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What is the programme?
The programme “Starting Platforms” is a project co-financed with the European Union funds It aims at preparing startup companies for entering the market by means of a complex incubation programme.
Participation in the programme allows for application for a grant in the amount of PLN 1,000,000.00 for marketing of a product.
Who is it for?
The programme is directed to the originators or teams of originators who are going to start up a business in one of the following voivodships in Eastern Poland: Lubelskie Voivodship, Podkarpackie Voivodship, Podlaskie Voivodship, Świętokrzyskie Voivodship and Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodship.
The Unicorn Hub starting platform supports especially projects from such industries as: IT / ICT, medicine / public health, smart city / transport.
What do we offer?
The project involves the participation in a 16-week incubation process, during which you will receive:
- Assistance of an Incubation Manager that is a person who coordinates the process of incubation of a startup company.
- Basic services (including organisational support, work space, mentoring, accounting services, legal services, tax consultancy.)
- Specialist services resulting from an iterative development map for a product, which is necessary for carrying out works on development of a new business idea (e.g. technical, technological, engineering, IT, design, marketing and legal) including testing and verification of ideas and concepts until an appropriate business model is developed.
The result of participation in the programme is a verified, in market terms, business model and prepared MVP (minimum viable product.)
All activities are free of charge.
What are the terms and conditions of participation in the programme?
- Any natural person or team of natural persons with a business idea which is product innovation at least at the national level (concerns Poland) may participate in the project.
- The applicants are owners of all rights to the described business idea.
- The reported idea is not the issue in the proceedings for reservation of industrial or intellectual property rights by other entity / entities or person / persons.
- The business idea is not the subject of a currently conducted business activity of the Originator.
Preference will be given to originators who are under the age of 35 years, as well as to business ideas which are the part of regional intelligent specialisations common for at least 2 voivodships of Eastern Poland.
Preference will be given to such originators who are under the age of 35 years, as well as to such business ideas which are the part of regional intelligent specialisations common for at least 2 voivodships of Eastern Poland.
How to join the programme?
The idea should be submitted using the form available at (it should be completed in Polish): lsi1420.parp.gov.pl.
The form is common for all Starting Platforms, so you must remember to choose your platform — Unicorn Hub.
The intakes are conducted in 9 rounds. Dates of the intakes in the upcoming rounds are the following:
- 8th round – until 28 February 2022
- 9th round – until 31 July 2022
What happens after submitting the application?
- Assessment of the idea on the basis of a description resulting in selection of the best 70 ideas.
- The Pitch sessions (on-line) and Q&A with 70 originators and selection of Top55.
- Selection Days in Lublin, consisting in Pitch sessions and Q&A and selection of 40 ideas to participate in the incubation programme.
- Selected originators register the z o.o. company [limited liability company] in the territory of Eastern Poland.
- Incubation agreement is concluded with the Company, and the 4-month period of incubation begins.
- During the incubation process, you develop your idea with the Incubation Manager and Experts and your duty (min. 1 person from a team) is to participate in 1- or 2-day meetings organised every month in Lublin, Stalowa Wola or Kraków.
- The incubation process is ended with a Demo Day, during which you present a business model and MVP to the broad range of guests (including representatives of venture capital funds, banks, business environment institutions, etc.)
- The result is obtaining Recommendation which is a ticket for application for a Grant in the amount of PLN 1,000,000.00 for marketing of the product.
How does the incubation process look like?
- Week 1: 2-day “Design Sprint” workshops aiming at establishing an individual development path, using iteration techniques and in a way that allows for identification of critical risks / hypotheses requiring carrying out appropriate experiments in the new market environment in order to collect preferences and understand customers’ perspectives — required attendance of min. 1 team member.
- Week 4: 2-day “Roadmap execution” meeting (another meeting dedicated to the project’s entire ecosystem), aiming primarily at “summarising the works to date”: and “planning further steps” — required attendance of min. 1 team member
- Week 7: 1-day “Design Spring” workshop (for the entire ecosystem of the project) aiming at working on “the project status” as well as “creating and ideation” in terms of further stages of the incubation process — required attendance of min. 1 team member
- Week 10: 1-day Demo Day meeting for potential external partners (VC, corporate partners, business angels, etc.) which are not a formal part of the project — on-line event in the form of teleconference
- Week 13: 2-day “Roadmap execution” meeting (the form and structure the same as in the case of week 4) — required attendance of min. 1 member team
- Week 16: official 1-day “Demo Day” ending the programme — required attendance of min. 1 member team
Expected location of the events: Lublin, Stalowa Wola, Kraków and on-line.
If you need more information or our help, you can contact us:
tel. +48 81 710 46 35
e-mail: jacek.korzeniak@unicornhub.pl
unicornhub.pl
