[Turing-Southampton] Z21 Innovation Fund | Call for Applications for MVP Funding

[Susan Davies]

***APOLOGIES IF YOU RECEIVE THIS MORE THAN ONCE***

Z21 Innovation Fund | Call for Applications for MVP Funding
Access £150,000 of support for startup projects

The Z21 Innovation Fund is a collaboration between the Web Science Institute<https://www.southampton.ac.uk/wsi/index.page> (WSI) at the University of Southampton and the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership<https://solentlep.org.uk/> (LEP).  The mission of the Fund is to accelerate University of Southampton Web startups towards investment and rapid growth and create high-tech jobs in the Solent region.

The Z21 Innovation Fund is seeking applications from potential ventures to create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), achieve product market fit, and gain traction with users.  Applicants can apply for funding up to £6,300 for a 3-month MVP Project.  At the end of this period, MVP Projects will present to the Z21 Grant and Investment Panel and will have the opportunity to apply for Pre-Seed funding up to £31,500.  The award of an MVP grant does not guarantee progression to the Pre-Seed stage: progression is determined by the Grant and Investment Panel, based on the success of the MVP stage.

All successful projects will receive support from Future Worlds<https://futureworlds.com/>, a University of Southampton on-campus startup incubator which has a valuable external network of mentors, investors and experts.  Future Worlds will offer acceleration, helping projects with value proposition, market product fit, and making introductions to mentors.  This support will continue through the Pre-Seed stage with help to script, film and edit a professional pitch video.  Pre-Seed Projects will be invited to a Demo Day to pitch to investors.

To apply for MVP funding, please download and read the Technical Guidance for Applicants<https://cdn.southampton.ac.uk/assets/imported/transforms/content-block/UsefulDownloads_Download/836A0F2E03B84F87BB5CEBDF539F6F32/Z21%20Technical%20Guidance%20April%202018.pdf#_ga=2.223091992.2077258184.1524479074-1926334026.1401986789> and complete the Application Form<https://cdn.southampton.ac.uk/assets/imported/transforms/content-block/UsefulDownloads_Download/BC98E8F729E24C8EA207AA09A9A14E64/Z21%20MVP%20Application%20Form.docx#_ga=2.59212333.146266124.1544790833-1191056308.1540292460> and return to Susan Davies at z21 at soton.ac.uk<mailto:z21 at soton.ac.uk>.

The closing date for applications is 9am on Monday 28 January 2019. There will be further Calls in 2019.

We are only able to accept applications from students or staff studying or working at the University of Southampton.  Note that students who have graduated may apply within one year of graduating.

Successful applicants will be invited to attend an interview with the Z21 Grant and Investment Panel on Friday 8 February 2019. Funded MVP Projects will run from 1 March to 31 May 2019.

If you have any questions about the application, the stages of the Z21 Innovation Fund, the eligibility criteria, and the operating processes, please contact Ben Clark at z21 at soton.ac.uk<mailto:z21 at soton.ac.uk>

For more information about Z21, please visit the WSI website<https://www.southampton.ac.uk/wsi/z21/z21-innovation-fund.page>

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Access £150,000 worth of support to accelerate your digital innovation
Funding: c.£37,000
Matched University in-kind support: c.£37,000 value
Google cloud credits: up to £80,000
Opportunity for further partner benefits worth up to £1m
Future Worlds acceleration activity
−       Mentoring<https://futureworlds.com/section/mentors/> on campus and a network of founders, executives and investors
−       Startup<https://futureworlds.com/section/startups/> video production
−       Profile on the Future Worlds <https://futureworlds.com/> web platform
−       Access to the Future Worlds Accelerator Space<https://futureworlds.com/news-fw-accelerator-space/>

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