StartSmart SEE Accelerator is a business skill accelerating competition focusing on technology
startups. We expect applications for ventures in fields such as
● Biotechnology & medicine
● Computer & electronics hardware
● Internet & web
● Nanotechnology & materials
● Software
● Telecommunications
● Transportation
● Energy – Renewable Energy
● Artificial Inteligence
● Maritime technologies

The competition judges are carefully selected individuals from Greece and abroad with relevant
experience and expertise, such as venture capitalists, angel investors, lawyers, entrepreneurs,
business executives, academics, and other successful and knowledgeable business leaders.

Three judges will review each application. They will be selected from the available pool so that
their expertise will be relevant to the application’s field of interest. Judges should provide
unbiased feedback on each application to choose the teams that will proceed to the 2nd round.

Judges will be looking at a range of criteria, including the strength of technology usage, proof of
concept (working prototype or service), level of innovation, knowledge of the market, market fit,
team’s background, know-how and abilities and company’s growth potentials in the global
market. Each judge’s score is weighted equally. The viability and likely success of the business
will lead to the final selection.

Launching a successful startup requires a variety of disciplines and skills. Therefore it is strongly
advised to have a sufficiently diversified team with members covering multiple backgrounds.
Having team members or Advisory Board members with business backgrounds (marketing,
economics, sales, etc.) will significantly improve your effort and application.

Each semifinalist (2nd round) will be assigned to 3 business or academic community mentors to
improve the team’s performance before the final round of judging. Through their mentoring,
semifinalists will refine all aspects of their venture, focusing primarily on the areas of their
business that need more attention to excel. Selected mentors have various disciplines, including
finance, legal, business operations, communication, marketing, etc.

The semifinalists will have the opportunity to participate in various online workshops that will
help them develop and refine all aspects of their venture. The workshops will be focusing on
business skills and issues such as legal, finance, tax matters, pitching, human resources,
communication, and marketing. At least one team member must participate in each workshop.

Please read the Rules & Terms of Participation thoroughly before entering the competition.
When you submit your entry to the Accelerator, the judges and mentors who review your
materials do not sign non-disclosure agreements. Therefore, you should assume that any
information submitted to the competition is not protected and plan accordingly. This is the same
situation as when giving an initial pitch to a VC. VCs rarely sign NDA’s for the initial pitch.
Therefore, you need to craft your materials to present what you can without revealing any
information compromising your IP protection strategy. The judges and mentors are experienced
lawyers, entrepreneurs, and VCs who understand the confidential nature of the information
presented to them

All applicants will receive feedback from the judges electronically through the competition
platform. Semifinalists will be notified directly and announced online through the competition
platform and StartSmart SEE website.

Eligible teams may visit our website and social media regularly for all updates about the competition or join our
newsletter list. For any additional inquiries regarding the competition, please contact us at
[email protected] .