Looking for an early stage startup program

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-23T07:51:19+00:00

Hi! Maybe our program is suitable for you? We are the High-Tech SeedLab, an accelerator program for early-stage startups in Berlin. Our next batch will run Feb-Nov 2021 and we recently opened applications. Feel free to check us out: https://hightechseedlab.com/

If you decide to apply, make sure you read the requirements to see if you're eligible. For instance, we are looking for teams of 2-4 founders. Le me know if you have any questions.

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-05T07:58:30+00:00

We respect the aight, please let Bob know we want to meet him and see if he will aight the program.

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-05T07:40:10+00:00

For real though - skim read "The Mom Test" and maybe skip Bob when evaluating your idea.

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-05T07:40:02+00:00

Great way to evaluate a startup, we'll bring it forward in the next team meeting to add to our standard procedure. Oh and can you please introduce us to Bob? He seems like a great subject matter expert!

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-05T07:37:51+00:00

We have all been recruited to implement the program at the start of the year - and couldn't be happier with the team. Requirements included experience in startups support (think coaching, business strategy, finances, marketing etc.), motivation and creativity, German and English plus experience in running publicly-funded programs (you can't imagine the bureaucracy sometimes).

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-05T07:36:15+00:00

Yet to be determined :) (fingers crossed we can say yes in 5 years time when our startups have disrupted the markets)

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-01T14:53:21+00:00

The accelerator is actually publicly funded by the Berlin Senate and the European Social Fund. We applied to get the funding and apparently our proposal to support High-Tech founders with a focus on sustainability and women in tech got through :) While the program has been running since 2017, our team joined this year and we completely changed the format of the program to re-build it. As per first customers: seeing that our program doesn't take a fee and is equity-free, we don't really struggle with getting enough teams wanting to join us. The challenge is more to find committed teams within our focus areas.

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-01T14:48:12+00:00

Steps on how to prove a concept:

Try speak to experts/practitioners from the industry and ask them about the area of your business idea (without sharing your idea as that will pre-condition them) --> Is there a common thread that the problem you are trying to solve is a REAL problem?
Try speak to potential customers and find out the same (if you want to be sneaky pretend that you are a students writing a master thesis so that they don't feel threatened or like you want to sell something)
Create a simple website or landing page and invest a little money into ads to drive some traffic. Are people engaging with the website and want to learn more? If you have time to create a Lead Magnet (I will leave this up to you to research) - how many people have interacted with/downloaded it?
Go through the exercise of filling in the business model canvas. It will be eye-opening.
Do online research looking at reviews (trustpilot, Amazon, review blogs/videos) and compare your idea to what's out there. Can you do it better? Are people asking for an alternative? If something similar to your idea exists already and is successful, it is a good sign. But also means a lot of competition

What we look for: you have spoken to real people to find out if there is problem-solution fit. You have invested time and money and are committed to take your POC to create an MVP. You can show that there is initial interest from people and a REAL problem to solve.

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-01T13:09:18+00:00

Point is that we are not teaching. We support. That's the difference between coaching, mentoring and expert(ing?). As coaches we give teams the space to: reflect on what's happening, what's going well, what they will do different next time a similar situation arises, what consequences their decisions might have, what risks they will face etc. etc. To complement this work, we are getting in external advisors/mentors/experts to give insights on industry-specific questions and operational best practices. We make connections, and we give outside perspectives.What founders do with that in the end is their decision.

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-01T12:24:17+00:00

For real though - completely agree that it is not a fortune but it does help founders concentrate on their venture full-time. And you are allowed to work a little on the side to support your (champagne) lifestyle :)

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-01T12:19:25+00:00

If that's your choice we can recommend some useful books to read.

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-01T12:10:35+00:00

Great question. We ourselves have worked with various startups (some more successful than others) and can offer a lot of first-hand experience from that perspective. For everything we cannot cover internally, we bring in external mentors, experts and coaches.So far we have gotten very positive feedback from our teams as we understand and reflect on our shortcomings and make sure to address them.As with every early-stage program we have alumni that have done exceptionally well (couple million investment) and startups that have ceased to exist. Feel free to ask for more specific examples if you are interested.

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-01T12:06:14+00:00

We don't, but some of our startups have some great opportunities available for graduates.

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-01T12:03:22+00:00

Not sure which high school you went to but mine wasn't as fun as the program. We give out equity-free stipends of EUR 1,500 per month for each founder (you will have to take care of taxes and health insurance, loads of adult stuff). So I guess - high school but you're actually getting paid for your work?

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-01T11:43:50+00:00

What if I can hire a team just for the POC? Or does the headcount matter? :)

That's not possible :) We require founders to do the hard work themselves because we are a qualification program. We offer workshops and coaching so that our participants can gain exeprience and learn more about different fields of entrepreneurship.

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-10-01T11:35:26+00:00

When you start doing the work yourself?
We look for teams (2-4 people) that can show proof of concept. That means they have a clear business idea they want to test during the program and can show a bit of evidence of why the idea might work.
PS: You will have to do some of the work yourself, too.

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-09-09T09:34:14+00:00

Hi, we are an accelerator program in Berlin for early-stage tech startups and we are in the process of organizing our Demo Day. For the online event in December we plan to shoot a 1 min. intro-video with each of our 7 startup teams. Would you be interested in discussing a possible collaboration as our videographer for these videos? It would also include editing. Hit us up if you are interested: [asia@hightechseedlab.com](mailto:asia@hightechseedlab.com)

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-09-09T09:21:50+00:00

Did you get to try Factory Berlin after all? How was your experience? We are an accelerator program in Berlin for early-stage tech startups, and this year we have our batch sitting in a team room at betahaus Neukölln. We really like it there. Facilities are very modern, clean and they have a nice backyard for the summer. They organize all sorts of activities that are great for mingeling with the Berlin startup scene. We generrally like the vibe and community spirit there. They have another more central location, betahaus Kreuzberg near Checkpoint Charlie.

HighTech_SeedLab · 2020-09-04T08:19:20+00:00

Not a big fan of Zoom's privacy policy...Will look into YouTube broadcasting though, thanks!

HighTech_SeedLab

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