Phocuswright has created a stand-alone Battleground event. Debuting Sept. 12 at the Plug and Play Tech Center, the world's largest startup accelerator, 16 finalists will compete for a chance to take the stage at the annual Phocuswright Conference in November.
Battleground will feature innovative early-stage travel startups from North, Central and South America. This one-day event is dedicated to bringing promising travel innovators into the limelight to demonstrate fresh ideas in front of potential investors and partners. During the Battleground, participants have six minutes each to demonstrate their innovations to a panel of sometimes ruthless and uncensored judges. The top two companies will move on to present at Summit during the Phocuswright Conference among 1,800 of the most influential leaders in travel.
Attendees will have an unprecedented chance to see the industry's youngest innovators live for an entry fee of just $199.
"We will showcase for our first-time attendees the next market-changing innovations, fresh ideas, new partners and investment opportunities," said Simon Lehmann, Phocuswright President. "With this expansion we give more members of our industry a chance to see the future on stage and get excited about the amazing possibilities for the future of the travel industry."
The event will feature a keynote from Sam Shank, CEO & Co-Founder of HotelTonight, a panel conversation state of innovation and investment in travel, and a Phocuswright research presentation of insights from the upcoming The State of Startups 2005-2017 report series.
Plug and Play Tech Center in Silicon Valley is a venture fund, innovation platform, startup accelerator, and corporate innovation consultancy.
For those interested in applying, applications close on July 31, and this year there is no fee to apply or demonstrate. Eligible applicants will be part of a startup company four years or younger, based in North America, Central America or South America, have $2 million or less in funding and pass a rigorous Phocuswright screening.
Attendee registration is also open for the Phocuswright Conference, which takes place this year in Hollywood, Fla.
Phocuswright is owned by Travel Weekly's parent company, Northstar Travel Group.