The criteria against which companies are evaluated in 5 rounds include:
1. UNIQUENESS OF THE IDEA To what extent the idea is unique and constitutes intellectual property (IP)
2. TEAM CAPACITY Team experience, successful previous projects, ability to complete the project, human capital.
3. BUSINESS MODEL, SCALABILITY AND MARKET ADOPTION Market adoption, growth potential, how long does it take for the market to understand and adopt the product/service (timing), marketing approach and success stories, business model and business development, revenue growth.
4. FUNDING & FINANCES Availability of financing and capacity to achieve the development of the product/service roadmap, team, marketing, growth and adaptation
5. LEADERSHIP AND PERSONAL QUALITIES OF THE TEAM Leading by example and potential for being a role model for other founder to work for achieving the SDGs.
6. IMPACT FACTOR (SDG Compliance) What impact the success of the company would have on achieving one or more of the 17 SDGs
1. UNIQUENESS OF THE IDEA To what extent the idea is unique and constitutes intellectual property (IP)
2. TEAM CAPACITY Team experience, successful previous projects, ability to complete the project, human capital.
3. BUSINESS MODEL, SCALABILITY AND MARKET ADOPTION Market adoption, growth potential, how long does it take for the market to understand and adopt the product/service (timing), marketing approach and success stories, business model and business development, revenue growth.
4. FUNDING & FINANCES Availability of financing and capacity to achieve the development of the product/service roadmap, team, marketing, growth and adaptation
5. LEADERSHIP AND PERSONAL QUALITIES OF THE TEAM Leading by example and potential for being a role model for other founder to work for achieving the SDGs.
6. IMPACT FACTOR (SDG Compliance) What impact the success of the company would have on achieving one or more of the 17 SDGs
Each of the 6 evaluation criteria provides from 1 to 10 points (10 being the highest). The maximum score a company can have is 60 points. Each round is scored by different sets of investors of the juries but all of them score based on the same evaluation criteria and pre-approved algorithm. This is a guarantee for equal scoring criteria among all verticals and by all 200+ investors.
In case you are among the finalists, Webit and WIN (Webit Investment Network) commit to support your funding round and to invest in it (a matter of final due diligence and approval). The invested amount shall not exceed $1’200’000. Webit and WIN never play a role of a lead investor and the ticket never exceeds 10% of the round.
As per the terms and conditions of the FG, all finalists allocate space for their current round for Webit to invest in. We usually invest up to 10% of the current round size and thus is the annual funding award of up to $6M. If you have closed a round prior to the finals, we can coordinate if you have reopened the round to accommodate our investment. If in your case this is not possible - please let us know else if you reach the finals it will be a breach of FG terms and conditions.
No. We are never a lead investor. As a matter of fact we commit financially in case there is a lead investor already secured. We only participate in the round with up to 10% of the entire amount, We also support you and the lead investor bring relevant investors to the cap table and smarter money.
No. $6M is the entire amount to be distributed among the finalists during the two seasons per year. Also our max ticket cannot be more than 10% of the total invested amount of the round.
You may apply, but the probability of advancing to the second round is very low. Founders Games jury scores 6 factors, one of which is market fit and market adoption, which means that only post-revenue companies can reach the finals. You may still apply and next to re-apply for the next seasons. This will build a long term relationship with us and build your profile with the jury.
Yes. You may apply, but the probability to go through the first round is very low. Founders Games jury scores 6 factors, one of which is stage of the company and history of successful previous investment rounds and allocation of the money in the development roadmap. You may still apply and next to re-apply for the next seasons. This will build a long term relationship with us and build your profile with the jury members.
There are a total of 5 rounds at Founders Games. The first round is run by our algorithm which has been developed and has been continuously improving since 2010. The second round jury panel consists of a minimum of 4 investors. In case some of the jury members' scores are outside of the range of standard deviation for the round, two new sector specific investors are invited to score your company and this will bring the number of investors to 6 in round 2. Round 3 involves at least 5 more sector specific investors scoring your company. This round happens in the metaverse and includes live Q&A and simultaneous feedback from the investors panel. The semi-finals jury is sector agnostic and counts another 5 investors. The Semi-Finals are also taking place in the metaverse and involve live Q&A and direct feedback as well as live scoring. The grand finals’ all-star jury is chaired by Tim Drapes and includes a total of minimum 5 more investors. So a total of at least 20 investors shal screen a specific startup on its way to the finals. While a total of over 200 late stage VC investors in total participate in all juries and along with our proprietary algorithm score over 3000 applications per season.
Two. Summer and Winter. The Summer finals are in June at the Summer Webit Impact Summit - in-person. The Winder season final round takes place in Davos in January, during the WEF week,
Possible. The funding award is pre-conditioned to a final successful due-diligence as well as other factors such as certainty of a lead investor for example. Still being announced as a finalist is a great achievement and will put you in front of hundreds of investors, global media and potential corporate partners.
While the entire Founders Games application process is free of charge, in order to apply you have to accept the FG terms and conditions and to legally bind with the condition that in case you are selected among the finalists of the FG you shall allocate (up to $6M) for Webit’s funding award. Please mind that Webit never participates with more than 10% of the total amount of the round. So in case the round is $60M we might choose to invest up to $6M in it, but usually upon successful final due diligence our investment ticket is between $500’000 and $2M.
At Founders Games we invest resources during the entire process of communication, onboarding hundreds of investors, selection process of scale-ups, coordination of investors’ scoring, live (metaverse) rounds, live (in-person) events, and much more. The final result of this hard work is the selection of the 5 finalists and investing the funding award. In case you do not comply with the FG terms and reject the award funding, you effectively break the rules and your own legally binding agreement with us.
At Founders Games we invest resources during the entire process of communication, onboarding hundreds of investors, selection process of scale-ups, coordination of investors’ scoring, live (metaverse) rounds, live (in-person) events, and much more. The final result of this hard work is the selection of the 5 finalists and investing the funding award. In case you do not comply with the FG terms and reject the award funding, you effectively break the rules and your own legally binding agreement with us.
Starting back in 2007, Webit has been building a global community currently reaching hundreds of thousands of digerati, investors,top corporate leaders, founders, talents and media from over 190 countries.
Many of the world’s most innovative companies, largest enterprises and VCs are among the Webit partners and we have a long history of building trust and valuable partnerships. Webit also boosts tens of thousands of attendees at our major events around the world as well as a carefully curated audience at our invitation only forums. Those are major platforms for promoting your company and reaching out to the most wanted partners, investors and potential clients. This along with the financial investment is the package you get with Webit being on your Cap table.
Many of the world’s most innovative companies, largest enterprises and VCs are among the Webit partners and we have a long history of building trust and valuable partnerships. Webit also boosts tens of thousands of attendees at our major events around the world as well as a carefully curated audience at our invitation only forums. Those are major platforms for promoting your company and reaching out to the most wanted partners, investors and potential clients. This along with the financial investment is the package you get with Webit being on your Cap table.
At the moment you apply, you will receive an email confirming your application has been well received. If you do not receive such please check your SPAM folder and mark FG emails as “not spam”. It usually takes a couple of weeks before you hear back from the FG team in regards to your application. The email (please check your SPAM folder regularly) will inform you if you have been selected to advance towards the next round or else. During this period your application is first screened by our proprietary algorithm in the first round followed by a second round scoring by investors' jury in the 2nd round. If you are selected to advance to round 3 you will receive another email with instructions on how to prepare for the 3rd live (metaverse) round. The further you advance towards the 4th and the 5th (finals) rounds you will receive clear and timely instructions from the Webit/FG teams.
This is the third round of the program. Only four of the top companies from each vertical reach this round and only the one with the highest score becomes eligible to advance to the next round (the semi-finals).
During the metaverse round you will meet in a virtual environment (with all cameras on) 5 or more late stage VC sector specific investors. You will give them an elevator pitch and will have a Q&A session. Further they will provide you with direct feedback and scoring. Only the company with the highest score becomes eligible to advance to the next round. In case there are two companies with equal scores - both become eligible to advance to the next round. Between the third and fourth round you need to provide access to your data room and the jury matches your info and presentations so far with the data provided. Only those with the best matches and highest scores continue to the semifinals.
During the metaverse round you will meet in a virtual environment (with all cameras on) 5 or more late stage VC sector specific investors. You will give them an elevator pitch and will have a Q&A session. Further they will provide you with direct feedback and scoring. Only the company with the highest score becomes eligible to advance to the next round. In case there are two companies with equal scores - both become eligible to advance to the next round. Between the third and fourth round you need to provide access to your data room and the jury matches your info and presentations so far with the data provided. Only those with the best matches and highest scores continue to the semifinals.
This is the fourth round of the program. Only the winners from the third round who passed the eligibility follow on data room due diligence are welcomed to the semifinals. They are from a variety of vertical. Only the top 5 highest scored companies from the semifinals advance to the finals. It can be in-person (the summer season) or it can be virtual (the winter season).
This is the last round of the program and takes place in-person (either at Webit Summer Impact Forum or in Davos, during the World Economic Forum week. All-star jury scores and selects the winner/winners and the funding award cheques are announced. A press release is distributed globally with the names of the finalists and the winners. Usually all finalists of the Founders Games are eligible for the funding award, but a final due diligence and usual investment process must take place successfully in order for the funding award to be invested.