Frequently Asked Questions

Present milestones in a chronological order, highlighting key achievements and breakthroughs. Quantify the impact of each milestone whenever possible. Use visuals like timelines or charts to illustrate the progress and demonstrate the project's momentum.

While detail is important, use clear and concise language. Avoid jargon when possible, or define it clearly. Focus on the benefits and impact of your technology, rather than just listing features. A well-structured and easy-to-understand proposal is more likely to be well-received.

Be very detailed. List every hardware and software feature, explaining the importance of each. Evaluators need to see the depth of your development efforts and expertise, even within page limits. Don't be superficial; showcase your thorough understanding.

Prioritize the most crucial features and milestones. Use concise language and focus on the impact of each element. Consider using diagrams or tables to present complex information efficiently within the limited space.

Detailed explanations of your technology and its development process showcase your team's expertise. Clearly articulate the challenges you overcame and the innovative solutions you implemented. Emphasize the depth of knowledge and experience within your team.

Briefly acknowledge setbacks or failures, but frame them as learning experiences. Explain how these challenges led to improvements in your technology or development process. Demonstrating resilience and adaptability is important.

Even if the importance of a feature seems obvious, briefly explain its significance. Don't assume the evaluator has the same level of technical understanding. Clearly articulating the value of each feature reinforces your expertise and ensures everyone is on the same page.

I primarily look for two key components: whether the project is ahead of the competition with a unique aspect, and if there's a strong market demand for the product or service being offered. These factors help determine the potential for success.

Consider whether you can educate the market about the benefits of your innovation. If the market is truly not ready, you might need to pivot or adjust your strategy to align with current needs and trends, or wait until the market matures.

Tangible reasons include saving money, improving efficiency, solving a specific problem, enhancing convenience, or providing a better user experience. These are concrete benefits that users can readily understand and appreciate.

Slight advantages can be enough, but you need to clearly articulate and demonstrate the value of that advantage. Focus on how that small difference translates into a significant benefit for the user.

If you can't compete on price or quality, focus on offering a unique feature or solving a problem that current alternatives don't address. A unique value proposition can be just as compelling as cost savings or superior performance.

Market demand refers to a clear and compelling reason for users to purchase your product. There needs to be a tangible benefit, such as lower cost, higher quality, or a unique feature that addresses a specific need or desire in the market.

Conduct thorough market research to validate your assumptions. Talk to potential customers, analyze market trends, and assess the competitive landscape to determine if there's a genuine need for your product or service.

Both are equally important and should be considered in tandem. A unique project without market demand will fail, and a project with market demand but no unique selling point will struggle to stand out. Strive for a balance of both.

Focus on clearly communicating your unique value proposition. Highlight what makes your project different and better, and tailor your marketing efforts to resonate with your target audience's specific needs and desires.

Uniqueness is crucial. Your project needs to offer something that competitors don't. This could be a novel feature, a different approach, or a significant improvement over existing solutions. Identify at least one unique selling point.

Treat this as a learning opportunity. Gather detailed feedback on the issues, identify areas for improvement, and iterate on your design. A failed prototype is valuable data that can guide you towards a more successful final product.

B2B validation involves securing commitments from companies who would use your product in their operations. B2C validation focuses on pre-sales or expressions of interest from individual consumers who would directly purchase and use your product. The approach to validation differs based on your target audience.

Demonstrate market demand by collecting data that proves people want or need your product. This can include pre-sales, commitments from retailers, positive user feedback highlighting benefits, or even strong engagement metrics on a demo website or social media campaign.

While a functional prototype is a great start, it's not enough. You need to prove that your prototype solves a problem or provides a benefit that people are willing to pay for. Quantifiable feedback and demonstrated market demand are essential for moving beyond the prototype stage.

Commitments from retailers or companies serve as strong validation of your product's potential. It shows that experienced professionals in the market believe in your product and are willing to invest in it, signaling a higher chance of success.

Focus on feedback that demonstrates the effectiveness of your solution. Ask users about cost reductions, time savings, or other tangible benefits they've experienced using your app. Express these benefits in percentages or absolute values for clarity.

Being in the prototype stage means you have a working model of your product, whether it's an app or a physical item. It signifies that you've moved beyond just an idea and have something tangible to test and gather feedback on. The key is demonstrating functionality and potential market demand.

Don't be discouraged. Focus on gathering as much user feedback as possible to improve your product. Explore alternative validation methods like crowdfunding or smaller-scale pilot programs to demonstrate demand before seeking larger commitments.

Prove that your product functions as intended. Then, try to get commitments from retailers or companies if you're targeting businesses (B2B). If you're selling directly to consumers (B2C), aim for pre-sales to gauge interest and validate demand.

Quantifiable feedback is crucial. For an app, track active users and gather specific feedback on how your solution benefits them, ideally with measurable results like cost savings. For a physical product, focus on proving functionality and securing commitments from potential buyers.

Work with what they have. Focus on creating a strong script that highlights the key aspects of their project. Consider using stock footage or animations to supplement the limited footage and visually explain complex concepts.

The video script is crucial. With only 3 minutes allowed, a well-written script ensures you cover all relevant project aspects concisely. It allows for easy editing and ensures a cohesive story, even if parts are cut. A strong script is the backbone of a successful pitch video.

Recognize that clients have varying levels of video experience and available footage. Tailor your approach based on their existing resources and capabilities. Consider the technology being presented, as some are easier to visualize than others, and adapt to time and geographic constraints.

Provide clear guidelines on camera choice, settings (framerates, ISO, shutter speed), lighting, and background setup. While extensive coaching might be impractical, offer tips on conveying enthusiasm and personality on camera. Simple improvements in these areas can significantly enhance video quality.

Prioritize a strong script, provide clear guidance to your clients on recording, invest in editing to enhance the video's appeal, and adapt your approach to each client's unique needs. By focusing on these key areas, you can create a compelling pitch video that showcases the project's potential.

While professional-grade quality isn't mandatory, a well-lit and clear video is essential. Ensure the audio is crisp and free of background noise. Good video and audio quality demonstrate professionalism and make it easier for evaluators to understand the pitch.

Encourage them to speak passionately about the problem they're solving and the impact their solution will have. Suggest they use real-world examples and data to support their claims. Remind them that their enthusiasm is contagious and will resonate with the evaluators.

The video should leave the evaluators with the feeling that the project is interesting and the team is capable. It should convey motivation, competence, and a clear understanding of the market opportunity. Aim to create a positive and memorable impression.

Focus on the benefits and applications of the technology rather than the technical details. Use analogies or metaphors to explain complex concepts in a simple and relatable way. Consider using animations or graphics to illustrate the technology's functionality.

Beyond just cutting footage, incorporate stock footage, effects, and titles to make the video more engaging. While professional production isn't required, an entertaining video holds the evaluator's attention better. Focus on creating a clear narrative with a beginning, middle, and end that leaves a positive impression.

If your project is selected for funding, the acronym, tagline, and abstract you provided will be published by the EU. This information will be used to showcase your project and its objectives to the public.

The acronym serves as a short project identifier, while the tagline provides a concise overview of your project. Both are crucial for quickly communicating the essence of your proposal to evaluators. They will also be published by the EU if your project is funded, so make them impactful.

The abstract for your SME Instrument proposal has a character limit of 2000 characters. Make sure to use this space wisely and convey the most important information about your project concisely.

In addition to the acronym, tagline, abstract, and keywords, you'll also need to provide legal and financial data related to your company. Ensure your company registration details are accurate and up-to-date for a smooth application process.

The EU regularly publishes a list of all evaluators for the SME Instrument. You should be able to find this list on the official EU funding portal or related documentation websites.

Keywords help categorize your project and determine the background of the evaluators assigned to review your proposal. Select relevant keywords from the provided list and add manual keywords to accurately describe your project's focus.

No, the acronym doesn't necessarily need to have a direct meaning related to your project. You have the freedom to be creative when choosing it, as long as it's memorable and easy to use as a project identifier.

Your abstract should follow a structured format: Problem, Market Pain Point & Competitors, Your Solution, Your Current State, Your Commercial & Market Impact, and EU Benefits. Every sentence should be packed with information to effectively summarize your project within the 2000-character limit.

Yes, the EU publishes a list of evaluators, and you can exclude specific reviewers if you suspect a conflict of interest. This helps ensure a fair and unbiased evaluation process for your proposal.

You can select up to 3 keywords with respective sub-keywords from a drop-down list. You can also add some manual keywords to further refine the description of your project.

Based on experience, companies that are unable to obtain financing outside of the EIC Accelerator have a lower chance of success in the program. Having external funding demonstrates investor confidence.

High-risk projects may be downgraded from blended financing (grant and equity) to grant-first EIC Accelerator mode. This suggests that the EIC jury prefers projects with a medium risk profile, even if they aim to fund disruptive innovations.

Yes, even well-funded companies can obtain EIC Accelerator grants. This can happen because the EIC jury often prefers already proven and validated commercial strategies, making it a safer bet for them.