The Pioneer Tournament 2018 (Win $5,000 and a round-trip ticket to Silicon Valley)

Deadline: October 29, 2018

The Pioneer Tournament 2018 is open for applications. The goal is to provide the necessary funding, guidance and community in order to nurture those minds into the great scientists, artists and entrepreneurs of the future.

Pioneer is a community of creative people working on interesting projects around the globe. It is an attempt to find the most brilliant people in the world, wherever they are, and to identify cheap and scalable interventions that might help them achieve their goals. They want to provide some of the non-intuitive benefits of Silicon Valley to many more people.

Apply with any project you need help with. After 30 days, the best players will receive $5,000, a round-trip ticket to Silicon Valley, and access to mentorship from some of the world’s most successful individuals. Pioneer has a network of experts across different fields. Experts both review applications and provide advice to Pioneers. After 3 months Pioneers present their work to experts on a global stage.

The Pioneer Tournament takes place over 4 weeks from Monday October 29th through Monday November 26th.

How It Works

• Apply with any project you need help with. It could be a company, physics research, journalism, or art. All you need to do is convince other applicants that your project is worth doing.
• Every week other participants will give you feedback and points. The more interesting your work, the higher your score will be. Each month, the top-ranked applicants become new Pioneers.

Prize

Pioneers will receive…

• $5,000 to spend however you’d like. You can buy a computer, books, coffee or whatever your heart desires. We trust that you’ll use the money to advance yourself somehow.
• A round-trip ticket to Silicon Valley for a week-long retreat with other Pioneers.
• Mentorship from some of the world’s most successful individuals.
• Access to the private online Pioneer community.
• A 1-year subscription to The Economist.
• Participation in Pioneer’s Presentation Day.

Eligibility

• Pioneer is open to all.
• They’re looking for ambitious, creative people working on something interesting. It can be research, software, a work of art, a company — anything!
• There is no country limit.
• There is no expertise limit.
• Do anything you want with the money: spend it on books, a new computer or coffee.
• You only need a webcam and an internet connection to apply.

Application

1. Submit your application · Due Sunday October 28th 11:59pm PDT. You’ll describe yourself and your project. You can apply alone or with teammates.
2. Vote on projects · Monday October 29th. Other applicants & Pioneer Experts will also vote on your application. Applicants will only see some of your responses.
3. Submit weekly updates · Due every Sunday. You’ll submit a progress update once a week.
4. Vote on updates · Every Monday. Get points from other applicants based on your progress. The more impressive your work, the higher your score will be.
5. Become a Pioneer. The highest scoring applications will receive the Pioneer offer: $5,000, a round-trip ticket to Silicon Valley, mentorship from experts, and more.
6. Presentation Day & beyond. After 3 months, Pioneers will present their work during a “Presentation Day”, which will be streamed live online.

Click here to apply.