Roll up, roll up HR tech startups. We have just launched the 2023 UNLEASH World Startup Award.

For the past decade, the UNLEASH Startup Award has been at the forefront of the workplace technology revolution showcasing the best and brightest startups and the most innovative, emerging HR technology.

And now, after a very successful competition at UNLEASH America in April in Las Vegas – huge congrats to the winners, HourOne – we are excited to see what new, game-changing tech will be showcased at the Paris Convention Center in mid-October.

We’re proud to announce the prestigious competition for the crème de la crème of HR tech startups is back!

This is the 11^th year that we’re looking to shine a spotlight on the startups changing the game in HR tech. Get in touch with the UNLEASH team (kennedy@unleash.ai and aniko@unleash.ai) if you want to a chance to battle it out at UNLEASH World in front of our judging panel of industry-leading analysts, thought leaders and investors.

The startup that comes out on top – impressing the judges with their business value, innovation, technology, viability, and last but not least, pitch – will win our grand prize: a sponsorship package worth a whopping €50,000.

The UNLEASH World winner will join an exclusive club of prestigious HR startups like Peakon (now part of Workday), OneTeam, Talent Alpha, Clustree, TandemHR, CandidateID.

Talking about the competition, UNLEASH founder and CEO Marc Coleman commented: “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.”

For the first time, the 2023 UNLEASH World Startup Award will run alongside our brand-new Digital Startup Competition. There are a few differences – the UNLEASH World competition is only open to exhibitors, whereas as the digital startup competition is open to both exhibitors and non-exhibitors.

Of course, it’s not too late to sign up an exhibitor for UNLEASH World 2023 – sign up here!

The winner of the digital startup competition will also participate in the UNLEASH World Startup Award finale.

The important details

Entrance requirements for the UNLEASH World Startup Award:

• Must be a paid exhibitor
• No more than Series A funding 
• No more than 5 years old
• No more than 50 employees
• Answer our questionnaire and submit a 2-minute video sharing a product demonstration 
• For companies with more than 50 employees and/or founded more than 5 years ago, please contact the UNLEASH team to discuss your entry. 

Startups must choose to enter under one of these four categories:

• HR Tech & Transformation
• Learning & Skills 
• Employee Experience & Engagement 
• Talent & Recruitment

Timeline:

21 July – Applications opened. So go, go, go; get your pitch deck ready.

4 September – Applications close at midnight PST. Note this date, you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity.

29 September – Expert judging panel and five finalists announced. One finalist will come from each of the four categories, and the fifth is the Digital Startup Competition winner.

17 October –  The Onsite finale at the Paris Convention Center where the five finalists will do a 3-minute pitch, and then face 5 minutes of questions from our expert judges.

Prize:

Entering the UNLEASH World Startup Award gives the best and brightest of the HR tech landscape unrivalled access to the top HR analysts, thought leaders and investors. Past judges include Josh Bersin, Mike Ettling and Sarah White.

But for one lucky winner, they will win a €50,000 sponsorship package for a future UNLEASH event – please note, this figure does not include the price of the stand build and design.

Sound up your street? Then what are you waiting for, apply now! Please email kennedy@unleash.ai and aniko@unleash.ai for the link to apply – this competition is open to exhibitors only. 

We wish you the best of luck, and look forward to seeing you at UNLEASH World, 17 and 18 October in Paris.