XTC SPONSORSHIP SERIES ANNOUNCES QUALCOMM VENTURES AS VIRTUAL REALITY VERTICAL SPONSOR 14th November, 2017

Consistently leading conversations on the forefront of innovation and technology, Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) is pleased to announce American multinational semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company, Qualcomm, will be joining the Extreme Tech Challenge as an Official Sponsor of XTC 2018. Leading this year’s Virtual Reality Vertical judging panel, Qualcomm will use their unparalleled industry expertise as they choose the best VR startups to receive an incredible prize and to be presented on stage at CES alongside the overall Top 10 start-ups.

Qualcomm has been the cornerstone of communication technology for decades, and as one of the founding companies that helped launch the mobile revolution they are the perfect sponsors to help the Extreme Tech Challenge competitors explore the ever- growing field of Virtual Reality. In order to stimulate human senses with realistic feedback, a successful VR product relies on 3 pillars of immersion: visual quality, sound quality, and intuitive interaction. Offering an unprecedented experience, Qualcomm will be on hand to to guide competitors through this new frontier of mobile technology as Virtual Reality shapes how people will be able interact with the world.

Qualcomm has made it their business to help others build amazing things, and as the latest to join XTC’s 2018 incredible team of sponsors, Kevin Gregory- Senior Director of Business Development at Qualcomm,couldn’t be more thrilled to be involved with this year’s Extreme Tech Challenge.

On the upcoming competition, “‘Qualcomm prides itself on creating enabling technologies that allow new ecosystems to flourish. VR has tremendous potential to change the way the world works and plays.  We believe great VR experiences shouldn’t require wires or expensive computers, and we are thrilled that many of the core mobile technologies pioneered for smartphones are enabling the untethered VR future.

Equally excited about the new partnership with Qualcomm, XTC Co-Founder, Bill Tai, said. “Qualcomm Ventures is a fantastic sponsor to have on-board. With a hugely successful global technology company involved with XTC, they will be able to impart their expertise on the VR vertical, providing support and expertise to the start-ups.”

As part of its sponsorship, Qualcomm will be awarding The Final Champion of XTC 2018 with a meeting with the world-renowned Qualcomm Ventures Team as well as development kits for their unique XR program.

Sponsorship brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm’s technologies powered the smartphone revolution and connected billions of people. We pioneered 3G and 4G – and now we are leading the way to 5G and a new era of intelligent, connected devices. Our products are revolutionizing industries, including automotive, computing, IoT, healthcare and data center, and are allowing millions of devices to connect with each other in ways never before imagined. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, all of our engineering, research and development functions, and all of our products and services businesses, including, our QCT semiconductor business.

About Extreme Tech Challenge

The Extreme Tech Challenge is the world’s largest startup competition. It is a contest designed to identify emerging leaders that have the potential to dominate their markets and reward them with greatly enhanced visibility, infrastructure and resources to scale quickly at low cost. Ten world class startups will be selected as semi-finalists to present live on stage at CES with 3 finalists presenting to a panel of all-star judges TBA on Necker Island. Winners will receive resources to amplify their success and scale their companies.


XTC SPONSORSHIP SERIES ANNOUNCES OWC AS SPONSOR OF SUSTAINABILITY VERTICAL 23rd October, 2017

Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) is proud to announce that US-based manufacturer of storage, connectivity, upgrade and expansion products,  OWC will be joining the list of 2017 Sponsors, representing the Sustainability Verticalfor this year’s competition. OWC will also become the Official Data Storage provider of XTC and ACTAI, providing their expertise and services to ensure the competition runs smoothly.

Starting with Apple compatible memory upgrades, OWC’s product offering has grown to encompass the entire spectrum of upgrade and expansion possibilities, all with a focus on easy, DIY setup and installation. With an outlook that focuses on the long term, OWC looks for simplicity in action and sustainability in practice. It’s as much about building exceptional relationships, as it is about building exceptional products.

OWC has made significant strides towards being zero waste with notable sustainability milestones that include:

– 2008 marked the opening of OWC’s sustainable campus Woodstock, IL.
– 2009 saw the addition of a wind turbine at the Illinois campus.
– 2010 earned OWC’s Illinois campus the LEED® Platinum and ENERGY STAR®.
– 2011 began OWC’s box size program, reducing up to 60% of box volume for their products.
– 2014 introduced the first solar array to OWC’s Austin, Texas facility.
– 2015 expanded OWC’s solar initiatives as a second solar array went online at the Illinois campus.

XTC 2018 marks the fourth year of this exciting and innovating competition that brings together the world’s brightest entrepreneurial minds to compete for the chance to pitch their budding business ventures to an all-star panel of judges on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island.

On their involvement in XTC 2018, Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO, said “At OWC we love technology and innovation, it’s been a part of our DNA since day one. All of our solutions, from our Mac upgrade and storage solutions to game changing products like our Thunderbolt 3 Dock, and new ThunderBlade V4 are completely driven by innovation, so I’m absolutely thrilled to be a part of the 2018 Extreme Tech Challenge.”

As part of its sponsorship, OWC will offer the winner of the Sustainability vertical one of their most sought after products, the OWC Envoy Pro EX. Elegant in design, and easily carried in a coat pocket, backpack, or briefcase, the anodized aluminium body securely houses an OWC Aura Pro 6G Solid State Drive offering 100x greater protection of valuable data than even an Enterprise class hard drive.

Commenting on the partnership, XTC Co-Founder, Bill Tai, said ““We are thrilled to have OWC as a sponsor of the very important and relevant Sustainability Vertical. In addition to this, OWC provide their leading data storage expertise and services to not only XTC, but the wider ACTAI group. We simply couldn’t function without their help”.

Sponsorship brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship.

About OWC

At OWC, we’re committed to constant innovation, exemplary customer service, and American design. For more than 25 Years, OWC has had a simple goal. To create innovative DIY solutions to give you the most from your technology.  Our dedication to excellence and sustainable innovation extends beyond our day-to-day business and into the community. We strive for zero waste, both environmentally and strategically.


XTC Sponsorship Series Presents: Jungle Creations As Sponsor For Social Media Vertical 4th September, 2017

Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) is excited to introduce first time judges and proud official sponsors of the Social Media Vertical category Jungle Creations to the 2018 XTC Sponsorship Series. Jungle Creations specializes in viral content creation and distribution for an array of global brands and regularly tops the charts for the most shared branded campaigns on Facebook. Regularly achieving over four billion views a month on its social channels alone, they’re in the top 10 most viewed media platforms in the world and in March 2017 their channel VT was the most viewed channel on all of Facebook.

Now in it’s fourth year, XTC 2018 returns more exciting and innovative than ever as the competition brings together the world’s brightest entrepreneurial minds to compete for the chance to pitch their budding business ventures to an all-star panel of judges on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island. Jungle Creations will be be joining the team of global sponsors who will be on hand to guide and support this year’s applicants as they compete in the Tech Challenge of their lives.

“At Jungle Creations we’re always on the look-out for exciting and innovative technology companies to showcase to our billions of viewers. With our platform reaching millions of people a day, we think it’s important to use this influence to give ground-breaking tech companies an opportunity to be seen.We’ve carefully crafted our network to offer specific, relevant audiences for brands. By building platforms with unique identities and audiences, we’re able to market category-specific brands to the right people at the right time.We’re proudly sponsoring the Social Media vertical to help start-ups learn how to market the right way on social by utilising platforms like ours to grow their businesses, drive sales and raise awareness of their world-changing tech.” – Mitch Strong, Jungle Creations Commercial Partnerships Director

As part of its sponsorship, Jungle Creations will offer prizes to the contestants within the Social Media Vertical as well as to the Winner of XTC 2018. Up for grabs is one Social Media Consultancy session with the Head of Social at Jungle Creations and one branded video distribution on its largest page VT.

Commenting on the partnership, XTC COO, Sabine Schindlbauer said: “We are delighted to welcome Jungle Creations as the official Social Media Vertical sponsor. Integrating brands into XTC helps the entire competition grow, whilst also helping Jungle Creations achieve their objectives. With Jungle Creations’ leading content platforms showcasing our start-ups technology, it will enable them to grow and drive global awareness.”

Deal brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship.

Jungle Creations: Website | Facebook | Instagram
XTC: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram


XTC Sponsorship Series Presents: Meltwater As Sponsor For New Data & Analtyics Vertical 10th August, 2017

Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) 2018 is excited to announce the addition of a data & analytics vertical for this year’s competition, which will focus on highlighting tomorrow’s most promising data science companies. The new vertical will be sponsored by Meltwater, a global leader in media intelligence. Meltwater’s Outside Insight technology uses advanced AI and data science to help more than 25,000 clients leverage valuable external data to make more informed business decisions. Meltwater was founded in Norway in 2001 by CEO Jorn Lyseggen, who bootstrapped the company with $15,000. Today it has more than 1,500 employees and 55 offices globally.

On their involvement in XTC 2018, Jorn Lyseggen, Meltwater Founder & CEO, said: “Meltwater has long been dedicated to supporting the next generation of tech startups through our data science hub, Shack15, in London and our non-profit, MEST, in Africa. I’m thrilled to be part of this year’s XTC and to support the next big innovators.”

Lyseggen will be the official judge for the Meltwater data & analytics prize. The winner of this vertical will receive 2 seats at a hot desk in one of Meltwater’s global Shack15 data science hub locations (including London, SF and Shanghai) for 3 months. Shack15 was launched in London in 2016 as a co-working and events space specifically focused on data science startups, as part of Meltwater’s commitment to fostering tech startup communities around the world.

Commenting on the partnership, XTC COO, Sabine Schindlbauer said: “We are delighted to welcome Meltwater as the official Data & Analytics Vertical sponsor. Their leading technology and media intelligence showcases exactly what our competition stands for, and their fantastic prize for the winner of the vertical will continue to help data-focused startups grow.”

Deal Brokered by Slingshot Sponsorship.

About Meltwater

Meltwater helps companies make better, more informed decisions based on insights from the outside. More than 25,000 companies use the Meltwater media intelligence platform to stay on top of billions of online conversations, extract relevant insights, and use them to strategically manage their brand and stay ahead of their competition. With over 55 offices on six continents, Meltwater is dedicated to personal, global service built on local expertise. Meltwater also operates the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), a nonprofit organization devoted to nurturing future generations of entrepreneurs.For more information, follow Meltwater on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, or visit meltwater.com.


Sponsorship Inspires the Next Generation 29th June, 2017

Education is the engine of the future.  As we live in a world that requires skilled people to run our technology, a shortage in this sector of the workforce will slow us down.  According to the Daily Telegraph,  43% of STEM skilled vacancies in the UK are difficult to fill.  Across the world, there is a shortage of workers for this highly technical world.  And as technology continues to advance, the shortage will become more extreme.

Sponsorship should be part of the solution.  Governments are building STEM skill learning into their education strategies but it is expensive and will not solve the problem fast enough.  STEM skills are needed in the workplace now.  Private schools have the money to push STEM education but only 7% of the UK population attends private schools. State schools have not been given enough resources to make big changes in STEM education.  Not only do we need skilled teachers, but teachers need to be inspirational. Children need role models to look up to and follow so we need to provide inspiration beyond the national curriculum. Children of today are digital natives and need to be educated to work to develop their technological world. Sponsorship can provide not only the resources but also the essential spark that is so badly lacking in our schools.

Sponsorship should support STEM education as it has the power to ignite STEM interest in young people.  Yesterday, the Bloodhound Super Sonic Car visited ICS, a school in North London.  It is a technologically complex machine that will attempt to break the land speed record and hit 1000mph in a South African desert next year.  A new partnership has been created between Bloodhound SSC and Saudi Aramco to support the Bloodhound SSC traveling to schools across the UK.  The charismatic team headed by Mike Ford used interactive projects to explain the complex technology to the roomful of excited children who sat in rapt attention before queuing up to sit in the simulator.  The children heard the story and watched footage of the brave Wing Commander Andy Green and then worked on technical problem-solving projects that the Bloodhound SSC had needed to work out to develop.  Partnerships can offer interesting engagement that conventional education cannot always achieve and prove that STEM is both exciting and relevant.

Sponsorship involves many people working towards a common goal.  Though the Bloodhound SSC continues to develop new technologies and push boundaries, it now has the added mission to promote the uptake of STEM subject by schoolchildren and inspire passion for the disciplines that make such a project possible.  Saudi Aramco is a leader in innovation and has cutting-edge technologies in the field of energy. It has a developed programme in Saudi Arabia to promote the study of STEM subjects by young students and educate teachers to address its problem of the shortage of skilled workers.  Governments across the world acknowledge the need for more STEM students.  In a technological world with such a need for skilled workers, all interests will be aligned to support the partnership.

Sponsorship is a story that can engage for a lifetime.  The story of the Bloodhound Super Sonic Car began more than 25 years ago and over the years has evolved into its current configuration with the original driver Richard Noble as the Project Director.  People around the world have been following the story of the Bloodhound SSC since the 1980’s and look forward to each new exciting development.  Saudi Aramco’s support will be entwined with the story of the Bloodhound SSC as it attempts the record and furthers technological advances.  Children who are introduced to the Bloodhound SSC will never forget the day the modular car visited their school and will follow and support the project in the news, on the website and on social media.  The memory will last a lifetime of engagement.

The partnership of Saudi Aramco and Bloodhound SSC is providing a solution to the problem of STEM skill shortage by inspiring the next generation to pursue STEM careers.



How to Monetise your Online Audience 2nd May, 2018

If you have built a large audience, whether it’s on your blog, YouTube channel, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, you have the opportunity to monetise that online platform. This applies whether you’re a team of 50 working in a city centre office, or a one-man band producing content from your bedroom in your parents’ house.

And you don’t need to have an audience of millions to monetise your online presence. Brands are increasingly keen to work with “micro influencers”, people with a small but strongly engaged following.

But what is the best way to monetise your online audience? For many influencers, particularly those who started out as a hobby with no thought for making money from their content, turning their online platform and audience into a business can be a scary prospect. You need to be careful not to let brands take advantage of you. And, crucially, make sure you don’t compromise the quality of your content and your relationship with your audience just to make a quick buck.

But handle monetisation right and you can build some fantastic relationships with brands that benefit both you and your audience. These relationships can help give you the time and money to produce better content for your audience than ever before. They can give you access to things that your audience want to see. They can help strengthen the relationship with your existing audience and expand your reach to help grow your audience further.

What are the most common ways to monetise your online platform?
  1. Sponsored posts
    This can be in the form of a blog post or YouTube video, or even just a social post in partnership with the brand. It’s normally a good idea to go beyond an ‘advertorial’ vibe where you just rave about how good the product is for 4,000 words. The brand will likely have one or two key points they want to get across, but beyond that, it’s down to you to tell your audience about your experience with the product, how you use it and how it fits into your life.
  2. Affiliate marketing
    Let’s say you’re a beauty blogger and you write an article about your ‘top five makeup bag must-haves’. You include a link to each of the products. But here’s the nifty part. Every time someone clicks on one of the links and makes a purchase, you earn a percentage of the product price. The user doesn’t pay any extra, it’s simply a reward from the brand for you helping generate a sale.
  3. Pay per click
    This works in a similar way to affiliate marketing, but you receive a fee for every click on a link you use. This can work well as your job is done when a user clicks the link. If they end up deciding not to make a purchase, you’ve still done your bit and earnt your money.
  4. Selling display ad space
    This is the oldest and most traditional form of online monetisation. Quite simply, adverts will run alongside your content. The technical side of the adverts being displayed will often be handled automatically, so don’t worry about having to spend hours dealing with coding or digital artwork!
Our advice

Starting to work with brands and monetising your platform can be very exciting, and so it should be. You’ve worked hard to build an audience and there’s no reason you shouldn’t benefit from it. Just be careful not to forget why you started producing content in the first place.

Choose brands you love

We’d recommend only doing paid promotional work with brands that you actually respect and like. Your audience won’t appreciate it if you start trying to hard sell them products that are clearly not things you would normally use. Doing this can quickly damage the trust you have built up with your audience.

The brand will get better results if the work you do with them is genuine and driven by passion, not just money.

Don’t give what you don’t want to give

Be careful not to agree things you’re not comfortable with. When you’re organising your first brand deals, it can be easy to let the brand dictate things that you later regret. If the brand asks for exclusivity, for instance, find out exactly which other brands this would preclude you from working with, and for what time period. Make sure you’re not blocking future opportunities for yourself.

Build long-lasting relationships

A good scenario is to have long-term brand partners, rather than just a series of short-term, one-off deals. That way your audience gets used to the idea that you love Product X, rather than chopping and changing from month-to-month.

Make it a two-way street

Don’t be afraid to talk about how the brand can help you. If you’re doing a partnership with a brand that has a large social media following, find out whether they’d be happy to share the content you create. They get free content to use on their social channels, and you get exposure to a much wider audience, helping you grow your fanbase. It’s a win-win.

Don’t forget why you started

Keep enjoying what you do and remember that you didn’t start your platform with the goal or serving brands. If a certain brand partnership doesn’t feel right to you, you’re free to politely decline.

Need more help? Read our article: ‘How to Get Sponsors as an Influencer’



The Extreme Tech Challenge 2018 launches with style in Oslo 30th March, 2017

After a hugely successful XTC 2017 competition, which included some amazing sponsors, XTC 2018 has officially launched with a bang in Oslo.

The world’s largest technology start up competition, backed by Sir Richard Branson, hosted an intimate launch at SALT, Oslo with multiple budding start-ups, accelerators, athletes and the XTC team. Not only will this year be bigger and better than ever, there is also a new look website, new brand and, of course, new start-ups ensuring the best of the best can achieve greatness with their game changing ideas.

After a grand opening from XTC’s CEO Bill Tai, we were treated to some insight in to the success behind some of the world’s greatest technology companies, a look in to the future and how to keep ahead of the game. Here is what I learned from the best:

The 3 P’s of successful start-ups

Paul Herz (Apple and Facebook) gave the start-ups in the room invaluable tips on ensuring scalability and success. The three key areas are platform, partners and processes. Apple for example has iTunes as its main platform which is simple, easy to use and designed for the consumer. They have over 70 partners that produce different parts of their products better and cheaper than they could, which ensures the product quality and profit margins remain high. Finally, Apple’s processes are simple, streamlined and set to ensure everything is delivered on time. All start-ups should emulate this simplicity, over complicating everything and getting expensive partners on board wont attract VC’s or investors and will erode the profit margins.

Arnold Schwarzenegger might have got it right

Isabelle Ringnes, tech-evangelist, took us all through the exciting, and slightly daunting future of tech. It was incredibly interesting to hear about the realistic possibilities to connect our brains directly with devices and robots that have been designed to emulate feelings and facial expressions. Now, I’m not against robots or AI for that matter, but as long as there are restrictions in place to stop Arnie popping back and the Terminator films coming true!

Sport and start-ups are one and the same

To top it all off, legendary Olympic Nordic Skiier (and tech enthusiast) Axel Lund Svindal explained the need to overcome adversity, not just in sport, but in the similar competitive landscape of the start-up world. There are many attributes that cross-over between sport and start-ups; determination to succeed, competitiveness, hard-work and professionalism to name a few. Axel talked us through his incredible career and the mind-set in takes to be the best, some amazing advice for budding global disruptors.

In fine XTC form, it was all finished with a party integrating round table tech discussion. With XTC applications for 2018 now open, it is the perfect time for sponsors to integrate in to this exciting and growing industry with the next global organisations. Get in touch to find out more – [email protected] or 020 7226 5052.


There’s No ‘I’ In Team 10th January, 2017

Athlete endorsements are not a new concept. Brands have been using household names to increase the sales of their products for hundreds of years. It adds credibility, differentiates from competitors and becomes synonymous with the athlete.

In recent years, athletes and personalities are generating enormous revenue from sponsorships that surpass their earnings from their respective professions. Sport, is of course, the stand out example here, but movie stars are not far away. In 2016, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is estimated to have earned more than $51 million from various endorsements. In sport, there is no bigger example than Cristiano Ronaldo who generated more than $250 million throughout 2016 from numerous deals, including; a lifetime deal with Nike and a host of other deals with brands such as Herbalife, Toyota, Armani, Tag Heuer, Castrol and Monster Headphones.

Celebrities are not just competing against each other for sponsors, they are competing against teams, in some circumstances, their own team. In 2016, Real Madrid amassed over $265 million in sponsorship revenue which is not a small amount. Compared to their star man, it is only $15m more.

The attractiveness of an individual is their engaged fans, who idolise them, some of which would purchase anything that their idol endorses. Teams, of course, have these fans but they are potentially less engaged. With stars becoming bigger than the teams they are in, teams need to become more creative with their assets and increase their offering to a potential sponsor.

What a team does have that an individual cannot offer are larger media platforms, which include branding within stadium for matches, stadium naming rights, and kit sponsorship. This provides a tangible link to the team and is where the majority of value stems from in sponsorship. However, with the increase in recent years of Social Media, athletes are catching up with the teams and in some circumstances surpassing them. Real Madrid’s Twitter followers are 6.7 million, Cristiano Ronaldo’s is 49.3 million!

The team does however, have access to not just one athlete, but an entire team of athletes. It is standard in most contracts for players to commit to sponsor activations such as player appearances, image rights to use in sponsor campaigns and even the use of their social media. This eclipses the offering one player can offer a sponsor. Team sponsorship will offer larger awareness. In addition, teams can also offer direct fan engagement, not just through media channels. Utilising stadium assets such as activation areas and hospitality for B2B engagement.

Barcelona’s partnership with tyre manufacturer Lassa is a perfect example. Through its sponsorship of Barcelona, Lassa leveraged player access and created an entire advertising campaign featuring Arda Turan, Gerard Pique, Neymar and Luis Suarez. Through this they now have multiple athlete endorsers, not just one.

Although the teams have a greater pool of assets to offer a sponsor, it is crucial they offer creative and ROI driven activations for a sponsor. If not, these individuals could even start poaching sponsors from under their nose.


E-Cigarettes – An ethical sponsor? 7th December, 2016

I’m sure by now everyone is familiar with the vaping phenomenon sweeping the globe and the E-Cigarette companies sprouting up at every corner. These are classed as a ‘healthy’ alternative to cigarettes and studies show both sides of the argument as to whether this is a true statement or not.

The large majority of rights holders, predominantly in the sporting sector, have a strict ‘No Tobacco’ sponsorship policy which is completely understandable. There is no link to tobacco and sporting performance and it is detrimental to the image of the club. Not to mention that any marketing of tobacco in the UK, and many countries around the world, is strictly prohibited.

However, E-Cigarettes and Vape brands are increasing their marketing and venturing into the sponsorship space as there are currently no laws in place saying they can’t.

St. Helens, the stalwart of English Rugby League, has recently announced its new Title and Stadium Naming Rights sponsor, leading e-cigarette brand ‘Totally Wicked’. Apart from the slightly odd naming of the stadium, which is now the ‘Totally Wicked Stadium’, it is interesting to see how the club has announced their new Title Sponsor.

In the press release St. Helens have said the e-cigarette brand contributes ‘not only financially, but also in supporting our wider health objectives’. They then go on to mention that they ‘have been able to create a supportive and vape friendly atmosphere at the club and believe the new deal will further their pioneering work by not only helping to raise awareness yet further of the damage smoking tobacco can do [but] also in deterring people from taking on the habit in the first place’.

It is proven E-Cigarettes are a much better alternative to smoking, but they are still addictive and contain nicotine. Whether you agree with this statement or not, it is interesting to see how from a PR perspective a controversial sponsor can be presented in a positive light.

The decision on whether a specific category of brand can become a sponsor or not is down to the rights holder or the governing body. In this case, St. Helens have simply secured a sponsor which will inject revenue into the club without breaking any rules, credit to them. It will, however, be interesting to see if more teams start to announce similar partnerships or if the league steps in to stop any similar controversial sponsors.