NearUS - Business2Business (B2B) Bootcamp

Deadline: Dec 5, 2017  
CALL EXPIRED

A pilot service offered by NearUS, the Horizon 2020 initiative supporting the creation of ENRICH - European Network of Research and Innovation Centres and Hubs – in the USA.

Call opened: October 5, 2017 | Call closes: December 5th, 2017 – 23h59 CET

Purpose of NearUS

NearUS is an initiative funded in the framework of Horizon2020, the most comprehensive EU Research and Innovation funding program to date. The NearUS initiative will increase European and US research and innovation collaborations while strengthening the position of Europe as the world´s leading partner in science, technology and innovation. Its overarching aim is to create a sustainable network of centers with US and EU-based nodes, to enable cross-continent R&I partnerships. During its pilot phase, NearUS proposes a variety of services for researchers and entrepreneurs. The pilot activities will be evaluated to inevitably retain the initiative’s most successful components to ensure a sustainable plan for NearUS in the future.

Services will target various, commercially viable technology maturity levels: Research2Research (R2R), Research2Market (R2M) and Business2Business (B2B) stages. This includes research connection symposia, business matchmaking opportunities, working visits and innovation tours to US organisations to explore technology/product partnerships and/or business development middle / long term opportunities, pitching to potential investors, R2M and B2B boot camps, work space access, hands on business acceleration programmes, media promotion service and more.

The pilot services will be offered separately in specific calls. This call only refers to the Boot Camps taking place in March 2018.

Services offered in this specific call

NearUS, through partner - the International Business Innovation Association (InBIA, www.inbia.org) -  organizes two-week Boot Camps which start in Boston, and provides participants with perspectives on their market in other US regions as well. Those Boot Camps are available for 10 B2B defined individuals. All Boot Camp participants will start and end the program in Boston and engage in unique networking receptions which engage the local Boston innovation ecosystem’s experts, as well as an introductory course in “Conducting Business in the US”. In between, participants will be hosted by a Soft Landing sites in the US that offers programming/services themed to the various industry sectors.

In preparation for the Boot Camps, a two-day pre-departure workshop will be held in Brussels to prepare the participants to make the most of their two weeks in the US

Schedule:

Day 1 – 2: This course covers two intensive days of corporate culture, US-based resources for product development, legal matters, human resources and other basics leading to the successful deployment of setting up a US subsidiary.

Day 3 – 12: By Day 3 of the program, participants will then travel to a Soft Landing site (participant must arrange and cover their own travel) that has been assigned to them based on their US market of interest and that site’s particular resources available to entrepreneurs within the industry market. Each day, regardless of which site participants are assigned to, InBIA staff will host a one to two hour course on relevant business or product development topics.

Day 13 – 14: On the last two days of the Boot Camp, participants will come back to Boston for an intensive networking opportunity to pitch their idea/demonstrate their product to strategic corporate partners and investors from renowned firms throughout New England. In preparation for the Boot Camps, a two-day kick-off workshop will be held in Brussels to prepare the participants.

Target Group of this Call

Small to medium enterprises incorporated in the EU Member States or Associated Countries [1] that are post-revenue are welcome to apply.

NearUS is looking for competitive businesses incorporated in EU Member States or Associated Countries, that are ready for commercialization in the US and:

• Already have an annual revenue of at least €100,000
• The company should have some track record in their own markets, and where it has been tested that the solution/technology is ready and working
• The company must also have at least one sales/business development executive identified.
• The company must have some form of “tangible assets” – have secured at least one piece of intellectual property (either internally generated or licensed from another entity) and/or have an inventory of product.
• The company should have a brick and mortar, established place of business where products/services are developed
• A founder or individual with majority stake in the company is expected to participate in the Boot Camp. (The sales/business development executive who is/will be assigned to the US markets is highly recommended to attend as well.) 

Eligibility Criteria

In order to qualify for the provided services, applicants have to be based in EU Member States or Associated Countries.

Small to medium enterprises must be post-revenue. Participants shall be able to communicate (read and speak) in English.

Funding Principle

This call will fund 10 participants for the B2B Boot Camps and selected participants must attend pre-departure workshops in Brussels. The costs for the venue, materials, guest speakers, meals during Boot Camp, and transportation in the US Associated Hubs cities are covered by grants provided to NearUS selected participants. Participants will however have to cover the costs for flights to and from the United States, travel to and from Brussels, travel from Boston to the US Associated Hubs, and their accommodations, as well as other costs not mentioned above (e.g. ESTA/VISA application costs, health insurance, etc.) by themselves.

Submission Procedure

All applicants must register at the electronic submission tool PT-Outline https://secure.pt-dlr.de/ptoutline/app/nearus_Services. It is highly advised that applicants submit no later than two days before the participant cycles end of each program, NearUS staff will assist with questions or portal issues for applicants. Besides basic information, applicants must mark checklist for actual criteria and must complete each section of the application.

The Online Submission Form is structured in four different pages, each one including various sections that need to be filled in by the applicant.

In PT-Outline the applicant is asked to fill in general information, such as the service for which the application is made, personal information (such as name, institution, organization type, contact details, and specific questions referring to the organization type if it is a SME). SME´s have to confirm that they are aware of EU-Regulation no. 651/2014 by the European Commission as well as other relevant regulations. All applicants have to select that they accept the privacy policy and are made aware that some costs have to be covered individually.

On page four you will find the "Application form" and “Pitch deck”, which have to be uploaded at the final submission stage.

No more than 4 pages can be submitted. Failure to comply to these requirements may result in an application unreviewed.

The “application description” will contain the following information:

1. Company Introduction
2. Market Problem/Opportunity
3. Description of Product and Technology
4. Product and Technology Performance Data
5. Competitive Advantage
6. Intellectual Property
7. Technology Risk Analysis
8. Existing Customers and Other Partnerships
9. Expectations for NearUS Participation

The application template document requires a weblink for a 90 second video to be created and uploaded to YouTube. Please review the Video Guidelines document in PT-Outline for more information on how to create and upload the video to obtain a link for your application.

This video must contain an interview of the founder/majority stakeholder and any other company representative who will be attending the Boot Camp. The video should show the founder clearly facing the camera answering the below questions. The video should NOT have any images, animations, or video footage of any products/technologies/etc. It MUST only be the potential Boot Camp attendee explaining the following in 90 seconds or less:

• Please state your company name, industry you serve, and the name of your product or the type of technology you produce/serve
• Please state your name, title, responsibilities for the company
• Please provide a short pitch as to why your company and/or product is competitive and any successes with that product/technology to date

Additionally, there is a fifth page for checking and submitting the application.

Note that all proposals have to be submitted in English. Each application process beyond the first background questions, asks whether your application meets initial eligibility requirements.

 Evaluation and Selection Procedure

1. Procedure

The fundamental principles governing the evaluation of the applications are:

• Transparency: The process for selecting applicants will be clearly described and made available to any interested party.
• Fairness and Equality of treatment: All applications shall be treated alike, irrespective of where they originate or the identity of the applicants.
• Ethical and Legal considerations: Any application that contravenes ethical principles and legal regulations may be excluded from being evaluated and rejected at any time.

The evaluation process involves three steps:

1. Eligibility Check: Will be done by the NearUS staff following the criteria defined in section 4.
2. Once the eligibility check is conducted, complete, eligible applications will be reviewed by an expert evaluation panel. Depending on how much market representation within various industry sectors of applications, the evaluation panel may be comprised of a committee of at least 2 NearUS representatives, 2 – 3 Institutional Investors (angels and/or VCs), and at least 1 technology corporate expert who seeks out small business solutions for global, Fortune 1000 companies: Energy, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Chemicals and Materials, education technologies and/or financial services. An expert from the US Department of Defense (DOD) might be involved for applications in the defense area
3. Rating of applications and final selection: The application matches to an evaluation rubric the evaluation panel will utilize to scale/rate strong proposals from those that require more information/improvements.

1. Evaluation Criteria

Applicants will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. If they meet the respective B2B eligibility criteria (outlined above)
2. If they meet the respective B2B target group for this call (outlined above)
3. Commercial Potential
4. Technology Progress and Scale up Potential
5. Competitiveness
6. Funding Potential and Execution
7. Commitment and Resources
8. If they can benefit most from the Boot Camps of NearUS

Time Schedule

Call opens
October 5, 2017

Submission of application and call closes
December 5, 2017
(at 23h59 CET)

Selection of the applicants
December 20, 2017

Information for the applicants if they were chosen or not
December 20, 2017

Pre-departure workshop in Brussels
Early February, 2018

Boot Camps in Boston (including travel to a
Soft Landing site that has been assigned to them based
on their US market of interest)
March 4 - 16, 2018

1. Contacts

For questions regarding the Boot Camps, please contact:

Contact Details

Andrea Wesser-Brawner

awesser@inbia.org