Frequently Asked Questions

The key is to think about *how* you present the information, not just *what* you present. Use each medium's strengths to your advantage. The written proposal is for detail, the deck for visuals, and the video for the human touch.

Use blue for hyperlinks to external webpages. For cross-references within the document, use a different color like orange, purple, or grey to distinguish them. This helps the reader quickly understand the link's destination.

Download the watermarked PDF file from the Funding and Tender Portal after submitting. Check if the design elements in the margins are still visible and appear as intended. This ensures your design translates well in the final submission format.

Yes, always include page numbers in your proposal. This makes it easier for evaluators to navigate and reference specific sections of your document. It's a basic but essential element of professional document formatting.

Structure your bookmarks to reflect the document hierarchy. Use the document numbers (e.g., Document 1, Document 2) as the top-level hierarchy so that the structure is retained when the documents are merged into a single PDF. Then, nest the sections and subsections accordingly.

While the written content is the primary focus, the overall impression (consistency, quality, and design) is also important. A well-designed proposal can even improve your score after a resubmission, even without changes to the text itself.

Hyperlinks, cross-references, and bookmarks make your proposal more interactive and easier to navigate. They show attention to detail and help avoid repetition by linking related sections, such as Risk Mitigation Strategies to Market Barriers and Risk Analysis. This improves the reader's experience and can increase your chances of success.

Introduce figures and tables at the end of a sentence in brackets (e.g., Table 1 & Figure 2). This encourages you to explain the concept in the text first, rather than relying solely on the reader looking at the visual aid.

For more information on the different documents required, refer to the article "Writing an EIC Accelerator Application: Microsoft Word vs. Adobe InDesign (SME Instrument Writing)." This resource provides valuable insights into structuring and formatting each document effectively.

Incorporate symbols like checkmarks, crosses, or numbered lists to visually separate list items from the main text. This creates a clearer structure and enhances readability. Use colors strategically to highlight key aspects like competitive differentiators or USPs.

While the official proposal template suggests a minimum of 11 pt font size, you can use 9 pt for footnotes and graphics without any issues. This helps to differentiate them from the main body of text.

Check out part 2 of this blog post series for more in-depth formatting tips. The link to the article will be available once it's published, so keep an eye out for it.

Yes, using colors strategically can be very effective. Use colors like red and green to intuitively highlight certain aspects of your proposal, such as competitive differentiators, market problems, or Unique Selling Points (USPs).

Use indents to improve readability, especially for separating headers and paragraphs. They're also useful for short lists. However, avoid excessive indents if space is limited, especially in lengthy lists spanning multiple pages.

Format headers according to their hierarchy. Header 1 should be the most prominent, while Header 5 should resemble regular text. Use varying font sizes, backgrounds, or underlining to visually distinguish the headers.

Overdoing formatting can be distracting to evaluators. Aim for a balance where formatting enhances readability without overwhelming the text. Prioritize a clean and professional look that allows the content to shine.

The EIC Accelerator guidelines suggest offering a minority ownership stake. This should be at least 10% and can go up to a maximum of 25% of your company.

You need to describe how your company's valuation has progressed (if applicable) and provide future projections. Include the reasoning and data supporting these projections to demonstrate a clear understanding of your company's potential growth.

You need to describe your plans for the company's future, including potential exit strategies like buyouts, IPOs, or liquidations. The EU is looking for a return on investment within 7-10 years, with a maximum timeframe of 15 years.

The maximum grant amount you can request from the EIC Accelerator is €2.5 million. This is separate from the potential equity contribution, which can be up to €15 million.

Funding for product deployment and marketing activities is typically better suited for equity financing. If you request a grant for these activities, it might be deemed ineligible or transferred to the equity financing option.

The equity contribution is primarily aimed at high-risk companies with limited or no revenue and negative EBITDA. Profitable companies seeking scaling support may not be the ideal target for this type of financing.

Your overall narrative should communicate that your company is uniquely positioned to address the identified problem and meet customer needs. Emphasize what makes your approach different and why other solutions fall short. Show that you are the only company who can truly solve the problem.

Market barriers are the obstacles that prevent your product or service from reaching its full potential in the market. These can include competition, regulations, or lack of awareness. Your proposal should outline a clear strategy for overcoming these barriers and achieving market success.

The EIC Accelerator offers significant funding opportunities for startups. You can potentially receive up to €2,500,000 in grant funding, along with the possibility of up to €15,000,000 through equity financing. This makes it a valuable resource for scaling innovative projects.

Instead of focusing on 'doing what competitors do but better' or combining existing features, clearly articulate the unique technology or approach that sets your project apart. Show how this unique element directly solves a major problem and meets customer needs in a way that others can't.

Your unique value proposition is the specific benefit that customers receive from your product or service that they cannot get anywhere else. It's the reason why customers choose you over competitors and should be directly linked to your innovative technology or approach.

Start by clearly introducing a major problem that your project addresses. Then, tie that problem directly to your product or service through its unique value proposition. Finally, explain your strategy for overcoming market barriers and how your innovation specifically meets customer needs.

Understanding and clearly articulating customer needs is crucial. Your proposal must demonstrate a deep understanding of the problem you're solving for your target customers and how your innovation directly addresses those needs in a superior way compared to existing solutions.

While improvements are good, the EIC Accelerator prioritizes truly innovative solutions. If your technology is similar, you need to clearly demonstrate a fundamental difference or a breakthrough that makes it significantly more effective or disruptive than existing alternatives. Quantify the improvement whenever possible.

Previously, the application required an executive summary. Now, the updated template requires specific summaries to be included directly within the proposal introduction. These summaries should concisely highlight key aspects of your project, replacing the standalone executive summary.

The EIC wants to understand why your project specifically requires EU funding and support. Clearly articulate the unique value and impact of EU involvement, highlighting aspects like cross-border collaboration, addressing European challenges, or creating jobs within the EU.

The Phase 2 application template has been updated to require more detailed financial information, clearly defined KPIs, a specific justification for EU support, and summaries within the proposal introduction. Be sure to carefully review the new template before submitting your application.

The updated Phase 2 application template is available on the official EIC website and application portal. Make sure you download the latest version to ensure your application meets all the current requirements and guidelines.

The pitch deck, used for presentations and interviews, must now be uploaded with your EIC Accelerator application. This is a change from previous years. Make sure your pitch deck is finalized and ready before you submit.

Yes, these changes definitely affect your resubmission. You need to carefully review the updated Phase 2 template, prepare a new pitch deck, and address the new requirements like explicitly stating the need for EU support. Don't simply resubmit your old application.

Blended financing refers to a combination of grant funding and equity investment offered by the EIC Accelerator. This allows companies to receive both non-dilutive grant funding and equity to support their growth and scale-up activities, up to a total of €17.5 million.

KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, are measurable values that demonstrate the progress and success of your project. Including well-defined KPIs in your application is crucial as they allow the EIC to track your project's performance and assess its impact.

Because you won't be presenting the read deck verbally, the text needs to be comprehensive and self-explanatory. Include all essential information, such as traction and pilot customer details, in written form to ensure the evaluators understand your project fully.

To maximize the use of your 10 pages, it's recommended to omit the title and ending slides. This is because the evaluators already have access to information about the team and don't need a formal introduction or thank you.

If a product presentation is crucial, condense it into a single slide. Use the pitch video to showcase multiple angles or images of the product in a comprehensive and visual way, rather than taking up valuable space in the read deck.

Currently, the read deck has minimal technical restrictions beyond the page limit. You have creative freedom with font sizes, formatting, margins, and sections. However, this might change in the future to prevent applicants from exploiting the lack of restrictions.

The key is to strike a balance between elegant simplicity and a fully fleshed-out text. Your read deck should be visually appealing and easy to understand, while also providing all the necessary information in a clear and concise manner.

Unlike traditional pitch decks that rely on bullet points, the read deck should use full sentences. This is crucial to explain concepts thoroughly and leave no room for doubt in the reviewer's mind, as you won't be there to verbally elaborate.

Graphics are extremely important in the read deck. They need to be comprehensive enough to convey complex ideas without verbal support. Evaluators can spend time analyzing each slide, so make sure your visuals are both easy to understand and informative.

The read deck must be a PDF file, limited to 10 pages, and the file size must be below 10 MB. Make sure to optimize your images and formatting to meet these requirements.

Create separate spreadsheets for different aspects of your financials. This includes work packages (project budget, subcontracting, resources, hiring) and financial projections (assumptions, market analysis, break-downs, ROI).

Similar to its advantages over Word, InDesign allows for easy copying of vector graphics and images between documents. This can streamline the design process and ensure a consistent visual style.

The financial documents (Document 3) must be uploaded in either XLS(X) or ODS file formats. Using spreadsheet software ensures compatibility with these formats.

Photoshop is optional, but it can significantly improve the look of your images. Use it to remove backgrounds, create device overlays for software screenshots, and generally enhance the visual presentation of your technology.