New York, with its vibrant entrepreneurial scene, is the place where exciting business opportunities are countless. iMinds, Start it @kbc and Telenet Kickstart join forces to take Belgian tech start-ups on a trip to the Big Apple! Five start-ups of each incubation program have been selected.
Program
Kick-off with official press conference: 4 March, 2016
- Meet the 14 other selected start-ups and the coaches
- Pitch to the entire delegation, BeTech jury and the press
- Define your personal and professional goals
Trip to New York: 11 April until 15 April, 2016 (Program currently under construction – final program may deviate)
Day 1: Flight
Day 2: Exploration
- Meet the local Belgians in NY: what is it like to start up and run a company on US soil / the NYC area
- Meet the customers: pitch your idea to New Yorkers
- Smack my Pitch up: adapt your sales pitch to fit the US/NY market
- Meet the sharks: pitch your idea to US/NY based investors
- Networking
Day 3: Inspiration
- Building your network and telling your story!
- NY Innovation hub
- Bloomberg visit
- PR & Marketing workshop for start-ups (by Susan Lindner)
- Underground start-up & scale-up visits
- Startup Institute visit
Day 4: Feedback
- Improve your plan and go-2-market strategy
- Workshop at NYU, Columbia University
- Captain Sessions: meet inspirational Belgian-Americans to discuss your business model
Day 5: Evaluation and flight back
Show & Tell: back in Belgium, debrief and evaluate with the same group of people as during the kick-off (date TBD)