FAQs for Startups/Scaleups

The criteria against which companies are evaluated in 5 rounds include:
1. UNIQUENESS OF THE IDEA To what extent the idea is unique and constitutes intellectual property (IP)
2. TEAM CAPACITY Team experience, successful previous projects, ability to complete the project, human capital.
3. BUSINESS MODEL, SCALABILITY AND MARKET ADOPTION Market adoption, growth potential, how long does it take for the market to understand and adopt the product/service (timing), marketing approach and success stories, business model and business development, revenue growth.
4. FUNDING & FINANCES Availability of financing and capacity to achieve the development of the product/service roadmap, team, marketing, growth and adaptation
5. LEADERSHIP AND PERSONAL QUALITIES OF THE TEAM Leading by example and potential for being a role model for other founder to work for achieving the SDGs.
6. IMPACT FACTOR (SDG Compliance) What impact the success of the company would have on achieving one or more of the 17 SDGs
Each of the 6 evaluation criteria provides from 1 to 10 points (10 being the highest). The maximum score a company can have is 60 points. Each round is scored by different sets of investors of the juries but all of them score based on the same evaluation criteria and pre-approved algorithm. This is a guarantee for equal scoring criteria among all verticals and by all 200+ investors.
In case you are among the finalists, Webit and WIN (Webit Investment Network) commit to support your funding round and to invest in it (a matter of final due diligence and approval). The invested amount shall not exceed $1’200’000. Webit and WIN never play a role of a lead investor and the ticket never exceeds 10% of the round.
As per the terms and conditions of FG, all finalists allocate space for their current round for Webit to invest in. We usually invest up to 10% of the current round size and thus is the annual funding award of up to $6M. If you have closed a round prior to the finals, we can coordinate if you have reopened the round to accommodate our investment. If in your case this is not possible - please let us know else if you reach the finals it will be a breach of FG terms and conditions.
No. We are never a lead investor. As a matter of fact we commit financially in case there is a lead investor already secured. We only participate in the round with up to 10% of the entire amount. We also support you and the lead investor bring relevant investors to the cap table and smarter money.
No. $6M is the entire amount to be distributed among the finalists. Also our max ticket cannot be more than 10% of the total invested amount of the round.
There are a total of 5 rounds at Founders Games. The first round is run by our algorithm which has been developed and has been continuously improving since 2010. The second round jury panel consists of a minimum of 4 investors. In case some of the jury members' scores are outside of the range of standard deviation for the round, two new sector specific investors are invited to score your company and this will bring the number of investors to 6 in the second round. During the third round at least 5 more sector specific investors will be scoring your company. This round includes live Q&A and simultaneous feedback sessions from the investors. The Semi-Finals jury is sector agnostic and counts another 5 investors. The Grand Finals all-star jury, chaired by Tim Draper, includes a total of 5 more investors. So a total of 20 investors shall screen a specific company. While a total of 250+ growth stage VC investors participate in all juries, our proprietary algorithm scores 3000+ applications per season.
Possible. The funding award is pre-conditioned to a final successful due-diligence as well as other factors such as certainty of a lead investor for example. Still being announced as a finalist is a great achievement and will put you in front of hundreds of investors, global media and potential corporate partners.
Starting back in 2007, Webit has been building a global community currently reaching hundreds of thousands of digerati, investors, corporate leaders, founders, talents and media from over 190 countries.

Many of the world’s most innovative companies, largest enterprises and VCs are among the Webit partners and we have a long history of building trust and valuable partnerships. Webit also boosts tens of thousands of attendees at our major events around the world as well as a carefully curated audience at our invitation only forums. Those are major platforms for promoting your company and reaching out to the most wanted partners, investors and potential clients. This along with the financial investment is the package you get with Webit being on your cap table.
During the virtual rounds only the companies who have passed the eligibility data room due diligence are welcomed to the Semi-Finals. They are from a variety of verticals. Only top-ranked companies from the Semi-Finals will advance to Grand Finals in Davos.
This is the last round of Founders Games. The All-Star Jury scores and selects the winner/s and the funding award cheque/s are announced. Press releases are distributed globally with the names of the finalists and the winner/s. Usually all finalists of Founders Games are eligible for the funding award, but a final due diligence and the usual investment process must take place successfully in order for the funding award to be invested.
Тhe standard DD takes a few weeks. WIN board shall be presented with all provided details from your dataroom and if needed additional info.

As you may know - WIN does not negotiate the conditions, but actually joins the round under the same conditions as the lead investor/s.