Accelerator FAQ's
 

That's entirely up to you. There are never guarantees but if you actively participate and do the homework, you will be prepared. Raising capital is always an enormous task. During the course of the program you will develop the knowledge and the appropriate tools and skills and cultural understanding necessary to execute a capital raise. You will have opportunities to start to develop a network in the US. from which you can build. The business needs to be investment grade and the management team needs to commit the time and energy necessary to execute the capital development process.

As investors in your company we have a clear interest in helping you to be successful. However, we cannot do the capital development work for you. We will support you as appropriate, both during and long after the program, by making introductions from the target investor list that you develop, as well as introductions to our investor network. We will support you by advising on your investment strategy, investment structures, negotiating terms sheets, accessing and contracting legal and financial professionals, and other critical decision making. But investors are investing in YOU, not in us, so the outcome will greatly depend on how much you and your team put into it and the investment readiness of your business.

Technology startups solving global challenges with scaleable business models and already have revenue. The startup should own the intellectual property for its product and is the owner, custodian or licensee of at least one patent or owner of registered software.

Startups with a strong technological component. Usually, we admit startups operating in the following sectors: Robotics; Artificial Intelligence; Autonomous Mobility; CleanTech; Internet of Things; Blockchain; SaaS; Industry 4.0; HealthTech, FinTech and AgTech.

Programs are held in English. For this reason, applicants must have a proven knowledge of the English language to participate in the program.

During the program, the ScaleUp Labs team, together with a team of US based Experts, Mentors and Investors will provide startups with all the tools to be able to internationalize and expand their startup to the United States. During the courses the following topics will be addressed:
1. Welcome and Program Overview
2. Opportunities Insights
3. Financing the Entrepreneurial Venture
4. Culture and Team Dynamics
5. Investable Business Plan and Scaling
6. Demo Days.

As US investors consider the team as a key criterion, the leadership team (Founders; CEOs, CFO, Business Development, Marketing, etc.).

There are no fees for cohort companies to be part of the program. The participating startups are required to sign a Participation Agreement and to sign an Option for the Accelerator to invest in equity in the company in the future.

ScaleUp Labs invests its resources in supporting start-ups with potential to scale in the United States, offering them an acceleration program without paying any fees. In exchange, ScaleUp Labs requires the startup to provide an option for ScaleUp Labs to invest in equity in the company at a future date and a mutually agreed predetermined price. ScaleUp Labs believes in a win-win business model where the acceleration program is successful only if the startups are successful. For this reason, we ask for remuneration based only on the startup’s agreed valuation of success.

The Option is in the form of a very common financial instrument called a Warrant. This is a forward contract, which offers the possibility for the holder to purchase equity, at it's discretion during a future period. For more information, visit https://carta.com/blog/stock-options-vs-warrants-everything-you-need-to-know/.

The program provides startups with a 16-week course. During the course, the start-ups meet once per week for a talk on a key aspect of internationalization. The startups are each assigned a US based experienced entrepreneur as their Mentor which they meet with weekly 1:1. They also build an Internationalization and Investment "Play Book" during the course of the program which will serve as their guide for US internationalization and investment journey post the program . Then every three weeks, we hold a "Workshop Weekend" during which we will invite an US based keynote speaker to talk about some key aspects of entrepreneurship from a US perspective. During these weekend meetups on "Pitch Sunday", the startups will be required to give their Investor Pitch in a simulated US Venture Investment session to an outside group of experienced investors and entrepreneurs to show their progress and make an investment grade pitch. At the end of the course, the graduating startups will be offered the opportunity to present their company in front of a group of selected investors which will serve to begin their investment journey.

By ”soft-landing” we mean the invitation for the leadership team to come to our exclusive advanced program in Cambridge/Boston. This optional, invitation-only program is made available to startups who successfully complete the acceleration program and make application and are accepted to the Soft-landing program. While there, the companies receive advanced instruction and are able to develop a US business network, which will be instrumental in accelerating their US internationalization journey.

During the soft-landing phase, ScaleUp Labs will work closely with the selected startups, supporting them during the constitution phase of the company, providing them with resources (legal; marketing; etc), helping their search for business opportunities (customers, investors, etc.).