Could your startup benefit from highly talented, experienced and motivated individuals who have been carefully screened to participate in two of the most selective and rigorous business programs in the world?
If so, this competition provides a unique opportunity for you to get the help and insights of participants in IMD’s MBA and Executive MBA programs.
This offer is open to all Swiss-based startups and runs in collaboration with the Swiss government's Innosuisse-Swiss Innovation Agency, VentureKick, MassChallenge Switzerland, investiere and Amazon Web Services.
We select up to 30 different startups to work with IMD MBAs and Executive MBAs.
We are looking for early-stage companies that have a solid chance of market success, have a team that is curious and willing to open themselves up to a small group of management "students", are pleased to enter into both strategic and business model discussions, and can provide a good learning opportunity for our participants with timing that aligns with the IMD programs.
November 9, 2020: Registration Deadline
December 4, 2020: Formal notification to all selected startups
December 11, 2020: Deadline for the selected startups to accept or decline the IMD offer
Many ventures got lasting value from working with our MBAs and EMBAs. In the most recent Swiss Top 100 report, IMD-supported startups captured 36 of the 100 places, including the first 3 out of the top 10, and seven of the top 25 scaleups! Do you want to be in that group next year?
As additional support for Swiss startups, and to help the Swiss entrepreneurial ecosystem, winners of the IMD Startup Competition will now receive a CHF 5,000 Startup Scholarship to be used to participate in any of IMD's online or open programs!
And this year we’re pleased to announce that Amazon Web Services is partnering with us and will support the winners of the IMD Startup Competition: “From Airbnb to Zocdoc, the world's top startups build on AWS. But they didn't do it alone. So whether you need help solving a technical challenge, hiring the right engineers, or finalizing a fundraising round, AWS has all the resources you need to get started. There’s a reason more startups build on AWS than any other provider: AWS is there to help you succeed, from inception to IPO. With this partnership, the Startups winning the IMD Startup Competition get access to the network of opportunities through AWS Startups.
Recent Winners of the Startup Competition
Boost your chances of funding and success
Get fresh input on your business ideas
Gather new information with the help of IMD talent
| Location | EMBA 1st Intake | EMBA 2nd Intake | EMBA 3rd Intake |
| At IMD Lausanne | June 15, 2021 | Week of April 11-16, 2021 (day to be confirmed) | Week of Sept 26 - Oct 1, 2021 (day to be confirmed) |
| In Palo Alto, California | Sept 12-17, 2021 | Sept 19-24, 2021 | Nov 14-19, 2021 |
| Dates | Description |
| January 29, 2021 | MBA-selected companies meet with their MBA teams at IMD in Lausanne that evening |
| January 30, 2021 | In-company introductory visits for MBA participants at the company's site (wherever possible or desirable) |
| January 29 - April 20, 2021 | MBA-selected companies collaborate with their MBA teams |
Earlier in July, Miraex SA, subcontracted by business partner Aperio Global, and IBM was selected to participate in the finals of the NASA Science Mission Directorate Entrepreneurs Challenge 2020, a competition accessible only to US companies. Ultimately, the consortium solution was selected to support NASA’s efforts in quantum sensing, paving the way for development in the United States.
Polyneuron Pharmaceuticals AG, a clinical stage developer of a new class of antigen-specific polymers for the treatment of patients with serious autoimmune diseases, raised CHF 14 million from HBM Healthcare Investments. Swiss-based HBM has joined the consortium of investors in the Series A, led by Sofinnova Partners.
Largo.ai, an award-winning AI-assisted film-making company is giving 20 producers from across Europe access to its platform for 6 months. This is part of an initiative aimed to open up the power of data-driven film-making for independent European producers. In other news, the search for the next James Bond is underway. Largo's ai tool has nominated Henry Cavilll as the most suitable successor of Daniel Craig.
IMD business school rankings
At the top of the charts
Our executive education programs are ranked highly by the world's most influential business publications.
Blandine Malhet