Xplore US 2017: Your bridge to the US market
This contest is your ticket to Boston to explore the US market. Provided you are an SME or Scale-up with an innovative product or service and have what it takes to become successful in the US. Ten winning companies will take part in a ten-day accelerator programme in the US by MIT spin-off kTeams.
Explore. Learn. Scale-up.
Join us today
How it works
To enter the contest you fill in an application form, in which you answer questions about your company, your ambition, your product and your US market strategy. If you don’t have a clear strategy yet, you can prepare your submission assisted by RVO’s Starters for International Business (SIB) coaches and/or Dutch Basecamp, who can help you fast-track your US ambition into a US market strategy.
RVO will pre-select the 20 best applications to enter the finals. If you are selected, you will pitch your US market strategy for an independent Jury on the 28th of September. The Jury will select the top-10 SMEs with the best pitches and plans, who will be awarded with participation in a ten-day accelerator programme by kTeams - an MIT spin-off for international companies - in Boston (USA). Why Boston? Because it provides a potentially great entry for innovative SMEs, as a top innovation region in the USA in terms of VC investments, anchored in world class universities like Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard.
The award includes accommodation in Boston and travel from the Netherlands to Boston and back (for one person per company).
The program
Once you have been awarded, your US exploration begins:
Step 1: Preparation, October 2017
Xplore US kicks off with a one-day preparation programme in the Netherlands to make your stay in Boston as productive as possible. You will be introduced to each other, to the programme and you will start working with kTeam representatives on tuning yyour strategy.
Step 2: kTeams Accelerator Programme in Boston, from 30 October to 10 November 2017
You will go beyond ‘innovation tourism’ by truly immersing yourself in the Boston startup ecosystem, where you will be a member of CIC, a community of 800 startup companies across the street from MIT. You will participate in interactive expert sessions on doing business in the US: from product strategy, company presentation (pitching US style) to funding opportunities and legal pitfalls to mention a few. All the while you will be mentored individually by several coaches from various disciplines, who will prepare you for effective personal introductions to potential partners, customers and investors.
Step 3: Follow-up after the Boston programme, December 2017
Within one month after completion of the Boston programme, your follow-up steps will be discussed in individual sessions.
Small print
Let us challenge you, join the competition. But before you do, we just want to make sure that:
- you are comfortable speaking English;
- you are an SME registered at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce;
- you have an innovative product or service;
- you are not necessarily a technology company, but do have a technological component;
- your company is already selling products/services on commercial terms, unless your company is a life science company and you can clearly explain the added value of the Boston programme for your business;
- your company has revenues from sales, unless your company is a life science company;
- you have attracted no more than € 10 million in total investment;
- you have a balanced team with scientific, technology and business skills;
- you have the ambition to expand to the US market and this is shown in your business plan.
For more information, please check our FAQ.
Don’t miss out: enter the contest by filling out our application form.
Source: RVO
