Description
Once per semester, Innovation and entrepreneurship center offers a pre-acceleration program to Caucasus university students, graduates, academic and administrative staff, which aims to promote and develop local technological startups. The program is based on the international experience and responds to the modern challenges of the startup ecosystem.
Up to 10 startup teams participate in the pre-acceleration program, which are selected based on preliminary application. Early-stage startups that create or build on technologies and have an initial prototype ready or an established action plan to build it are eligible to participate.
Conditions of participation
Early- stage Startups can participate in the program – people with a startup idea (who, with the appropriate status – student, university graduate, employed: administrative or academic staff, are related to the Caucasus university, also a company with a startup idea can be presented if its founder/co-founder or director is related to Caucasus University in any way).
Annotation of the program
The program includes 10 working weeks in a hybrid format (online and physical meetings) and consists of 5 main components:
- Thematic work sessions (3 days a week, 2 hours)
- Individual meetings with a mentor (1 day in a week, 1 hour)
- Networking - P2P meetings, experience sharing, guest speakers, weekly stand-up.
- Using the common workplace of the Caucasus University (according to request)
- Demo day – participant startups will be presented in front of the jury, where they will have the opportunity to win cash prizes/and other resources for the growth and development of the startup.
Participating startups will deepen their knowledge in several areas.
- Idea validation & team building
- Customizing problem solving
- User profile development & validation
- Business model & revenue sources
- Competitor analysis, branding & design
- Design thinking
- Team development
- Marketing campaign
- Startup funding
- Pitching preparation
