THE SPOT to boost start-ups in the sports industry

If you are a start-up in the field of sport, physical activity or technology, check out THE SPOT, which will provide you with many opportunities to share and promote your business ideas. After the successful, sold out inaugural edition last year, ThinkSport’s thrilling sport and innovation event will be back on 28 and 29 May 2019 at the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne (Switzerland).

• Join in our start-up battle and pitch in front of an international, knowledgeable and sports-minded audience;
• Meet one-on-one with investors and industry experts who may take your business idea to the next level;
• Present your innovative ideas and products with a booth in the Market Place;
• Meet other start-ups, national and international sport federations, established businesses and academics to share and learn;
• Be one of the first to pick up more details about the new Innovation Hub being currently created in the Lausanne region.

About 80 start-ups are expected to line up at the start-up battle, operated by Venturelab. During two days and in front of investors and experts from the sports industry, they will compete for prestige, financial support and attractive opportunities to work with respected companies. There will be two different categories, one for early stage start-ups which will pitch their innovative ideas as discovery projects and another one for more mature start-ups which will present their ready-to-use products.

With exactly three months to go to THE SPOT, Anna Hellman, Director of ThinkSport, said: “The start-up battle at the first edition of THE SPOT got a lot of adrenaline pumping and was a big hit. This year, we are keen to give even more young entrepreneurs from our region and abroad the chance to present their innovative ideas and solutions. There will be exciting opportunities for advanced as well as for early stage start-ups.”

The jury members will be made up of experts from the academic, business and sports world. Each start-up will be given three minutes to make their pitches, followed by Q&A sessions with the jury. At the end of the final round, the audience will be given the opportunity to vote for its favourite start-up.

Learn more about the winners of last year’s start-up battle and their feedback here.

Start-ups are invited to sign up for a special event package that offers a delegate pass, a booth at the Marketplace / Demo Zone for either the first or the second day, and access to an invitation-only networking side event. Attractive early bird rates are still available until 31 March 2019. Special rates are available to ThinkSport members and for start-ups based in Vaud. Learn more here.

ThinkSport signed agreements with several incubators which will support and join in THE SPOT. A number of start-ups have also already confirmed their participation. 

The final deadline for start-up registration is 28 April 2019. Find out more here.

THE SPOT will be anything but your run-of-the-mill convention. The SwissTech Convention Center will be transformed into an open space with a dynamic atmosphere, where participants will be exposed to a wide range of content and experiences all happening at the same time. In a modern and industrial setting, delegates will be able to draw inspiration from many innovative people, ideas, products and best practices.

THE SPOT will also feature an exciting conference programme. Speakers will share their insights with participants and then engage in thought-provoking conversations with each other and with attendees. Click here to learn more about confirmed speakers. 

This year’s conference topics are:

• Athletes: Expanding the physical and psychological potential of the human athlete;  
• Industry: Driving the creation and development of new materials, products & business models; 
• Society: The social impact of sports innovation and evolving lifestyles;
• Entertainment: The revolution(s) in sports entertainment and fan engagement

Check out www.thespot2019.org and contact us at info@thespot2019.org, +41 26 692 63 77.