It seems you know that your products or services are needed at that particular market. Or is it so?

Going abroad with your creations is not cheap – so you have to think it through carefully.

Firstly, it is wise to  create a list of information you need to know in order to make your decision. For example – what is the market volume, the  growth trends, what kind of competitors are already there, the difference from your home market, who are the main buyers ect.

Google a lot, this is very helpful. You can find out necessary information in articles in media, some market overviews, annual reports .

Of cource, you have to put some effort to the primary research as well. You have to talk with people, observe their behavior, conduct some focus groups – all these can give you some valuable information and you will save lots of money not doing all the mistakes.

Only after these steps you are able to decide, which market is right to you – what product would be the best to introduce there and who will be you partners.  And the most important – which communication channels to use to reach your audience/clients and how much all of this costs.

“Creative Business Cup, the place to be!” this is some of the first information you find when surfing the internet for Creative Business Cup.

CBC (in short) is the first and unique global business competition for creative startups. Today, the competition involves more than 65 countries around the world and each year the “world champion” of creative industries is announced.

Creative Business Cup is the place to be for all those creative entrepreneurs who are looking for international markets and the opportunity to present their startup to business insiders, global investors and intermediaries.

It is the place to be to start a process of internationalization as we imagine it, applying the principles of ICCI project.

Today, we have the pleasure of interviewing Rasmus Wiinstedt Tscherning, CEO and Founder of Creative Business Cup.

“How would you describe Creative Business Cup in your own words?”
Creative Business Cup is the opportunity for startups to absorb knowledge, inspiration and establish valuable connections. It is a way to show the array of potential that lies within the creative industries, and to showcase how creative ideas migrate into every sector and industry category in one way or another. For the entrepreneurs, this is their chance to connect to investors and global markets and strengthen their innovative capabilities to the benefit of industry and society.

“What was the vision that brought you to imagine Creative Business Cup?”
My vision is deeply rooted in a fascination and strong belief in the creative economy. Working for 20 years within the creative industries, and always having an entrepreneurial spirit myself, it was natural for me to combine the two. As CEO of Centre for Cultural and Experience Economy, I had the idea to establish a competition based on innovation and creativity. I reached out to my network and made it happen. At that time, 17 countries participated. That was the birth of Creative Business Cup as we know it today.

“How can an event like Creative Business Cup help Creative and Cultural startups internationalize their business?”
Participating in CBC means showcasing your idea in front of professional and knowledgeable jury members, and other potential stakeholders. The entrepreneurs receive valuable feedback that they can apply to their business model or product, that may help them reach their goals. Creative Business Cup is an international event, which means that jury, speakers, entrepreneurs and guests come from various backgrounds and have different values and pain points. This gives the entrepreneurs a nuanced picture of what business looks like around the world, which will help them to seek out the markets in which their product creates most value and change.

“What is the role of intermediaries (national hosts) in Creative Business Cup?”
In addition to hosting the national Creative Business Cup finals, our National Partners are our link to the different corners of the world. Through our National Partners, we have established a network and a movement that brings entrepreneurs from Botswana together with investors from Norway, and help startups in Thailand bring their business to Europe; We connect the creative innovators around the world and brings forth their full potential. This is only possible due to our network of dedicated National Partners.

“How does Creative Business Cup help the entrepreneurs in better structuring their offer for the CCI sector?”
Creative Business Cup highly broadens the entrepreneurs’ horizon as they are introduced to a wide range of people from the CCI sector. It also deepens their knowledge, as they receive feedback, pitch training, training about investor-readiness and much more. The competition highlights how creative and innovative competences brings value to the wider economy, as the ideas presented are extensively different ­- from African jam to Chinese robot technology-  but are all rooted in a creative mindset.

“Do you have interesting stories of participants from CBC that you would consider best practices of internationalization?”
Well, I don’t want to be biased… But a great example is actually the winner of CBC Denmark from 2013, Cinema dell’ Arte. They invented a suit that detects your movements, and directly transfer them to an illustrated character on a big screen – creating an intersection between live theatre and movie theatre. The actors wearing the suits are able to interact with the audience, though they are illustrated cartoon characters. This was the beginning of what is now called Rokoko. The concept with the wearable suit that detects motions is the same, but their business idea was upscaled to accommodate a bigger market. Today, they have customers all around the world and their invention is applied in education, medicine and obviously entertainment industry, such as gaming and movie productions.

“What has the future in store for Creative Business Cup?”
As a highly dynamic entity, Creative Business Cup is constantly evolving and growing. In 2018, we have more National Partners than ever and thus more national finals than we have ever had. As an organization, CBC has many plans and visions, including regional initiatives in e.g. MENA and Africa as well as sector specific initiatives such as “BUILD” and “Welcome”. On our website, www.creativebusinesscup.com, people can stay up-to-date on our current initiatives and plans for the future.