Supernova Challenge

To enter the Supernova Pitch competition, you will need to be one of the exhibiting startups attending Expand North Star, October 15 – 18 at Dubai Harbour. The startups that apply for the competition will then be required to pitch their ideas, with the semi finalists being announced closer to the time of the event.

Overall Supernova Champion: $100,000 cash prize to selected overall winner

Winner per Category: $8,000 cash prize to selected winner per category

The team will be in touch regarding your cash prize and next steps 1 week after Fintech Surge 2023

If you are not shortlisted, there are many opportunities to engage with investors and the wider North Star audience. We will be keeping a waitlist in case of any last-minute changes. Please note that we receive hundreds of applications per category and the shortlisting goes through multiple rounds of review to reach only a final 10 for the semi-finals and 2 for the finals. 

The deadline to submit on the Exhibitor Portal is September 15th 2023. Any date changes will be announced.

Here are two good references for you:

https://slidebean.com/blog/pitch-deck-structure

https://www.ycombinator.com/library/20-deck

Your Pitch Video must be ONLY 60 Seconds or it will not be considered. Your Pitch Video must be in English and have a clear shot of your upper body (sitting or standing). Please submit your video by either a YouTube or a Vimeo URL.

Check out Paul Graham’s advice on story telling when pitching:

"Your goal, and your only goal, is to make investors feel it's not safe to cross you off. And there is a verb for convincing someone that something is not safe. It sounds dramatic, but your goal is to frighten them. But what frightens them? The possibility that you might become really big. They know there are maybe a few companies that will become really big….Before you start meeting investors, put together a rough draft of your fundraising vertebrae. These are the 3-4 points that compromise the narrative of why your company will be really big. Together, if investors believed in any of these points, they’d be afraid not to bet on you. As you do, keep in mind that there is an important distinction between what the business is and how you tell the story of what your business is. Your conversations with investors should influence the latter, not the former. No investor knows your business as well as you do.”

The announcements of the shortlisted startups for the semi-finals will be done by September 15th 2023. Any date changes will be announced.

The general judging criteria is broken down to main areas. Please keep these in mind as you design your pitch deck, pitch video, and semi-finals, finals pitches!

• Idea: How innovative is this idea?

• Market Opportunity: Market Size, Competition, Scalability

• Business Model: Revenue Model, Pricing, Target Customers

• Traction: Any revenue, customers, investors?

• Team: Is a skilled team in place for the startup’s success?

No, there will be a new selection process each year. You will have to apply to be considered again. Similarly, if you are shortlisted for the finals after pitching in the semi-finals but you miss the pitch, you will be replaced with the next runner-up.