After a long wait, the establishment of new partnerships, and a ton of behind-the-scenes maneuvering, the Big50 2018-19 is almost here. The 50 startups featured in this year’s Big50 earned their way into this report through a combination of strong fundamentals (funding, team, named customers), market opportunity (current size, growth potential), and market niche (product-market fit, current demand).
This year the process took a long, winding path. More than 120 startups were nominated to participate in the Big50; another 55 startups earned byes deep into the competition by virtue of making the last report (2017). What was different this year is that Startup50 founder Jeff Vance invited another 250+ startups into the competition, ones that he initially evaluated for startup roundups he writes for Network World.
To earn their way into the Big50, startups had to run a gauntlet of challenges that ranged from story pitches to concisely defining problems from a customer’s POV to forecasting future trends.
All told, the Startup50 team evaluated close to 400 startups to find 50 startups that have the right combination of attributes to compete in high-growth, cut-throat, tech-driven markets.
The Big50-2019 launches Wednesday, October 9, 2019.
Come back next week to learn who made the cut. See you then!
