Cesira says this stage, where competitors are given the opportunity to work with industry experts and solidify their ideas is what sets ClimateLaunchpad apart from other entrepreneurship competitions and programs. “If you know it’s an idea worth taking further, you grab onto the opportunity and run with it”.
Winners from each state are then matched with mentors to help further develop their pitch decks, before they compete again in the National Pitch Finals. All of this is to determine the top-two climate innovation ideas that will represent Australia at the Global Finals. During the global finals, they pitch in front of angel investors, international industry leaders and accelerator programs for a chance to win a spot in the coveted EIT Climate-KIC accelerator program and up to €10,000 in start-up capital.
In addition to the ultimate grand prizes, the competition is an opportunity for participants to get their ideas in front of local accelerator programs and investors who may be interested in helping them take their idea to the next level.
Sunovate emerged the winners of the Australian national finals of ClimateLaunchpad in 2018, and with their first run of panels currently being manufactured, and their seed-funding round progressing well, Cesira and Glen are now very much living the startup lifestyle.
“It really is a ride,” Cesira said about launching her own startup. “You never quite know what the following week is going to hold…You have to roll with the punches surround yourself with people who are supportive, and really believe in what you’re doing.”
They aren’t the only ones who believe in what they are doing: Sunovate have been invited to participate on an International Energy Agency taskforce on photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) technology and were recently named one of the top 100 energy transition start-ups by the World Energy Council.
Frans Nauta is firm on the potential of businesses like Sunovate to tackle climate change: “We know climate change is solvable. We also know there will not be one single cure, we need – and there will be – thousands of big and small cures. That is why it is our mission to fix climate change, one start-up at a time.”
Climate-KIC Australia is now accepting applications for ClimateLaunchpad 2019. For more information and to enter, please visit www.climate-kic.org.au/launchpad