribution
- Business Model
- Competitive Landscape
- Financial Projections (2017-2021)
- Team
Second Round: Semi-Final Pitches
Onsite Judging on Thursday, November 16th
36 companies
- Slide Deck (10-15 slides)
- 10min Presentation
- 10min Q&A
Final Round: Final Pitches
Onsite Judging on Thursday, November 16th
10 companies
- November 16, 2017 during the Gala Award Dinner
- 5min Elevator Pitch (6 slides)
The official eligibility and rules can be found at acceleratemichigan.org