By EloInsights
- The Startups to Watch (STW) Awards, one of the most eagerly awaited in the Brazilian innovation ecosystem, are now open for entries.
- The list is organized by Pequenas Empresas & Grandes Negócios and Época Negócios in partnership with EloGroup and Innovc.
- Entries are open until July 15, while the awards take place in October.
Attention, entrepreneurs from all over Brazil! Applications are now open for 100 Startups to Watch, the traditional list that annually recognizes the achievements of young technology-based companies that are emerging on the national innovation scene. The list is organized by Pequenas Empresas & Grandes Negócios and Época Negócios in partnership with EloGroup and Innovc.
Companies that fit the concept of a startup can take part in the awards:
Companies that constantly re-evaluate and refine their business models, both in terms of target customers and value proposition, channel of operation or resources; that do so in regular learning cycles, and therefore have the flexibility and agility to transform themselves in rapidly changing scenarios. A startup’s “guiding star” is innovation, both in terms of its business model and its technological base, and finally, it needs to be highly scalable. In other words, it needs to be able to generate great impact quickly, a characteristic derived from an appetite to innovate and bring significant change to the market.
If your company fits these characteristics, do not miss out on the opportunity to receive recognition from one of the most important labels in the Brazilian entrepreneurial ecosystem! Applications are open until July 15.
“The 100 STW was created to give visibility to the startups with the greatest potential in the Brazilian ecosystem”, explains Jaime Frenkel, partner at EloGroup. “We do this by using the communications platform of Globo, Brazil’s largest communications group, and EloGroup’s experience and methodology in evaluating and selecting these startups”.
STW selection and evaluation
Last year, more than 2,000 startups registered and were evaluated by a team of experts from EloGroup, which includes up to 40 professionals, in coordination with the STW Committee.
Throughout the process, selection takes place in stages that include:
- Construction of the questionnaire and criteria;
- Active search for startups;
- Multi-criteria evaluation;
- Definition of the list of 200 finalist startups;
- Evaluation by the jury; and
- Awarding and publicizing the selection.
Among the dimensions in which the startups are evaluated are:
- Degree of innovation;
- Market potential;
- Business;
- Team; and
- Maturity of the solution.
The Degree of Innovation criterion, for example, assesses how different the startup’s solution is from what already exists on the market, and how difficult it is to copy. In the Team criterion, the analysis revolves around the amount of relevant experience the team has in the field of business, as well as the diversity found among its members, based on markers such as gender and race.
For this year, one of the organization’s objectives is to continue the path of maturing the list, to obtain an even more diverse sample, including geographically, which truly represents the Brazilian innovation ecosystem in all its complexity and variety.
Last year, a series of actions in this direction ensured an increase, from 29% in 2022 to 44% in 2023, in the number of startups with 50% or more of their partners with some diversity characteristic. There was also a 150% increase in the number of startups from the North among the 200 finalists, 30% from the Northeast and 25% from the Midwest.
“I recommend that participants fill in the form thinking as if they were making a pitch for their business”, says Frenkel. “We are looking for companies capable of having an impact and making a difference in a national and global context. Think that you are making a pitch to show us, and Brazil, why your startup should be on this list”.
Until the end of registration, there will be a series of webinars to delve deeper into aspects that can help entrepreneurs on their STW journey. Stay tuned! And for last year’s list, check out our Insights article.
