APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2021 DT50 AWARDS ARE OPEN

Organizers
Organizers
Organizers
In partnership with


McKinsey, Freshfields, 468 Capital, Finsbury Glover Hering and TeamViewer have joined forces to organize this year’s Digital Top 50 Awards to reward and celebrate the bold and trailblazing work of tomorrow’s top entrepreneurs across Europe.

Since 2016, the Digital Top 50 Awards (DT50 Awards) have recognized Europe’s top entrepreneurial talent, endorsing the continent’s thriving tech scene. The DT50 Awards cover the full spectrum of the business and technology landscape. Startups from all over Europe (the European Union, EFTA countries, and the United Kingdom) can apply in one of the four categories:

  • Best Technology (Software, AI, Automation, IoT, Analytics)
  • Best Enterprise Business Model Innovation (SAAS, Marketplaces, Open Source)
  • Best Consumer Business Model Innovation (Marketplaces, D2C- Brands, E-Commerce, Services, Software)
  • Tech for Good (Double Bottom Line: solve social and/or environmental problems)

 

Applications are evaluated by the DT50 Awards' executive jury, a hand-picked panel of experts- and veterans in venture building and growth mentoring. The jurors will choose the winners in their respective categories.
Fifty applicants will be selected as this year’s top 50 cohort, which will be publicly announced in November.

This year’s special collaboration with Bits & Pretzels means the award ceremony will be held at the Bits & Pretzels Festival in January 2022.

This collaboration also means that you can apply for the DT50 Awards and the Bits & Pretzels Pitch Award at once. Check out our "How to apply" section.

Applications for the 2021 DT50 Awards are open!

We are currently accepting applications for this year’s edition of the DT50 Awards. to join us at the Bits & Pretzels in January where we will celebrate tomorrow’s top entrepreneurs across Europe. The deadline for all applications is October 10th 2021.


! Subscribe now!

What our previous winners say

Winning the DT50 is an honor by itself but the fact that it also comes with the offer of workshops and other engagement from the global brands behind the award is more than a bonus. The teams working with us were thorough, investing over and above our expectations and sharing valuable resources with us, making the entire experience of being a DT50 winner a very rewarding experience.

Gerhard Köstler, CTO of Raisin, DT50 Top B2C Start-up winner 2019

Winning DT50 added to our credibility, contributed to a tenfold sales increase and helped us stipulate our position as a sustainability and carbon management tech leader in Europe. We are still bearing the fruits of this success and are really grateful for the opportunity!

Lubomila Jordanova, Founder and CEO of PlanA.Earth, DT50 Sustainability Start-up winner 2019

"Being Europe’s number-one tech for social impact is amazing! The thrill of the selection process, the professionality of the guidance and the door-opening reputation of the jurors and sponsors is incredibly rewarding. Just mentioning that we won the DT50 prize gave us credibility in the market and that is exactly what we wished for. Competing in a challenge like DT50 isn’t easy, but winning is fabulous. So go for it, show what you can, and become a winner, too!§

Pablo van der Bosch, Director of Madaster, DT50 Awards winner 2018

Previous Next

Who are we celebrating?

The DT50 Awards are awarded to start-ups from within the European Union, EFTA countries and the United Kingdom that have a digital product or service as the central element of their business and have received cumulative funding of below $100m.

We are celebrating winners in four categories:

  • Best Technology (Software, AI, Automation, IoT, Analytics). Advanced technology services or products are the focus of your start-up concept. You are likely to have achieved product-market fit in your first markets and are focusing on the expansion of your business to new markets and on further product advancement.
  • Best Enterprise Business Model Innovation (SAAS, Marketplaces, Open Source). The provision of products or services to other businesses is the focus of your start up concept. You are likely to have achieved product market-fit in your first markets and are focusing on the expansion of your business to new markets and on further product advancement.
  • Best Consumer Business Model Innovation (Marketplaces, D2C-Brands, E-Commerce, Services, Software) The provision of products or services to consumers is the focus of your start up concept. You are likely to have achieved product-market fit in your first markets and are focusing on the expansion of your business to new markets and on further product advancement.
  • Tech for Good (Double Bottom Line: solve social and/or environmental problems). Your business has a lasting positive impact on society and/or current environmental challenges. Your product or service helps promote a sustainable cause.


For further details on the requirements, please also check out our terms of participation.

 

Our evaluation criteria

1
Value proposition
Innovative value proposition
Do you have an innovative product/service/technology?
Defendable value proposition
Do you have an economically feasible, sustainable business model?
2
Magnitude
Growing and/or large market
Is there potential to transform whole industries/reach a high number of people globally?
Scalability and replicability
Can the business model sustain an increase of customers? Can you replicate it in other geographies?
3
Performance
Financials or impact to society
Does the model have proven revenues or robust economics? / Is there significant impact on society?
Team fit and passion
Is the team passionate and can it drive the success of the business? Is the team diverse in background and skills

Frequently asked questions

What are the DT50 Awards?

The annual DT50 Awards were co-founded in 2016 to recognize the trailblazing work of Europe’s top entrepreneurial tech and digital talent across the full spectrum of the business and technology landscape, endorsing the continent’s thriving tech scene and providing support for four winners.
McKinsey, Freshfields, 468 Capital, Finsbury Glover Hering, and TeamViewer have joined forces to build on the increasing success of the last four events, which attracted more than 2,000 applications.

Categories and entry criteria

Startups from all over Europe (the European Union, EFTA countries, and the United Kingdom) can apply in one of four categories:

  • Best Technology (Software, AI, Automation, IoT, Analytics)
  • Best Enterprise Business Model Innovation (SAAS, Marketplaces, Open Source)
  • Best Consumer Business Model Innovation (Marketplaces, D2C-Brands, E-Commerce, Services, Software)
  • Tech for Good (Double Bottom Line: solve social and/or environmental problems)

Each category will have one winner. Entrants must have a digital product or service as the central element of their business, which must be incorporated or resident in the European Union, EFTA countries, and the United Kingdom, and have a total financing to date less than $100m.

Selection process and evaluation

Winners are selected in a multi-stage evaluation process:

1. Deadline for entry (10th of October 2021)
2. Announcement of top 50 (mid-November 2021)
3. Announcement of winners at Bits & Pretzels in January 2022

The initial scoring will be based on clear evaluation criteria and is undertaken by all organizers in a joint process.

Prizes

One delegate from each shortlisted participant will be invited to join the Bits & Pretzels event on 21 and 22 January 2022. Winning the award boosts exposure and provides concrete benefits such as workshops from partners, an individual mentoring and consulting package, and various other services delivered by the organizers. This could include any of the below prizes granted to the winners of the 2021 DT50 Awards:

  • McKinsey offers a Start-up Club consulting and mentoring session and support package, including a McKinsey workshop and coaching session, an individual problem solving session for a topic of choice with the McKinsey Start-up Club, and an expert interview within the McKinsey network (eg, McKinsey consultants, alumni, or start-ups).
  • Freshfields provides a legal and compliance workshop on the preparation and what to consider when raising capital. We will tailor the workshop to the specific business needs and potential regulatory challenges of the winners (eg, IP, data, antitrust, corporate governance, structuring, finance, and mergers and acquisitions).
  • Finsbury Glover Hering will offer the winning teams a comprehensive communications strategy workshop designed to meet their individual business needs and communication challenges (eg overall positioning approaches, storylining, funding communications), providing guidance on the most important communication issues likely to be on the winners’ radar now or in the near future.
  • 468 Capital is offering a workshop tailored to the individual needs of the winners’ business to increase visibility and shape brand, a feedback session from a 468 Capital general partner on the pitch deck for further fundraising efforts, or advice on fundraising strategy and on go-to-market, growth and internalization plans.
  • TeamViewer will offer tailored sparring and mentoring opportunities with senior management to discuss strategic topics important to the winners.

Executive jury

We are very grateful for the support of our prominent executive jurors in the previous years and will announce this year's jury board shortly.

More DT50 Awards Videos

Europe's tech scene is exciting. We are seeing huge amounts of talent, a deep understanding of technology, and a clear desire to move things forward. But the road for founders is hard. With DT50, we want to make it easier for them to find their way. At Finsbury Glover Hering, we help trailblazers to gain social acceptance for their pioneering ideas, and to win support in the public and political arena, by sharing our experiences, networks and insights.

Raphael Neuner, Tech & Transformation Partner at FINSBURY GLOBER HERING

Entrepreneurial talent is a key source driving digitization in Europe. We need great talents that further accelerate the disruption of nearly all business models. McKinsey aims to support you strategy-wise and provide intense consulting and coaching together with our Digital McKinsey unit. In addition, we will connect you with leading industry experts and corporates, because it is time to make something big out of your idea and your talent!

Karel Dörner, Senior Partner MCKINSEY & COMPANY

"One of the really remarkable things about digital technology is that anyone with a great idea can use the power of the web to invent the future and launch the next big thing. But the journey for entrepreneurs is hard. Many don’t know where to start and where to find help. We want to help even more European entrepreneurs grow and scale their ideas into exciting new businesses. This is for everyone."

Torsten Schuppe, VP Marketing EMEA GOOGLE

A growing number of world leading technology companies emerge from all over Europe. 468 Capital supports European entrepreneurs with global ambitions. With dual headquarters in Berlin and San Francisco, we are uniquely positioned to be a strong local partner for taking a global perspective. With the DT50 Awards, we want to support and honor the next generation of global technology champions from Europe.

Alexander Kudlich, from 468 CAPITAL

We are extremely enthusiastic about the talent and innovative drive of tech entrepreneurs across Europe. Building on our global footprint and leading tech practices in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, our ambition is to support them on the legal and regulatory aspects they are facing in building, growing and defending digital business models, and to share our wealth of experience from advising some of the largest and fastest growing tech companies in the world.

Lars Meyer, Partner and Global Co-Head of Tech, Media and Telecoms at FRESHFIELDS

Previous Next

Applications for the 2021 DT50 Awards are open!