The Step 2 interviews in the EIC Accelerator are relatively new. Once you submit your Step 2 proposal, you are invited to an online interview with one evaluator, also called the technology expert. This article explains who that person usually is, how the interview is set up and how to use the new three-minute pitch.
Who Interviews You
In reality, the evaluator is usually a consultant: someone who is paid in some form by the EIC to conduct the interview. It is probably not an entrepreneur or an employee at a company. The evaluator is most likely self-employed or works on a consultancy basis.
The principle is simple. The evaluator has read your proposal and will ask very targeted questions about the things they did not really get from it, or where they were uncertain. They want to hear you explain those points.
How the Interview Is Set Up
The format resembles the Step 3 interview in Brussels, but it takes place online. You select an appointment and then have one hour with the evaluator. There are usually three people in the call:
- You, the applicant.
- The evaluator.
- A moderator from the EIC.
The Role of the Moderator
The moderator does not have much to do, because there is little to moderate between one interviewer and one interviewee. With five interviewers it would be different, as the moderator could manage the discussion between them.
Instead, the moderator is mostly observing. That is still important: the EIC wants to avoid misconduct and check that these interviews are actually going well. When you pay someone to interview a company, you do not know exactly how it will go. Having a moderator check things is therefore good, but do not expect the moderator to talk much.
The New Three-Minute Pitch
Apart from the preparation points covered in other videos, the main change to consider is that applicants now get the opportunity to give a three-minute pitch. As soon as the interview starts, you are asked whether you want to present something. You have three minutes to talk about something or pitch the project.
Using those three minutes to repeat what is already in the proposal does not make sense. I do not recommend simply pulling up the slides you already submitted and telling the evaluator again what you already wrote. They already know it. I would not do that.
What to Present Instead
What works well for these three minutes is to prepare two or three slides that present updates and things that are not in the proposal. It is very common that new things happen after you submit:
- New developments since the submission.
- New conversations.
- New letters of intent that came in right after the deadline.
- Points that are in the proposal but not very pronounced, or where you did not give a lot of detail.
Whatever it is, focus on things that are new and that the evaluator does not know after reading the proposal. Depending on when your interview takes place, you may have updates from just a few weeks or a few months. Really good updates in a very short amount of time show that the company is moving and that things are happening, which is a big plus.
The Rule for the Pitch
Prepare some slides with updates and new material, and do not reiterate the proposal, because the evaluator already knows it. The rest of the interview, the Q&A, is there to clarify the proposal. If there are updates, the three-minute pitch is where you put them.
Step 2 Interview Summary
- The Step 2 interview is online and lasts one hour.
- The evaluator is usually a self-employed consultant paid to conduct the interview.
- The evaluator has read the proposal and asks targeted questions about unclear points.
- An EIC moderator observes the call but rarely speaks.
- Applicants can open with a three-minute pitch.
- Use the pitch for two or three slides of updates, not for repeating the proposal.
