Tech startups can enroll for pre-acceleration program MVP Academy

Tech startups building innovative products with disruptive potential have a couple of days left to apply for MVP Academy Class of 2015.

The applications should be submitted online on the program website http://bit.ly/MVP2015 by Monday, March 9^th.

The second edition of the pre-acceleration program will take place in between March 23^rd – May 24^th at TechHub Bucharest and will bring together 12 promising tech startups. Throughout the program, the finalists will work on their product, will learn how take advantage of the global market opportunities and will build valuable connections to help them go further, faster.

MVP Academy is a 7 week, deal-focused educational program for early stage tech startups building products with global potential. In order to be accepted in the program, the startups are required to have at least a working prototype for their product and to be in their first 2 years of activity. Products eligible for the program have not raised more than EUR 50,000, nor attended an acceleration program to date. Applications can be submitted online on the program website http://mvpacademy.co by Monday, March 9.

During the pre-acceleration process, the startups will have access to experienced mentors, to opportunities to raise “smart money”, as well as to educational resources adapted to fit their own development needs.

Industry professionals will help the MVP Academy finalists acquire key competencies for turning their startups into successful ventures, speed up their growth and take advantage of the market opportunities. The teams will learn more about sales, digital marketing, effective networking, product metrics, storytelling & pitching, finance or financing by working with reputed specialists such as Mike Butcher, senior editor TechCrunch, Alin Vlad, online sales & marketing director Heimdal Security or Paul Renaud, executive coach.

The workshops are completed by the Ask the investors, Ask the entrepreneur, and Ask the alumni panels, a novelty for this year’s edition of MVP Academy.

These will help the teams better understand what makes a startup investible, how they can build a successful business all the way from idea to exit, or how they can make the most out of their participation in the pre-accelerator.

All these & more by getting their questions answered and talking with guests such as Paul Smith, co-founder & CEO Ignite & Campus North, Marc Wesselink, co-founder Startupbootcamp Africa, Alex Negrea, co-founder & CTO docTrackr, or the alumni that have built their own success stories.

More than 50 trusted mentors from Europe & beyond will offer strategic insights and valuable advice, while helping the startups better define their products & business models, find clients, investors or strategic partners, and overcome the challenges they’re facing along the way.

During the 1 on 1 mentoring sessions, the teams will meet representatives of important accelerators worldwide such as TechStars, Startupbootcamp, Startup Wiseguys, Ignite 100 or LAUNCHub, as well as experienced angels and early stage investment funds such as Early Bird or 3TS Capital Partners.

The list of mentors that have already confirmed their involvement in the program is available online here, and it will be constantly updated with people that fit the specific interests and needs of the finalist teams.

Bogdan Iordache, investment Manager 3TS Capital Partners & co-founder of How to Web & TechHub Bucharest and George Dita, startup programs manager How to Web will coach the teams throughout the program to support them in the decision making process, help them constantly track their progress and find solutions to their potential concerns. The finalists will get weekly pitching practice sessions throughout the program.

MVP Academy ends on Thursday, May 14, with the Demo Day, event where the teams will pitch their products and showcase their progress in front of an audience of more than 200 representatives of the regional tech community. They will thus have the chance to continue / start discussions with accelerators, potential investors and strategic partners to explore their options for follow-up funding and development.

Otilia Haraga

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