It's official! Collider set to launch in Amsterdam

We officially announced our big news today – Collider will be launching in Amsterdam next year! Below is our official press release. Please feel free to share to all, and if you'd like to get involved with our next step, we'd love to hear from you.

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For Immediate Release

Collider to launch new madtech accelerator in Amsterdam

Amsterdam’s startup scene continues to draw interest from overseas, as London’s leading marketing and advertising tech accelerator announce their plan to launch in the city.

Now onto their fifth cohort, Collider invests in early stage, madtech startups to help them become sustainable, rapidly growing businesses through investment, a highly structured programme and access to a wide, relevant network.

The accelerator focuses on the sweet spot between startups and brands and the commercial benefits they bring to one another.

Amsterdam will be the company’s first office outside of the UK.

Rose Lewis, Co-Founder and CEO of Collider said: “Amsterdam has a huge marketing and ad presence – the third largest in Europe – and many big brands have their global or European HQs there.

“The startup ecosystem is growing thanks to some great initiatives in the city, so it makes perfect sense for it to become Collider’s second city.”

The accelerator saw their first exit in 2016 with Class of 2013 cohort member, Avocarrot, selling to Glispa for $20 million.

The way the business works with corporates sees startups scale up with significant speed, reaching product market fit and ultimately secure deals. Collider UK partnerships include Unilever, Ogilvy, Haymarket and The Financial Times.

Ellen Bark-Lindhout, who's heading up the Amsterdam branch said: “Collider UK has a proven track record of accelerating marketing and ad tech startups and I am convinced there is lots of potential to do the same beyond London.

“One, because this year again we received a record number of startup applications from all over Europe, and two, because there are many great brands around Amsterdam that want to be close to the latest digital tech to innovate in marketing and e-commerce.”

Earlier this year, Collider hosted a popup in Amsterdam, connecting companies such as Heineken, Philips, NN Group and Ahold with a group of Collider startups.

Ellen said: “The positive reactions from both corporates and startups strengthened our plan to launch a programme in Amsterdam next year.”

Amsterdam’s Deputy Major, Kajsa Ollongren said: “I am pleased to welcome Collider and feel confident that their office in Amsterdam will be an excellent addition to the London office.

"Not only is Amsterdam Europe’s most connected tech city, it is also home to a vibrant creative industry. Collider's presence will lead to even more innovation in our marketing and advertising sector and attract entrepreneurial digital talent."

For more information Tazz Gault tazz@collider.io 07828672000

Applications Have Closed: Now What?

It’s happened. Yes, the time has come – our applications have now closed. And honestly, we’ve been seriously impressed.

The quality this year has been second to none, and whilst that’s made things harder for us, it’s a pretty awesome problem to have.

It’s been a record year for us with well over 300 applications, even surpassing Ed’s ambition target by TWO – and so now we’re in the process of whittling it down to our top applications, with only 2% getting through.

We recently did a little digging into the numbers, countries and themes of applications this year and it seems the snippet that created the biggest buzz was that Brexit has made no impact on quality, numbers or location whatsoever.

But for those wondering what happens next, here's a quick rundown:

1. Startups will hear back from us with a yes or a no.

2. For those who get through will move onto screening.

These sessions are with Collider cofounders, Rose and Andy.

3. If they make it through that (WAHOO!) then it's time for Pitch Camp.

That's where we help startups clean up their deck before meeting investors.

4. In the meantime, our investors will receive some reading material on our top 20 startups.

5. Then it's Selection Day!

– or more commonly known in the Collider office as 'The Big one'. Each investor will have a vote and will be asked to nominate their top choices.

Want more information on the selection process? We’ve got that for you right here.

Brexit Has Had No Impact On Startup Applications

That's right – we've seen no impact on the number, quality or geographical location of startups since Brexit. In fact, we've had over 300 applications of which a high proportion have been impressive quality.

And as it's that time of year where we draw close to both our investment campaign and startup application deadline, we thought we'd dig into the data and discover the startup trends of 2016/17.

Check out our favourite five snippets of what we can expect in the marketing and advertising world:

1. Around 10% of all applications from the UK are in advertising and analysis.

2. Almost 3/4 of applications are from Europe.

3. The primary focus of Israeli startups this year is on big data or blogger outreach/marketing.

4. Other than the UK, the next highest number of applicants from a European country is Spain.

5. Almost double the overall applications relate more to marketing than they do advertising.

Interesting, huh?

What Countries Are MadTech Startups From?

As we draw nearer to the application deadline for our Class of 2017 – and yes, we're pretty excited – we're once again amazed by some of the ideas coming through from MadTech startups. Searching for the very best in MadTech is our number one priority – in fact, you can see a little more about the processes we go through here, and how successful it's been here!

But have you ever wondered where the majority of MadTech startups are based? Is there such thing as a majority? Then wonder no more and check this out.

Here are the countries so far...

If maps aren't really your thing, then fear not – we can do lists too.

Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia.

 Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary.

India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Netherlands, Nigeria.

Pakistan, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates.

United Kingdom, United States.

Startup Intellectual Property Tips and Tricks

Collider startups recently visited the London offices of one of our legal sponsors, Mathys and Squire, to discuss the world of Intellectual Property (IP). One super insightful session later, our goody bag to take home was a wealth of information, including the insights any startup should know, and how to build an IP strategy that works for you. Said goody bag fully digested and lots of our startups prepped ready to take next steps, we thought we'd summarise our key learnings – because it would be greedy if we didn't share, right?

What is Intellectual Property?

IP – intellectual property – protects the result of your creativity as an intangible asset (or property). It does not protect an idea alone, but the ‘physical’ embodiment of that idea. There are four main types: patents, trademarks, registered designs and copyright.

Having the right type of IP protection can help prevent others copying your inventions, the names of your products or brands, the design or look of your products, and the artistic works that you write, create, produce or record.

What can I do about it?

There are some basic steps you can take to develop an IP strategy that works for you:

Understand

Get to grips with how you can use IP to both protect your business and attract interest and funding.

What are you making; what are selling; what sets you apart; are you keeping records of who has created what and when – get your head wrapped around the basics of IP, and answer these questions as a starter for ten.

Identify

You now need to identify your core IP. Find where your value lies – is it the design, the brand, the unique technology?

Strategise

Once you've identified the elements you want to protect, develop a strategy for how you'll do that – is it a trademark, copyright, design or patent?

Plan how and when you will go about putting the safety net in place and capture it all in your overarching IP strategy, even if you don't intend to register your Intellectual Property until you have secured more funding.

Execute

Take the steps you are able to take immediately, and start planning for the future. Track your sales, inventions and progress, and although it might seem a pain, record everything.

Mitigate

Keep track of what applications are being filed and approved to help de-risk your IP – various portals and tools online can assist with this and look around to see what others are doing. Patents can be a great R&D resource - to stay focussed.

Why does it matter?

IP is all about protecting, but also creating value. A solid IP strategy and goals can demonstrate a level of understanding about your present and future that will satisfy an investor’s appetite, and adds significant value as you look to scale.

"We identified four possible opportunities [Mathys and Squire] felt were worth pursuing and reviewed our existing trademark protection," said Scoop Retail, one of Collider's Class of 2015 and attendees of this workshop.

"They really took the time to understand our business!"