Gradually (albait slowly), the Startup Booster Poland competition is being launched. Almost every day, new offers from accelerators are added on the official competition website (Startup Booster Poland – Offer for Startups). There will be a total of 17 accelerators, and the regulations for all competitions should be known in the period of July-August 2024. Let’s take a look at what we already know.
The first and always the most important question is what (or how much) can you get?
A startup undergoing the acceleration process will receive a grant of up to PLN 400,000 or up to PLN 200,000 (in the case of choosing the sector-agnostic path, details of which are below). What is important, there is no mandatory own contribution. This means that expenses covered by the so-called individual acceleration program budget will be 100% financed by the grant.
Obviously, the acceleration program within Booster Poland consists of not only a grant but also includes training and workshops offered by the respective operator, as well as support from technological/corporate partners of the accelerator in developing and commercializing the idea as well as the opportunity to present your product to investors during events organized by the accelerator.
How does the acceleration program within Booster Poland work and what is the grant awarded for?
Generally, the goal of the acceleration program is to support a startup in commercializing or bringing its product to market. The Booster Poland program offers several different acceleration paths, including industry acceleration, investor acceleration, the go-global path, sector agnostic, and Poland Prize.
- Industry Path involves developing the product in collaboration with one of the accelerator’s partners (technology recipient). This collaboration can include implementing the product at one of the accelerator’s partners and then jointly bringing the technology to market (the terms of financial cooperation are agreed directly between the startup and the technology recipient).
- Investor Path aims to prepare the startup to raise capital from private investors.
- Go-Global Path prepares a startup with a ready product for international expansion in cooperation with the accelerator’s foreign partners.
- Sector Agnostic Path allows the startup to develop its product without the involvement of the accelerator’s business partner (as mentioned earlier, this path is characterized by a lower grant amount).
- Poland Prize aims to encourage foreign startups to relocate or develop their activities in Poland.
We discussed more about the Booster Poland program and how to combine funding from Booster Poland with startup platforms in our webinar:
Depending on the operator and the acceleration path, the Booster Poland program is available for ideas at various stages of development. Some accelerators will require the startup to have a product at least at the MVP stage. Others, depending on the path, will require either product readiness (TRL 9 for the go-global path), a certain product advancement (e.g., TRL 6-9 for the industry path), or lack of product advancement (at most TRL 5 for the sector agnostic path).
Individual accelerators have their preferred industries, and the respective paths (except for sector agnostic) are implemented in collaboration with their business partners (technology recipients). Therefore, from the perspective of successful application for acceleration, it will be very important to choose the right accelerator for a given product.
What are the application deadlines?
Each of the operators of the Booster Poland programs has planned around 4-6 rounds of startup recruitment for the acceleration program, and the entire program will run until 2026. This provides a relatively large pool of competitions and a certain time horizon for properly preparing applications. On the other hand, it’s important to remember that matching the startup’s industry to the preferences and business partners of the specific accelerator is crucial.
What does the startup need to prepare?
First and foremost, the startup must prepare an application for acceleration, where the complexity of the forms varies greatly depending on the operator. Another element on the startup’s side is the preparation of the Individual Acceleration Program Budget (BIPA) and the Individual Acceleration Program Schedule (HIPA), which are two key documents that will regulate how the acceleration process will proceed and which expenses will be funded by the grant obtained under Booster Poland. Both the HIPA (which should include the so-called product development milestones) and the BIPA will form part of the agreement with the accelerator. Therefore, it is crucial to thoroughly consider and develop not only the acceleration application itself but also these two additional documents.
How can we help?
We stay up to date with the offers and regulations of all accelerators operating within Booster Poland. Therefore, we can assist startups in choosing the right accelerator, preparing the application, as well as preparing the HIPA and BIPA. Additionally, since we are also actively working with the Startup Platforms competition, we can help in selecting the appropriate path for the startup, allowing them to maximize the benefits from both competitions.
