They absolutely will. The innovation agenda of enterprises usually consists of dozens of items that are all important, but are not prioritised. In many cases, they just do not have the requisite knowledge or struggle to appoint a clear problem owner, as a result of which much-needed innovations are shelved. This is a pity because the solutions are often out there already. The problem is that supply and demand are unaware of each other. SynchUp! facilitates open innovation and offers you a stage to present your innovative/surprising solution.

We are looking for parties (start-ups/SMEs/self-employed professionals/experts) who can create business opportunities with their ideas about and full or partial solutions to the challenges. They have to take an enterprising approach. Together with the challenger, you can determine how to divide the costs and revenue associated with the partnership. We are not primarily looking for research institutes, knowledge institutes and consultants, but this does not mean that they cannot be a sound alternative—should the challenge fail to produce the desired result—or a valuable addition to other applications. We would encourage any such institute to submit a proposal detailing what they can do. 

Yes, you can. However, the challenges are often so distinct that it is unlikely that you will be able to offer serious, concrete solutions to several of them. If you are convinced that you can, by all means: go for it!

A start-up is a company with the creative ability to come up with innovative, practical and/or unusual solutions. We have no age limit for start-ups.

As stated in our Terms of Use, the intellectual property mentioned in the pitch will, in principle, remain with the applicant (= the party submitting the pitch). If the challenger and pitcher decide to partner up during the introduction session and challenge weeks, they will also make further agreements about confidentiality and intellectual property rights, if applicable. This process is supported and facilitated by the SynchUp! coaches and experts.

If your IP is not or not yet protected, the trick is to share enough information about your IP and your solution to trigger the challenger, without sharing any IP-sensitive information. It is important to know that sharing IP-sensitive information may mean that you are no longer able to protect IP.

Participation in the SynchUp! programme is at your own expense and risk. The effort you put into securing an innovation contract will not be reimbursed. Decisions will be made on how to reimburse certain time spent and costs incurred after the challenge weeks in the innovation contract.