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