Are you planning to launch a new service or product? Are you looking for your first customer? Do you need investment? Even if you do not have an idea, would you like to work in a startup?
We will help you launch during a unique programme that lasts only 12 hours. The accelerator for early stage startups focuses on learning how to build a minimum viable product or service and how to talk to your customers. At the end of the event you will get to pitch your idea to investors.
During the event you will meet mentors who will support you in your future ventures, you will find potential partners for your startup, and you will pitch in front of investors. The mentors have international experience in setting up startups and will provide insights into developing the idea. The investors will assess your progress at the end of the workshop and will decide whether they are going to invest.
Mentors and investors
- Paul Muston, CEO of Musoft
- Dr Constantina Katsari, CEO of Startdoms
- Jim Johnston, CEO of Access2View
- Mark Seemann, CEO of StaffCircle
- Jagvir Purewal, IP Solicitor at Forresters
- Aanisah Begg, Investment Manager at Midven Fund
…and many others.
Booking
The accelerator is free for startups with an idea from Coventry and Warwickshire. To book a place, send an email to constantina@startdoms.com.
Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis. We have kept the numbers low so that you get our full attention: we will accept only 25 participants.
Programme
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 08:00 - 08:30 | Registration |
| 08:30 - 08:45 | Welcome |
| 08:45 - 09:00 | Pitches and voting |
| 09:00 - 09:25 | Lecture 1: Lean principles |
| 09:25 - 09:40 | Questions and answers |
| 09:40 - 10:00 | Lecture 2: Lean canvas |
| 10:00 - 10:15 | Questions and answers |
| 10:15 - 11:30 | Exercise: define the customer’s problem |
| 11:30 - 11:45 | Lecture 3: How to make a minimum viable product |
| 11:45 - 12:00 | Questions and answers from mentors |
| 12:00 - 13:00 | Exercise: design the demo or MVP |
| 13:00 - 14:00 | Lunch and networking |
| 14:00 - 15:00 | Exercise continued: refine the solution |
| 15:00 - 15:20 | Lecture 4: Basic principles of customer development |
| 15:20 - 15:30 | Questions and answers |
| 15:30 - 15:45 | Live demonstration of customer development |
| 15:45 - 19:00 | Exercise: get out of the building |
| 19:00 - 20:00 | The pitch |
Pitches last three to four minutes each, covering the idea and the founder, and are followed by two or three questions. You may choose to work as part of a team or alone.
During the 10:15 exercise, startups define the customer’s problem and explain how they intend to solve it. The lean canvas helps in this process: teams have an hour to fill the boxes and talk to the mentors.
For the “get out of the building” exercise we expect startups to go out and find their customers. Alternatively, they can stay in the room and find customers over the internet. Each team should come back with five to ten customer interviews.
The final pitch is a simulation of Dragons’ Den. There will be no dragons, though: just helpful people who would like to see the results of hard work.