Übersicht

• 3-month sprint – from idea to pre-seed readiness
• Continuous 1:1 coaching
• Development of a business plan (including financial planning) and a pitch deck

The program is structured around three milestones: Kick-off, Half-time Pitch, and Final Pitch. Over the course of 3 months, the fundamental elements for the future company are developed through continuous 1:1 coaching. Within the program, a pitch deck, a short concept paper, and a business plan are created. The teams are supported by a designated member of our coaching team who assists them throughout the entire period.

The first session of the Ideation Program, the Kick-off, serves as an introduction to the batch and the personal coaches. After 6 weeks, the program continues with a dedicated pitch exercise, the Half-time Pitch. As the conclusion of the Ideation Program, the results are presented in the Final Pitch, and the teams receive constructive, well-founded feedback. Throughout the program, participants have access to many useful, exclusive services and to the Aachen start-up ecosystem. In addition to the milestone sessions, participants receive further input through topic-based online workshops (e.g., on financing or product-market fit).

The entire program is part of the Excellence Start-up Center.NRW funding project and does not involve any IP or equity commitments. This means that after our acceptance, we only need the full commitment of the team - at least 10 hours per week for 3 months.

Target Group

What are we looking for?

1. Team: We are looking for a complementary skill set and an existing mentoring network. We want to see that the teams are motivated and have a strong interest in the program.
2. Business Idea: The idea should be innovative and fill a missing gap in the market. Show us that you are competitive, through your research advantage and possibly through an already existing IP.
3. Business Model: We want to see that your business model is well thought. Ideally, you can already present some pilot customers.
4. Feasibility: Convince us that your idea can be transformed into a comprehensive business plan within our program and into a market-ready technology.

For solo founders, we offer support in finding co-founders; we recommend participating in the Founders' Bootcamp program for generating ideas.

Proposal

Our 3-month program guides through continuous 1:1 coaching with our experienced start-up coaches, from defining a business model to securing a successful pre-seed-funding. The program offers an effective and scalable approach to educating, training, and supporting pre-seed-entrepreneurs that enter the start-up ecosystem. During the coaching, we help you define a clear, coherent business model and create a convincing application for a pre-seed funding program. Additionally, the coaching provides valuable insights on building a professional, investor-ready pitch presentation. The most common pre-seed funding program we assist teams with, is the EXIST funding program. This program, initiated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), financially supports innovative start-ups in the early stages. There are also other funding programs in addition to EXIST, such as the Gründerstipendium NRW. We happily provide additional information about it.