AWS News Blog
Get Ready for the AWS Global Start-Up Challenge
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I’ve been writing about and participating in our Start-Up Challenges since we launched the first one in 2007. I have always been impressed by the quality, depth, diversity, and sheer quantity of entries that we receive. I’ve long believed (and blogged about) the fact that the scalable, pay-as-you-go nature of AWS makes it an ideal platform for a start-up.
We’re now ready to accept entries for the sixth AWS Global Start-Up Challenge. We are accepting entries in four categories this year:
- Big Data & High Performance Computing (HPC).
- Gaming.
- Consumer Applications.
- Business Applications.
There will be one Grand Prize winner in each of the four categories. Each of the Grand Prize winners will be awarded $50,000 in cash, $50,000 in AWS credits, one year of AWS Business Support, and four one-hour technical mentoring sessions from AWS.
Entries will be judged on their use of AWS services, originality and creativity, likelihood of long term success and scalability, and how well the business addresses a need in the marketplace.
Here are the dates and events that you need to focus on:
- Today – Start thinking about and planning your entry.
- November 9 – Deadline for submitting your entry.
- Mid November – Semi-Finalists will be announced.
- Early December – Finalists will be announced.
- Mid-January – AWS Global Start-Up Challenge Final Event in San Francisco, California.
Because start-ups are such an important part of the AWS ecosystem, we’ll be running a start-up track at re:Invent. You will get to hear from the folks who are building and running hot start-ups such as Pinterest, SocialCam, SmugMug, and TinyCo. We’ve set up a number of sessions that will be of direct interest to start-ups including How to Get to Beta with $100, Running Lean and Agile on AWS, Fund Raising in an App Economy, and lots more. We are also hand-selecting some start-ups to publicly launch at re:Invent. If you’d like to apply for a spot, let us know.
At the event in January, the Finalists will present their businesses to a panel of AWS executives and venture capitalists in front of an audience composed of leaders from the technology industry in San Francisco, California. We’ll announce the date, location, and other details as soon as we finalize them. Learn more about the AWS Global Start-Up Challenge and see the Official Rules by visiting http://aws.amazon.com/startupchallenge .
I am looking forward to seeing your entry. Good luck, and see you in San Francisco!
— Jeff;