Frequently Asked Questions

Who Enters Our Annual Competitions?

Last year, 42% of these innovations originated from universities, 12% are corporate spin-outs and 29% came from unaffiliated entrepreneurs working out of their "garages". Geographically, the split of entries was 23% from Asia, 44% from Europe and 33% from the Americas.

Is it Worth My While to Enter?

If you have a good, innovative technology idea that can help protect people then you should most definitely enter the GSC. Through our competitions, the most promising ideas can:

• win one of our category awards worth over $500,000 (cash-grants)
  • $500,000 grant award by TSWG of US Government for best startup
  • $10,000 cash-award, sponsored by Secure-Futures, for best Crowded-Places Idea
  • $10,000 cash-award, sponsored by Accenture, for best security idea/research
    
• receive mentorship by leading venture capitalists
  
• showcase their innovations in front of a large investment/government audience
  
• receive publicity in the press (past finalists were mentioned in Red Herring, Washington Post, BusinessWeek, etc)
  

Do I have to Pay an Entry Fee To Participate?

No, entering our various GSC competitions is free of charge.

When will I be informed of the judges' decision regarding my entry?

It depends on which GSC competition you entered. You can view your current status in the online system after you log-on to the GSC Online Community. There you will be able to see the judges' decision and their feedback on your entry.

How Much Time Does the Submission Process Take?

In the first round, we are asking only six questions about your technology, its benefits and status, your team and plan going forward. The second round (for startup award only) asks few additional questions about your business model. Many past entrants have completed the forms for each round in less than a day.

Where Can I Find Tips for Competing in The GSC?

The GSC winner from 2007, NoblePeak Vision, gives valuable lessons learned and tips for winning the $500K startup competition in a short interview on our blog.

What Happened to the Finalists From GSC '06 and '07?

You can see from the below information on the companies that entered the previous competitions that great things have been happening for them:

• NoblePeak Vision - GSC winner 2007 - raised $12 million in March 2008 in a funding round, led by Chart Venture Partners of New York. With Matt McCooe from Chart Venture Partners being an active supporter of the GSC for years, we are extremely pleased about this startup-investor match.

• Ingenia Technology - GSC winner 2006 - received a significant contract from a US Federal Law Enforcement agency and launched a partnership with Bayer AG in Germany. "Ingenia Technology experienced a phenomenal year since winning the 1st Global Security Challenge in 2006," says Mark McGlade of Ingenia.
  

• Vumii acquired new customers, such as the US Navy and the US Dept of Energy. They raised $3.9m in funds and established reseller relationships with SAIC, amongst others. "As a direct result from our participation in the GSC, Vumii acquired increased global credibility and benefited from greater global brand recognition from the investment community, security solution community, and potential employee population.", says Randall Foster of Vumii

• TIRF Technologies received two new US government contracts, they are now talking with VCs for fundraising and Smiths Detection is currently evaluating their technology.

• Secerno raised $16m by Amadeus Capital in 2008 and established a partnership with KDDI and signed a major deal with expressHR.

Who is the Sponsor of the $500,000 Cash-Grant?

The grant for the winning entrepreneur of the Global Security Challenge is sponsored by the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), an interagency group of the U.S. Government, based in Washington DC. TSWG is the U.S. national forum that identifies, prioritizes, and coordinates interagency and international research and development (R&D) requirements for combating terrorism.

How Can I Stay in Touch with the GSC?

A great way to stay involved and read about the currents news about the GSC 2008 and other security related events is our monthly Newsletter. You can register for our Newsletter by emailing your details to: subscribe@globalsecuritychallenge.com

How Can I Sponsor or Speak at This Year's Conference?

We are honored to have had fantastic speakers at our worldwide conferences in the past. If you are interested in becoming more involved as a speaker in any of the GSC conferences please email us at gsc2008@globalsecuritychallenge.com.