Startup Acceleration

Are you a start-up or an entrepreneurial team? Discover your path to market entry, validate your business model, win your first customers and secure your first investment.

ACE

Let's speed up this startup!

Let's help you navigate your way to entering the market, validating your business model, attracting customers, and securing investment.

Early stage

With a functional prototype

Free of charge

For founders, for the whole acceleration cycle

No equity sharing

Protecting your shares with ACE

40 week

Duration to prepare for market entry

Online

with occasional in-person attendance

October - July

As a proper period to prepare and launch

Zero to one with a proven methodology

Laying the foundations

Work on defining and refining your target market from October to early July.

Research

Conduct primary market research to gain insights into your customers and users.

Experiment

Run experiments to validate key assumptions with potential customers.

Build and bond!

Establish and cultivate your founding team to ensure success.

Fundraise!

Make progress on finding fundraising opportunities.

Launch

Work towards launching an investor-ready business.

A place to succeed

Have dedicated space in the co-working environment at the premises of ACE.

We help build your ideas into investible, globally scalable startups.

Intensive coaching

Startup coaching is the best way to speed up your progress. Speed, not for the sake of just going faster, but to avoid wasting time on wrong decisions. Our dedicated coaches serve as trusted advisors. Through one-on-one coaching sessions and ongoing support, we empower you to create a go-to-market strategy, craft a solid marketing plan, develop your MVP, achieve profitability, hire the best talent, and build a motivated team.

Business Support & Mentoring from Industry Leaders

We offer a curated network of more than 70 experienced mentors, industry specialists, and entrepreneurs, all eager to volunteer their time to support your business growth journey. By carefully matching your start-up with the most suitable experts, we ensure you receive top-tier structured mentoring and strategic guidance to help your business thrive.

“Milestone update” Gathering & Community Building

Once every two months, you will present your progress, get unbiased feedback and pose any questions or requests for help. Teams will often pair up to help each other with issues and give each other feedback.

Guest Talks & Seminar Series

You will expand your knowledge of entrepreneurship techniques and frameworks via a seminar series, as well as guest talks by thought leaders on topics of interest such as service design; market research and competition analysis, innovation teams’ management, no code tools & prototype design; financials; sales and pricing strategies; ESG metrics; pitching and storytelling.

Investor-readiness Training and Fundraising opportunities

Our investor track record is impressive – with 10.6M investment raised since 2014. We have strong connections with local funds and angel investment groups, ensuring that you can make those all-important investor connections. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to apply to participate in our annual major investors showcase, Athenian Nexus - Investor Day. 

Flexible Office Space and Administrative Support

We offer flexible office space and administrative support to ensure you have everything you need to focus on growing your business. 

Access to the Start-for-Future (SFF) Cooperative

By joining the SFF Cooperative, you will be part of a forward-thinking network that offers plenty of opportunities and benefits such as access to an Open Incubator, the SFF platform and comprehensive education programs,

Program timeline

End of submissions

Survival strategies to ensure proactive domination

Team auditions

Survival strategies to ensure proactive domination

Qualifications

Survival strategies to ensure proactive domination

We offer a curated network of more than 70 experienced mentors, industry specialists, and entrepreneurs, all eager to volunteer their time to support your business growth journey. By carefully matching your start-up with the most suitable experts, we ensure you receive top-tier structured mentoring and strategic guidance to help your business thrive.

Who should apply?

The venture must be an innovation-based, may not be a “consulting” (i.e. must have a product or service)
The venture must have a functioning prototype that validates the concept and its feasibility.
The venture must demonstrate a strong potential for significant commercial growth.
The venture must demonstrate its potential to attract significant investment for long-term growth
The team involved must be committed and open to outside support and advice