IT Arena 2021 Opens Call for Startups

July 6, 2021

For 6 years in a row, the Startup Competition at IT Arena has been giving young and ambitious companies a chance to present their ideas, solutions, and products to the world. IT Arena 2021 is now accepting applications from startups for the Startup Competition that will take place on October 7-9. This year, the competition will be hosted in the hybrid format, combating both online and offline events.

IT Arena Startup Competition is the leading event for innovative early-stage startups in Eastern Europe. IT Arena gathers the best and the brightest entrepreneurs, investors, 100+ business angels, and tech fans for online interviews and the pitch battle. If you are a startup owner, don’t hesitate to join the competition and submit your application by September 18, 2021. On September 29, the most promising startups that will compete in the Startup Competition semi-finals will be announced. 

Startup Competition entry requirements

Startups that were founded no more than two years ago and are ready to present a demo version of the product are invited to participate in the Startup Competition. The amount of investments the startup has received earlier must not exceed $200,000. Also, the team should be ready to be interviewed and confirm participation in the semi-finals.

The Startup Competition participants have a chance to win a number of prizes, in particular:

$12,000 – the best startup

$10,000 – the runner-up

$8,000 – 2nd runner-up

The IT Arena Startup Competition is bringing together startup-minded people. Last year, out of 100 startups that applied for the competition, only 39 were selected to the semi-finals, and 10 pitched their ideas at the Startup Finals in front of the online audience and the jury. The total Startup Competition 2020 prize fund amounted to $120,000. 

The Startup Competition 2020 main $10,000 prize winner, Tradomatic, an online matching tool for agribusiness, has grown into a platform trusted by 27,000 users. The runner-up of last year’s Startup Competition IOON, an international high-tech startup that creates solutions to fight bacteria and viruses, launched their product on Product Hunt and on Kickstarter, aiming to raise more funds to develop the product. 

Ivan Dmytrasevych, СEO at Startup Depot, the organizer of IT Arena Startup Competition says: “We have already engaged our long-standing partner, CRDF Global, with whom we have been cooperating since the beginning of the Startup Competition. This year, they will grant $30,000 to the leading startups. This means that startups won’t have to give a share to investors as this is grant money. We continue keeping in touch with our last year’s partners, work on increasing the prize fund, and of course, attracting new partners.”

If you think your idea can be the next game-changer, you’re looking for funding, media coverage and valuable connections, the IT Arena Startup Competition is an opportunity not to be missed. Read about the application requirements and apply.