Do I have to finish my project before applying to the Innovation Fund, or can I pitch an idea?

I threw something into the first round, so I can give you a rough read on how it went. Mine was nowhere near polished. It was a working hack, ugly code, a rough video of it doing its job, and about a page explaining what problem it solves and what I'd do with actual funding. That was enought to get through review and onto the community vote, and I'd say the writeup mattered more than the polish. What they seemed to care about was whether you clearly understood the problem and whether the thing actually runs, not whether it looks like a finished product.

So on your specific worry: a half-working script plus sketches is not a one-shot burn if you frame it right. Show the script doing even part of the job, be upfront about what works and what doesn't, and lay out a short plan for the rest. What would sink you is a slick document about an idea with nothing runnable behind it. Judges and voters both want to see proof of life. And honestly, don't sit on it for months polishing. Somebody else out there is annoyed by the same material-swap pain and might be building the same fix right now. On categories, small utilities and scripts absolutely fit. A good chunk of the winners from round one were workflow tools and add-ons rather than big firmware rewrites, so don't talk yourself out of it because yours is little. If your tool makes the toolchanger workflow less annoying, that's exactly the sort of thing they said they want. For what counts as a submission, the fund page on their site is the authority and it's clearer than the blog posts. My memory is you describe the project, link to wherever the work lives, and include some evidence it exists. Double check that list yourself though, because I'm going off what I did a while back and they may have tweaked the template for round two. One practical tip: record your demo video early, even with the half-working version. It forces you to explain the thing plainly, and that explanation is basicly your writeup done.

That's reassuring to hear. My idea is the opposite of fancy, it's just a little holder thing that keeps the spare material spools from tangling while the machine swaps between colors. Been taping it togehter from bits of leftover plastic and it kind of works, so maybe I film that as-is like you said. One thing I keep wondering though, if you got picked, do they want anything back from you later, like sharing what you built with everyone else, or is it yours to do with what you want? I'd be fine either way, just curious before I fill anything in.

On the what-do-they-want-back question, from what I saw with a buddy who got funded, it was pretty light. He had to post an update or two on the forum and credit them when he shared the files. No big contract stuff for a small project like ours. Worth checking the fine print yourself though. Also on filming the janky version, just prop your phone up and let the machine run through a couple swaps. My buddy's video was terrible quality and it still did the job, beacuse you could see the problem getting solved. Nobody cared about production value.