UNLEASH announces €150,000 startup competition prize

UNLEASH World is around the corner and, as we all gear up for the world’s best HR conference in Paris on 12-13 October, we have a very special competition for startups.

For many startups, being part of the exhibition at the Paris Convention Centre, meeting thousands of HR leaders on site and getting insights from more than 200 inspirational speakers and leaders would be enough.

But alongside Acadian Ventures, we are offering a chance to make a splash amongst over 100 of our exhibitors that include Atlas, eightfold, Globalization Partners, SAP SuccessFactors, Workday, Workhuman and more.

UNLEASH World and venture capital firm Acadian Ventures have created a combined prize for startup exhibitors worth €150,000. The prize comprises of €100,000 of investment from Acadian and a €50,000 sponsorship and marketing package from UNLEASH. This sponsorship and marketing package includes a Gold level stand at a future UNLEASH event.

To put that value into context, in ten years of UNLEASH World competition entrants have collectively raised over €10 billion in funding from their exhibits. Safe to say, there’s a captive audience.

How to enter

For those who are interested, and who are we kidding that’s all startups, you need to be an exhibitor (it’s not too late to sign up!). On the back of this, you just need to keep your eyes peeled on your inbox for a competition entry form.

The entry form is pretty simple, just tell us how great your solution is!

The competition categories include HR Tech & Transformation, Talent & Recruitment, Learning and Skills, and Employee Experience, plus a ‘Wildcard’ competitor who is the highest-rated competitor overall after the top four.

In short, there’s plenty of avenues to win and the process is as simple as possible. Once you become a finalist you will compete live on our Influencers Stage on October 12th.

Don’t worry, there’s no game-show gunge waiting for you, instead you will be pitching your product to our experts and thought leaders.

To be considered the competition at the show you must submit your application by midnight PST, September 21. Our finalists will be informed at the beginning of October, so have your pitches ready!

The prize

Past winners and finalists of our event competition include Clustree, Peakon, TandemHR, Textio, and CandidateID.

Discussing the impact this competition can have Thomas Otter, general partner at Acadian Ventures said: “The startup competition showcases innovation at the heart of the future of work startup community. We are excited to deepen our partnership with UNLEASH by joining forces to offer the €150,000 prize.

“We’ve seen former prizewinners go on to become leaders in the space and we are really looking forward to meeting, learning about and funding the next generation of future of work changemakers.”

Our very own CEO, Marc Coleman, added: “The world of startup is coded into the UNLEASH DNA and is an essential part of our global HR community.

“At our core, we’re here to support startups scaling their business by providing them with what they need most – access to industry thought leaders, investors, decision makers, analysts, and potential partners.

“We know from working with nearly 500 startups in the last decade that the visibility and exposure is invaluable. And for the winners of the competition, the rewards are tangible with a huge prize up for grabs this year.”

“For 2022, we’re thrilled to partner with our good friends at Acadian Ventures. Their connections and expertise in supporting and scaling startups is world-class, but the insights and first-hand experience that the founders Jason Corsello and Thomas Otter can bring is worth its weight in gold.”

So what are you waiting for? You can sign up to be an exhibitor (and potential winner) here.