CATALYST60 APPLICATION
Are you a creative, innovator, entrepreneur or founder in the creative fields looking to expand your business? We are looking for creative businesses that work towards better collective futures through scalable and marketable innovation in fashion, architecture, audio-visual media, gaming and cultural heritage – may that be through new sustainable materials, digital production methods, social impact or a blend of multiple methods and spheres.
The Catalyst60 sits right at the center of the Creative Catalyst Austria programme: a 60-day sprint where we provide you with a cohort, tailored mentor sessions with industry experts, as well as assistance while you push your projects into it's next phases.
Since we are all interdisciplinary and might use different vocabularies: If anything is unclear, check out our
glossary – there we provide some more in-depth info about the terms and languages we are using.
The application phase is open until Sunday, August 9th, midnight CEST.
We heavily recommend browsing through the form to get a feeling of the scope and not applying last minute.
Please note: The following form will go into quite some detail about your business. A total of 60 questions are designed to not only help us understand your business plan fully, but also to correctly place you within the creative ecosystem and the European innovation + funding landscape that we want to help you navigate.
As a great side effect, it will assists you in getting an accurate overview of where your business is at and what areas might need some work.
Depending on the materials, texts & numbers you have available about your business already, please anticipate 30-60 minutes to complete it. It might take longer if you still need to phrase or calculate certain points, but it is worth it.
PART A – LET'S START WITH YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS
Some basic facts about yourself so we get to know you, what supports you might need, and how to best get in touch with you.
4. SELECT WHICH ROLE FITS YOUR SITUATION MOST ACCURATELY:
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5. WHAT BEST DESCRIBES YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERIENCE?
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6. HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS PROGRAMME?
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PART B – BUSINESS PROFILE
So let's get into it: Tell us about your business, your innovation, its status quo and what you're building it towards to. Please be transparent and feel confident to address challenges and hurdles you might have or will encounter – it helps us improve our support to you and our long term offers.
7. WHAT'S THE NAME OF YOUR BUSINESS?
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8. WHEN WAS THE BUSINESS FOUNDED?
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9. WAS THE BUSINESS INITIATED THROUGH/FOR ANY PROGRAMM / EVENT / SUPPORT BY THE EIT CULTURE & CREATIVITY OR CREATIVE CATALYST AUSTRIA?
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10. WHAT IS ITS LEGAL FORM?
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11. DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS MODEL:
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12. DESCRIBE THE NEXT STEPS & STAGE(S) OF YOUR BUSINESS (INCL. A ROUGH TIMELINE):
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13. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES YOU ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING / WHICH ONES DO YOU WANT TO TACKLE IN THE CATALYST 60?
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14. WHAT'S THE POSITION OF YOUR BUSINESS IN THE VALUE CHAIN?
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15. IN WHICH OF OUR FOCUS SECTORS IS YOUR BUSINESS ACTIVE?
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15. IN WHICH OF OUR FOCUS SECTORS IS YOUR BUSINESS ACTIVE?
16. WHICH TRANSITION(S) TOWARDS BETTER FUTURES IS YOUR BUSINESS CONTRIBUTING TO?
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16. WHICH TRANSITION(S) TOWARDS BETTER FUTURES IS YOUR BUSINESS CONTRIBUTING TO?
17. IS YOUR BUSINESS ALREADY PRESENT IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS?
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PART C – INNOVATION & IMPACT PROFILE
This section exists to help us better understand the innovation that sits at the heart of your business. The stadium of your innovation project is independent from how long your business is running, it only looks at how close to market your specific product / service / inventions is and what potential next steps towards international marketability are.
18. DESCRIBE YOUR INNOVATION IN 2-3 SENTENCES
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19. AT WHICH DEVELOPMENT STAGE IS YOUR INNOVATION / PRODUCT AT THIS MOMENT?
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20. WHAT FEEDBACK ABOUT YOUR INNOVATION DID YOU RECEIVE FROM PARTNERS OR USERS SO FAR?
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21. DO YOU HOLD ANY EXISTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN RELATION TO YOUR INNOVATION?
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21. DO YOU HOLD ANY EXISTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN RELATION TO YOUR INNOVATION?
22. ARE YOU USING ANY OF THESE CIRCULAR ECONOMY TECHNOLOGIES OR APPROACHES?
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22. ARE YOU USING ANY OF THESE CIRCULAR ECONOMY TECHNOLOGIES OR APPROACHES?
23. WHICH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES ARE CENTRAL TO YOUR BUSINESS?
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23. WHICH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES ARE CENTRAL TO YOUR BUSINESS?
24. CAN YOU MEASURE YOUR CO₂ REDUCTION?
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25. DEFINE THE IMPACT YOU HOPE YOUR BUSINESS HAS (SOCIAL, CULTURAL, ECOLOGICAL OR ECONOMICALLY):
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26. ELABORATE WHY THIS IMPACT IS NEEDED:
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27. BASED ON WHICH INDICATORS DO YOU MEASURE YOUR SUCCESS?
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28. HAVE YOU EVER MADE A DECISION OR ADJUSTMENT FOR YOUR BUSINESS BASED ON THIS IMPACT DATA / INSIGHTS?
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PART D – CUSTOMER & MARKETING PROFILE
This section gives us an overview of your position towards clients and target audiences.
29. WHO ARE YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMERS?
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30. DO YOU ALREADY HAVE REPEATED PAYING CUSTOMERS? HOW MANY AND HOW OFTEN?
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31. WHAT'S YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION IN 1-2 SENTENCES?
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32. DID YOU TEST AND REFINE THIS PROPOSITION BASED ON CUSTOMER FEEDBACK YET?
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33. DO YOU HAVE ONE (OR MORE) RELIABLE, REPEATABLE WAYS OR EVEN PIPELINES OF GETTING NEW CUSTOMERS?
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34. HAVE THESE METHODS OF FINDING CUSTOMERS PROVEN SUCCESSFUL FOR MULTIPLE MONTHS ALREADY?
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35. DO THEY BRING IN ENOUGH (AND THE RIGHT TYPE OF) CUSTOMERS?
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36. IS CUSTOMER ACQUISITION CURRENTLY RELIANT ON THE FOUNDER (YOU)?
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PART E – FUNDING & INVESTMENT PROFILE
In this section, we'll review the financial aspects of your business. Where are you currently at, what is needed for the next steps and where you plan to get it from.
37. WHAT'S YOUR CURRENT YEARLY REVENUE?
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38. DO YOU HAVE A FINANCE MODELL FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS? (A PLAN ABOUT PLANNED REVENUE, EXPECTED COSTS & CASH FLOW)
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39. DOES YOUR BUSINESS HAVE EXISTING RESOURCES AND/OR PREVIOUSLY RECEIVED EXTERNAL INVESTMENTS OR FUNDING? IF YES, PLEASE LIST SOURCES AND AMOUNTS.
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40. HOW MUCH CAPITAL DO YOU NEED FOR THE NEXT STEP?
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41. CAN YOU TELL US IN 2-3 SENTENCES WHY SOMEONE SHOULD INVEST / FUND YOU?
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42. WHICH FUNDING / INVESTMENT SOURCES ARE YOU CONSIDERING?
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43. WHAT'S YOUR ENGAGEMENT WITH THEM?
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44. WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER A PITCH / APPLICATION INCL. ALL DOCUMENTS (CONTRACTS, FINANCE OVERVIEW, ETC. ) IN THE MATTER OF A WEEK?
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PART F – OPERATIONAL & TEAM PROFILE
45. HOW MANY FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS (FTE) ARE CURRENTLY INVOLVED IN YOUR BUSINESS?
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1 FTE = 40h, e.g. if you have three people working 20h per week, that would be 1,5 FTEs.
46. SELECT YOUR PRIMARY FIELD OF EXPERTISE:
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47. WHICH OTHER COMPETENCIES ARE PRESENT IN YOUR TEAM?
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48. WHAT KEY COMPETENCY IS CURRENTLY MISSING IN YOUR TEAM?
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49. HOW INTERDISCIPLINARY IS THE TEAM YOU ARE WORKING WITH?
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50. DOES YOUR TEAM HAVE CLEARLY DEFINED ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES THAT THEY KNOW AND FOLLOW?
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51. HOW REGULARLY DO YOU AND YOUR TEAM MAKE STRATEGIC DECISIONS AND PLANS?
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52. WOULD YOUR BUSINESS BE ABLE TO OPERATE IF YOU (OR ANOTHER KEY PERSON) CANNOT WORK FOR 2 MONTHS?
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53. IF YOUR CLIENT BASE WOULD DOUBLE TOMORROW, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THE DEMAND? AT WHICH POINT WOULD YOUR SYSTEM BREAK?
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This section concerns itself with how well embedded you are within your relevant network.
Peers = Others like you, working on similar themes, and/or in similar stages.
Collaborators = You have/are actively working together on a project or inhabit compatible value chain positions (e.g. you are a designer, they are a producer).
Consortia = A group of multiple different players applying for grants together (e.g. EU grants).
54. TELL US ABOUT THE PROFESSIONAL NETWORK YOU ARE COLLABORATING WITH:
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56. ARE YOU ALREADY PART OF A CONSORTIA?
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57. SELECT YOUR ROLE IN THE KNOWLEDGE TRIANGLE:
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57. SELECT YOUR ROLE IN THE KNOWLEDGE TRIANGLE:
58. ARE YOU AND YOUR NETWORK / GROUP ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN CO-OPERATIONS? IF YES, DESCRIBE THEM.
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59. DID YOUR NETWORK ALREADY LEAD TO NEW OPPORTUNITIES, MARKETS OR RESOURCES? IF YES, HOW?
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60. HOW DO OTHERS ALREADY RECOGNIZE YOU AS A VALUABLE PLAYER IN YOUR FIELD?
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Last but not least, we'd love to have a good visual from you. Feel free to share with us any additional document that might seem helpful to better understand you and your vision.
UPLOAD A HERO IMAGE (your product, your team or a highlight)
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UPLOAD YOUR BUSINESS PLAN
By applying to this open call, you agree to EIT CC SEA adding you to an invitation list for other open calls events tailored to your role, as well as storing and processing your submitted data in order to better understand our communal creative ecosystem and provide tailored services. You can unsubscribe and/ or request your data to be deleted at any point via email request. We reserve the right to unsubscribe invalid subscription and application entries.