Start-ups are vital for economic growth. The entrepreneurial innovations coming out of these startups will prove especially vital to the transportation marketplace, which is expected to grow into a 57 billion dollar industry by 2018. This is evidenced very clearly in Detroit, host city of the ITS World Congress and America’s Motor City, residing in the state with the fastest growth rate for venture capital investments.
ITS America announced a new programme that will give the most innovative and exciting minds the chance to to present their ideas and see them excel. Transportation for Tomorrow: Inventors & Investors is a two part programme featuring ITS America’s inaugural Entrepreneurial Village and the second Investor Matching Event.
Amongst the 300,000 sq. feet of exhibit space will be the Entrepreneurial Village, a dedicated space for emerging companies to promote their game changing ideas and inventions, and to share their vision for the future of intelligent transport. Selected start-ups will have unique access to the thousands of transportation professionals from around the world that will converge on Detroit for the ITS World Congress.
These start-ups will also benefit from another core group of attendees: the premier financial investment groups that will participate in the ITS America Investor Matching Event. This unique event gives the selected bright, emerging companies the opportunity to pitch their business plans for funding.
If you are part of an organisation that is changing the way we move, consider submitting an application. Qualified candidates will have been in business less than six years, have a competitive and compelling business plan, and currently have no more than $5 million in funding.
Applications should be made in the form of a business plan that includes:
- The business or project name
- The nature and location of the legal entity
- A business, product, service or technology description
- The biographies of key team members
- A strategic plan to accomplish business objectives
- A financial plan and budget
- The amount of funding being sought
Please submit all questions and completed plans to Matt DeLeon by 3 March 2014.
Additionally, established companies can participate in our Transportation for Tomorrow programme by sponsoring the Investor Matching Event. Sponsorship begins at $20,000 and secures your company a spot on the application review committee, private access to the applicant pool, and bronze-level benefits for the ITS World Congress. To secure your spot, contact Sabrina Sussman, Vice President for Membership and Development, ITS America.
For more information, visit the ITS World Congress 2014 website.
