Innovate! Europe’s program helps tech startups go global

Life for a tech startup in Europe is not always easy, especially in these tough economic conditions. One of the key challenges European startups have to face is going global. Luckily there are initiative like SeedCamp and Guidewire Group’s Innovate! Europe that can help. Innovate! has a three-part program designed to identify Europe’s most promising startups and accelerate their drive into the global technology market. During this European talent search startups will receive mentoring and promotion while competing against other aspiring startups. Hundreds of companies will apply. Only one will be named the top startup in all of Europe. Executives from the winning startup will have the opportunity to benefit from knowledgeable mentors, to reach new investors and to form strategic partnerships to help grow their business.

For your startup to qualify you need to be in the information technology, Internet, mobile and digital media sectors and be ready to expand out of your home market.

The first step is to apply online for an invitation to participate in one of Innovate!Europe’s complimentary Going Global Workshops. The most promising companies are invited to local Going Global Workshops, where Guidewire Group’s expert analyst team will give you feedback on your company’s competitive value proposition and market opportunity, and help you hone your pitch and the skills you need to best compete in fast-paced markets like Silicon Valley.

Going Global free workshops are scheduled for February the 4th ‘09 in 
Dublin, Ireland and February 5th in London, UK. Going Global Workshops will also take place in Paris, Berlin and Bern in late-March and early April

The most promising companies who participate in Going Global Workshops will receive free online promotion and exclusive invitations to next phase of the program: Innovate! Europe’s Master Class, taking place in Zaragoza May 4th-6th, where they will prepare to go global. Taught by serial entrepreneurs, financiers and experts from Europe and the United States, the Master Class curriculum will highlight proven strategies and best practices that are integral to becoming a successful global entrepreneur.

The top graduates of Innovate!Europe’s Master Class will have an opportunity to accelerate their business in Silicon Valley as participants of the Innovate!Europe Trade Mission. Innovate!Europe will culminate with the selection of one European startup that shows the greatest potential to shine on the global stage. That company, which will be selected by the Innovate!Europe’s Master Class faculty, will win a free spot at Guidewire STUDIO, an in-residence business accelerator in the heart of Silicon Valley.

For further details on the Innovate! program, visit their website.