Startup platforms

If your startup is still at the idea stage, the Startup Platforms program might be the right fit for you.

Startup Platforms are aimed at founders who are at the very early stages of their business journey, planning to establish a company and develop their idea through an individual incubation plan, followed by non-refundable funding offered through the program.

The key criteria for obtaining funding are innovation (at least at the national level) and the organizational potential to implement the innovative idea.

The Startup Platforms program consists of three components:

As part of Component I, the founder has the opportunity to use services offered by Startup Platform operators, which include both basic support such as access to office space, accounting, legal, tax, and marketing services, as well as more specialized services that help with product development or business model validation. When choosing a Startup Platform for your idea, it is worth paying attention to the specializations or industry preferences of individual Startup Platform operators.

The goal of the incubation program under Component I is to bring the founder’s startup idea to the MVP stage, meaning a product with minimal functionality. A positive outcome of the incubation process results in a report that allows the startup to apply for non-refundable funding of up to PLN 600,000 under Component IIa. It is important to note that the incubation process typically lasts around 6 months. The sooner we apply to Startup Platforms under Component I, the sooner we can get a chance to apply for funding under Component IIa.

As mentioned above, under Component IIa, startups that are already operating as a company and have a report from the incubation process under Component I can apply for non-refundable funding of up to PLN 600,000, with a required 15% own contribution.

Since there is Component IIa, there is also Component IIb, which allows for obtaining non-refundable funding of up to PLN 2 million, also with a required 15% own contribution. The launch of Component IIb is planned for 2025.

The Startup Platforms competition is particularly close to us. In 2022, our team achieved a 100% success rate under Component IIa. We shared our experiences in applying to Startup Platforms during a webinar.

In the current funding perspective, the following Startup Platforms have been selected:

• Unicorn Hub – Edition II (https://unicornhub.pl/) – After the second round ended on August 18, 2024, we are waiting for the next term to be announced.
• Wschodni Akcelerator Biznesu 2 (https://wab.biz.pl/) – The third round started on August 1, 2024, and will run until November 30, 2024.
• Start In (https://startin.pl/) – In the second round, applications can be submitted from April 15, 2024, to October 7, 2024.
• Huge Tech Revolution – In the second round, applications can be submitted from May 16, 2024, to October 15, 2024.
• Hub of Talents 3 – In the second round, applications can be submitted from May 23, 2024, to September 30, 2024.
• Mazovian StartUPolis – Central Innovation Accelerator – The second round started on June 22, 2024, and will end on October 11, 2024.

One of the changes compared to previous editions is the rule that at least 30% of startups participating in the incubation process will not receive a positive recommendation upon completion.