Giving your idea a stage

During the Idea Stage, you will hand in your business plan, using our guidelines. These guidelines provide clear instructions on how to write a business plan. By handing in your business plan, you will be one step closer to participating in the semi final.

After you submit your business plan, it will be reviewed by our business panel, which consists of experienced entrepreneurs, businesswomen and businessmen. The business panel will evaluate your business plan according to several criteria such as originality, sustainability and degree of innovation, and provide you with personal feedback. The thirty startups with the highest scores will make it to the semi final which will take place during the next stage: the Development Stage!

During the Refining Stage, the Semi Final will take place, with this year’s edition scheduled for 20 April 2027.

The 30 best teams will compete against each other in the pitching rounds to secure a ticket for the Grand Final on the 1st of June 2027. The Innovation Market is there to create an opportunity for participants, partners, investors and motivated students to have an interactive and dynamic dialogue about their projects. By pitching for the jury and showing their product at their stand, participants will try to convince all the attendees of their product and their place in the final. At the end of the day, the jury will choose five Innovators and three Rough Diamonds to participate in the Grand Final. The eight finalists will fine-tune their ideas and presentations at the Pitching day. The finalists will additionally be brought in contact with mentors from our pool of scale-ups and past Philips Innovation Award finalists.

During the Grand Final, the Philips Innovation Award will reach its climax. Five Innovators and three Rough Diamonds will battle for a price worth €50.000 and €10.000, respectively. In the Grand Final, they will compete before a jury that includes industry leaders like Roy Jacobs, CEO of Philips.  The only thing that separates the finalists from the grand prize is a three-minute pitch. The Grand Final takes place on the 1st of June 2027 in Nieuwe Luxor Theater in Rotterdam.