Turn your idea into a thriving global business & win a 70K MDL grant
Upcelerator’s 3-month online idea-stage accelerator offers expert mentorship, funding, and the essential tools to scale your business internationally.
You’ll gain access to a structured program designed to guide you step-by-step as you grow your startup from anywhere in the world. Whether you’re based in Moldova, Romania, Europe, or beyond, we’ll help you build a successful tech startup that thrives on a global scale.
And the best part? The top startup in this batch will be awarded a 70,000 MDL grant to fuel their next phase of growth.
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Mentorship from global Industry Experts
Access top global mentors with experience in leading startups and major companies to guide your growth.
Tailored workshops & hands-on learning
Participate in hands-on, results-driven workshops designed to address your startup’s unique challenges.
Connect with Entrepreneurs, Investors & Professionals
Expand your network globally with entrepreneurs, investors, and industry professionals for new opportunities.
Build your first startup remotely with global reach
Participate and work from anywhere while connecting with a global network to scale your startup on your terms.
Build a pitch deck & learn to pitch to investors
As you complete tasks, you’ll gradually create your own startup pitch and pitch deck, preparing you to confidently present your business to investors.
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Learn from world-class mentors
founders and professionals in global startups
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Vasile Granaci
Head of Sales EMEA at OysterVasile Granaci was the Technology / Business Leader at ByteDance, the owner of TikTok and Largest Start-up in the World. His experience spans various stages of a company's growth, from pure concept to prototype and initial sales ($0 to $1M, team <20 people) through market expansion ($5M to $20M and team >20 people) and high growth scaling ($300M and team of >125+ people).
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Victoria Ous
Partnerships & Talent Lead, Codam CollegeCurrently on a mission of bridging the gap of talent in the Netherlands by making a difference in computer science education. As Partnerships & Talent Lead at Codam, she is connecting the graduate software engineers with companies in search for young tech talent, be it through job opportunities or different events (like coding contests, hackathons, CodamX sessions etc).
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Cameron Manwaring
CEO AT CONSULTING VIRALITY | Forbes 30 Under 30In 2015, Cameron was awarded by Forbes 30 Under 30 for his contributions in Marketing and Advertising. He has developed successful strategies for an array of notable brands including Dreamworks, Turkish Airlines, Freshpet, Pizza Hut, Sony, Pepsi, ESPN, Cristiano Ronaldo, and YouTube themselves. After selling his company, he has shifted his interests and focus towards international Viral Strategy and has consulted for some of the largest firms across the United States, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, KSA, India, Dubai, and Singapore.
Your 3 months launchpad to a global tech startup
At Upcelerator, we specialize in turning early-stage startup ideas into successful global ventures. With top-notch mentorship, a comprehensive curriculum, and equity-free participation, we help entrepreneurs transform their ideas into viable businesses with the potential to scale internationally.
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Mentors
More than 30 international mentors and experts will help you to build your startup. -
Months
The accelerator duration is 3 months, and you'll have a minimum viable product with AI integration at the end. -
Modules
With 12 modules we will cover every important topic on how to build and launch a scalable startup. -
Mentor Hours
More than 100 hours with mentors and experts are available through the duration of the program. -
Equity-Free
You keep all your shares of the company and you give equity only in the case of direct investment. -
Assignments
More than 200 assignments with up to 15 per module to immediately execute and build your startup
What you’ll be working on
This accelerator covers every critical step to launch a successful startup. Learn from seasoned mentors with real-world experience in building and scaling tech-driven businesses. Each module comes with 10-15 targeted assignments to help you implement actionable strategies.
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Customer Development
Module 1Interview potential customers and create profiles. Determine the early adopters of your product. Have a better understanding of the features you have to build first.
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Market and Competition
Module 2Identify competitors and market trends. Analyse the risks, determine the market needs and find a viable solution.
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Product Development
Module 3Fine-tune the development process. Make sure that the product is convenient and usable. Run vigorous tests. Launch fast, learn the lean methodology.
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Branding and Positioning
Module 4Establish your company's visual identity. Give a name to the experience your customers will receive. Work on finding your differentiator and positioning on the market.
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Revenue Models
Module 5Choose the right way to monetize your product. Learn about different ways you can charge for your services or product.
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Go-to-Market Strategies
Module 6Craft a message that speaks to your customer. Build a robust marketing roadmap that will keep your product viable and visible.
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Founding Team and First Employees
Module 7To achieve great things you need a great team. Define the most convenient recruiting strategy and organizational design.
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Finance Operations
Module 8Learn about accounting, how to organise your cash flow and expenses. Identify the key indicators you need to follow in your startup.
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Sales
Module 9Learn how and why your startup needs to be a sales organization. Learn how to build funnels, implement CRMs and create a repeatable process that you can scale.
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Legal, Incorporation and Regulations
Module 10Understand why, sometimes, tech startups require a different legal structure than traditional businesses. Learn how to divide the shares among your cofounders. Incorporate your startup.
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Funding, Bootstrapping and Investors
Module 11Develop an efficient fundraising strategy. Learn what are the essential metrics that investors look at and understand when is your company ready to raise money.
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Graduation, Demo Day
Module 12Congratulations you are a founder now! Pitch to potential investors and mentors. Learn how to use the accelerator community and resources after graduation.
Build something meaningful
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The application deadline
April 30, 2024
Accelerator program dates
May 3th – August 6th, 2025
The 3-month accelerator includes weekly Live Q&As and hands-on assignments to scale your startup. Full commitment is required—failure to engage may result in removal from the program.
Accelerator program fee
The €300 fee is an accountability guarantee to ensure your team’s commitment to completing the program. If your team successfully finishes, the fee will be fully refunded.
This small investment provides access to expert mentorship, valuable resources, and a structured path to scale your business internationally.
Main selection criteria
We seek early-stage startups or scalable ideas with potential for global growth and founders who can execute their vision.
Investment
The best startup in the batch will receive a 70,000 MDL grant to help scale their business further.
At the end of the accelerator, eligible startups may secure equity investments of up to €25,000. We evaluate based on your startup’s idea, team, traction, and market potential to determine investability.
After the program
Upon completion, you’ll gain access to our exclusive founders and alumni community. You’ll continue receiving support from our network, and when you’re ready, you may be eligible for investment opportunities from our investors.
Build your future
Join the accelerator
Our Alumni: 250+ founders scaling global startups
At Upcelerator, we’ve empowered over 250 founders to validate, launch, and scale their startups. Our program has helped entrepreneurs secure angel investment, turn their ideas into reality, and build successful, globally competitive businesses.
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"I am happy with my participation in Upcelerator. In addition to receiving funding, I gained tremendous experience from mentors. I learned about the mistakes that can be avoided in building a startup."
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"There are thousands of things that I learned but in general we learned how to launch a startup - what are the steps and how to work right on every single one of them. Above all are the people I met during the program with whom I hope to keep a good relationship."
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"Upcelerator was a big challenge for us. How to develop a product, to think of scaling even before to have a strong name on local market. We developed a plan of improving the product, to attract new clients and to try ourselves on new markets."
A decade of shaping the future of tech startups
At Dreamups, we’ve been empowering early-stage startups and entrepreneurs since 2016. We’ve successfully supported 3 cohorts of the Founder Institute, the world’s largest pre-seed accelerator, and have run 7 batches of the fully remote Upcelerator program for idea-stage startups.
With over 100 startups and 250+ founders in our community, we’re proud to have helped countless startups graduate and scale. Below are some of the standout startups that have thrived through our accelerator program.
Frequently asked questions
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Who is this program for?
The Upcelerator is designed for early-stage tech startups or founders with an idea that has a scalable potential for serving a regional or a global market.
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Is Upcelerator only for individuals? Can multiple co-founders sign up?
The platform is designed to suit both solo founders, as well as startup teams.
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Do I need to know English to be able to participate?
Yes. The program language is English.
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How much time does the Upcelerator require?
A minimum of 15 hours per week.
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Does the Upcelerator program only accept tech startups?
We will give the priority to ideas or startups that have a tech or digital component. But you should anyway apply if you are not sure about that, almost any idea can be a tech or tech-enabled startup.
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How much does the program cost?
The program costs €300 per team for the entire 3-month accelerator. This fee grants you access to expert mentorship, valuable resources, and the support needed to scale your startup globally.
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Does Upcelerator collect equity?
No. We only take equity after a direct investment in your company, if you are in need of any investment.
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What happens at the end of the accelerator?
You’ll be joining the closed founders and alumni community, you’ll receive support from our network, and when you’re ready a potential investment from our investors may appear.
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Can I apply if I have an established startup?
Definitely. Moreover, we actually encourage you to do so. Upcelerator will help you collect valuable insight and receive suggestions from experts in the field in a wide range of areas like marketing, sales, customer development, product development.
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Can a startup or founders from a different country apply?
Yes, the program is designed to be entirely remote and most of the content is valid for any country you are in.
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How many startups will we accept?
We target to work with a limited number of 50 startups in order to deliver better quality of the mentorship we provide.
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When I will know if I'm admitted?
You'll receive a message from us a few days before the launch of the program or earlier (it depends on when you submitted your application).
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Should I apply again if I am told “no”?
Yes, definitely! There is no downside to applying more than once. Some founders were not accepted on their first try but chose to keep making progress on their business, reapply to the program, and were ultimately accepted.
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