Innovation Starter Accelerator supports pre-seed stage of newly established Bulgarian companies.
We train early entrepreneurs and they can rely on our expertise and most importantly on our business and investment network.
Since the start of our application campaign, we have been approached by a number of companies, startups, entrepreneurs, stakeholders and project owners with business ideas that need our support. Although we are easily reachable and you will either know us or will be able to introduce yourself to us at an event, we don’t have the capacity to set up a personal meeting with everyone that is interested to apply. Therefore, we created a more structured application process. We would invite you to fill out an online application form here.
Only the most promising companies will be invited to the next step of the selection process.
What are some of the key factors that we will analyze for pre-seed companies?
- Presence in Bulgaria (entity, team members, revenues, R&D activity)
- Formed team, which is dedicated to the execution of the project
- Some idea-stage projects might be considered, however, the team must consist of well-rounded and successful entrepreneurs with complementary expertise, excellent reputation and relevant industry experience
- The project tackles a clear problem with a valid solution within a well-defined market segment
- Problem/solution fit has been achieved
- Companies that reached product/market fit will be tolerated
- Product validation could be justified in the following ways: customer interviews, reference to comparable products, actual subscribers/users/sales
- International scalability is preferable
What can you expect from us?
- Acceleration program (2 months)
- Utilize the mentorship network during the acceleration
The selection process:
- You can expect this process to last 1 month – month and a half
- First, we review and estimate the viability of the project
- A limited number of teams are invited to acceleration program
Good luck and we look forward to reviewing your applications!
Innovation Starter Team