Founders Games

Join world's biggest scaleup challenge!

Founders Games is the growth program at Webit.Festival available for companies with funding of $500K–$20M.

It is a special, invitation-only program with a focus on high-growth and high-potential companies.

Corporate VCs, VCs, family offices, and angel investors receive direct access to one of the best deal flows in the world to share opportunities, syndication, and partnerships.

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Webit trailer

2019 Awards Ceremony!

Join our Jury

Join the collective intelligence scoring the most impactful innovations for a better, more sustainable, and more resilient future.

Tim Draper
Tim Draper

Global Venture Capitalist, Draper Network

Hendrik Brandis
Hendrik Brandis

Co-Founder & Partner, Earlybird

Steve Schlenker
Steve Schlenker

Co-founder & Managing Partner, DN Capital

Bogomil Balkansky
Bogomil Balkansky

Partner, Sequoia Capital

Rinat Yogev
Rinat Yogev

Partner, GM Ventures

Christoph Schuh
Christoph Schuh

Investment partner, Lakestar

Marie-Helene Ametsreiter
Marie-Helene Ametsreiter

Lead partner, Speedinvest

Bakhrom Ibragimov
Bakhrom Ibragimov

Investment Partner, Molten Ventures

Alexander Galitsky
Alexander Galitsky

Co-founder & Managing Partner, Almaz Capital

Cem SertoÄŸlu
Cem SertoÄŸlu

Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Earlybird Digital East Fund

Ali Karabey
Ali Karabey

Managing Director, 212 VC

Kurt Kaltenegger
Kurt Kaltenegger

Group VP, ABB Technology Ventures

Ajay Ramaachandran
Ajay Ramaachandran

General Partner, Webit Capital Partners

Arne Morteani
Arne Morteani

Founding Partner, Kiko VC

Alessandro Luciano
Alessandro Luciano

VP, Insight Partners

Jury Member Statement - Rich Nuzum, Executive Director, Investments and Global Chief Investment Strategist at Mercer

Mission statement

We identify, endorse and award globally the high growth companies and their founders who lead the way to achieving the SDGs by creating scalable, sustainable and resilient businesses.

Collective Intelligence

Founders Games is the only global platform powered by the collective intelligence of 400+ late stage VC investors who commit their time to score 4500+ applications from 120+ countries each year. The finalists are selected among the highest ranked companies (scaleups) after 5 rounds in the competition.

Founders Games Verticals

Future of
Impact

  • Energy
  • Planet & Climate Tech
  • Smart Cities
  • Mobility
  • New Materials
  • Food & AgTech

Future of
business

  • Web3
  • Marketing
  • SaaS
  • FinTech, Defi
  • Big/Small Data
  • Defence
  • Space
  • Logistics
  • Ecommerce

Future of
Health

  • Synthetic Biology
  • BioTech
  • LifeScience
  • Therapeutics
  • Digital Health
  • Wellness
  • Longevity

Future of
Entertainment

  • Digital Media
  • Neo Content
  • AI Companions
  • MarTech / AdTech
  • Fashion

Future of
Work

  • Robotics
  • AI, ML
  • EdTech
  • Metaverse
  • Collaboration
  • Brain Machine Interfaces
  • Enterprise
  • Voice, Haptics
  • Ambient AI Computing

ESG plays a meaningful role at Founders games

Our mission is to prove that saving humankind is a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity!

The founders who make it to the finals are true contemporary superheroes and role models who not only make very successful, fast-growing, and scalable businesses but also generate social and environmental change along the way.

SDG 2030

Join more than 500 investors

Family offices, corporate ventures, and the best accelerators
from all around the world at Webit.Festival and the Founders Games.

Winners of Founders Games 2023

Mission

Mission

Founders Games: Curating one of the planet’s most impactful innovation communities.

Our mission is to make more people aware of the challenges and yet manifest the opportunities by discovering the means of solving them through innovation, hard work, and the dreams of thousands of founders & countless ecosystem players. This is why Webit announces the world's biggest annual award pool for impact startup competition.

Global Award

Global Award

$6’000’000 investment award and participation grants for the best startups.

The Founders Games have always been Webit's tool for fostering innovation and supporting the startup ecosystem globally. Since 2009 we have been providing grants to hundreds of companies and supporting them in meeting the right partners, be recognized as future leaders, increase their funding, receive global media coverage, attract potential clients and grow.

Legacy

Legacy

Supporting the discovery and development of impact exponential technologies.

Since 2009, Webit has been committed to fostering a global community focusing on creating a sustainable and resilient future. Founders Games have been our way of giving back to the community and, above all, empowering innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Are you a SCALEUP?

Take a look at our F.A.Q. section or drop line at

Frequently Asked Questions

Founders Games is the only global platform powered by the collective intelligence of 400+ late-stage VC investors who commit their time to score 4500+ applications from 120+ countries each year. The finalists are selected among the highest-ranked companies (scaleups) after five rounds of the competition.
All of the selected startups shall receive 3 Pro tickets with access to all the festival's parallel summits, events, and workshops, an expo stand for a day at the festival, and the opportunity to get selected for the Founders Games pitches in front of investors and a selected jury.
Post-seed and growth-stage startups founded less than 8 years ago are all welcome to apply. You can check on the different startup verticals and see if they fit your company’s product or service.
Our team will contact you once the selection process is over. A few weeks before the festival, we close the application process so that startups will have time to prepare and for the schedule to be set.
A schedule with a detailed agenda for all the festival’s parallel summits, startup pitches, workshops, and partner events is published on Webit’s website.

We recommend arriving one day before the start of the event. Leaving is, at best, and if convenient, planned after the closing ceremony on the last day of the conference. You can freely explore the festival and have meetings, food and drinks, and fun, but it’s advisable to have a representative from your team at your stand at (almost) all times.

  • Get acknowledged with the big picture of what’s happening and where the agenda, venue, and different things are happening simultaneously in order to take the best out of you in terms of your interests and needs.
  • Practice your pitch in front of people, mirrors, yourself, or even your cat. You'll have 3 minutes to persuade the attendees and investors’ jury (present and online) why your idea should be in their hearts and minds and why it deserves to be a winner. Make it clear and convincing.
  • Do some research. You can check the speakers, investors, and all attendees of Webit and prepare with background information and cool conversation starters.
  • Explore the festival properly, as well as the city of Webit.
  • Go out and about, meet, and talk to people. Personal outreach is encouraged more than virtual ones.
  • Get some rest. The Webit party needs you fit, in high power and energy levels.
  • Bring a friend or three. Events are better when shared with a company.
  • Laptops, tablets, and screens.
  • A demo of your product, if applicable.
  • Print and ad materials —posters, stickers, lights, wine, and anything else you can think of to provide attendees with and properly catch their attention.
  • Business cards.
  • A big smile and a camera to take pictures when on stage, off stage, and everywhere you feel like it.
  • Lots of positive energy!
As a non-profit, Webit Foundation is unable to cover travel and accommodation costs for startups other than the discount grant for participation. We're striving to build a bridge between the enterprise and startup worlds and to gain these two forces’ mutual benefit and collaboration.