Launch and grow your company
in 3 months from zero
Connect for Live Q&As
We will have weekly Live Q&As with
experts where you can ask what interests you.E-meet for one-to-one mentorship
Book mentor hours with over 30 experts
through the duration of the program.Receive feedback on your assignments
You’ll receive valuable feedback from mentors and experts
on your module assignments.Work and connect with other startups
You will have the chance to connect with other teams
and help each other with feedback or encouragement.Build a Pitch Deck and learn how to pitch to investors
While executing tasks, you’ll be gradually
building your very own startup pitch and pitch deck..
Build your startup with the best mentors
Upcelerator Mentors 2024
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).
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).
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.
Upcelerator in numbers
of investment when you graduate. All of this, coupled with our UpFactory e-learning platform.
-
Mentors
More than 30 international mentors and experts will help you to build your startup. -
Program Fee
In this edition, participation is free, opening doors for talented tech entrepreneurs to innovate without financial barriers. -
Potential Investment
Qualified startups will have the chance to raise up to €25,000 from our network of investors. -
Months
The accelerator duration is 3 months and you'll have a minimum viable product at the end. -
Modules
With 13 modules we will cover every important topic on how to build and launch a scalable startup. -
Mentor Hours
More than 300 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
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.
Market and Competition
Module 2Identify competitors and market trends. Analyse the risks, determine the market needs and find a viable solution.
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.
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.
Revenue Models
Module 5Choose the right way to monetize your product. Learn about different ways you can charge for your services or product.
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.
Founding Team and First Employees
Module 7To achieve great things you need a great team. Define the most convenient recruiting strategy and organizational design.
Scalability
Module 8Learn the particularities of building scalable startups. Understand which processes you need to scale first and which ones you need to keep small for as long as possible.
Finance Operations
Module 9Learn about accounting, how to organise your cash flow and expenses. Identify the key indicators you need to follow in your startup.
Sales
Module 10Learn 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.
Legal, Incorporation and Regulations
Module 11Understand why, sometimes, tech startups require a different legal structure than traditional businesses. Learn how to divide the shares among your cofounders. Incorporate your startup.
Funding, Bootstrapping and Investors
Module 12Develop an efficient fundraising strategy. Learn what are the essential metrics that investors look at and understand when is your company ready to raise money.
Graduation, Demo Day
Module 13Congratulations 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
The application deadline
March 1, 2024
Accelerator program dates
March 4 – June 4 2024
The program will be running 3 months with weekly Live Q&A sessions and assignments. High commitment is expected or the founders are risking to be expelled.
Accelerator program fee
The participation fee is normally €499 per team, but the Upcelerator 2024 edition is free of charge as part of the collaboration with the Orange Digital Center learning hub.
Main selection criteria
Early-stage startups or just an idea with a scalable potential for serving a regional or global market and the ability of the founders to execute on their idea.
Investment
At the end of the program, one or more startups will be eligible for equity investments of up to €25,000 if they meet the criteria for an investable startup. The idea, founders, traction, and market are something we’ll be looking at.
After the program
You’ll be joining the closed founders and alumni community and you’ll receive support from our network and when you’re ready a potential investment from our investors.
Register now to grow your idea
Your journey in building a global startup begins here.
Upcelerator Founders
"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."
"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."
"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."
Our alumni
With over 100 startups and more than 200 founders in the program and 44 amazing startups graduated.
Frequently asked questions
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.
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.
Do I need to know English to be able to participate?
Yes. The program language is English.
How much time does the Upcelerator require?
A minimum of 15 hours per week.
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.
How much does the program cost?
The 5th edition of Upcelerator offers the opportunity to participate free of charge, thanks to a partnership with the learning hub for the future - Orange Digital Center, and Central European Initiative (CEI).
Does Upcelerator collect equity?
No. We only take equity after a direct investment in your company, if you are in need of any investment.
What happens at the end of the accelerator?
You’ll be joining the closed founders and alumni community and you’ll receive support from our network and when you’re ready a potential investment from our investors.
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.
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.
How many startups will we accept?
We target to work with a limited number of only 30 startups in order to deliver better quality of the mentorship we provide.
When I will know if I'm admitted?
You'll receive an email from us in the following 10 days after the application deadline.
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.