Options after passing the STARTER program

As you know, STARTER program is the business idea development program for all students in many regions. During that program you as a participant work in team and learn everything about starting your own business. The program helps you with all basic entrepreneurship skills (business development, service design/product development, marketing, business model generation, sales, pitching). You get from idea to business model in no time and have mentors, startup leaders and industry experts by your side.

What happens after finishing program? You will receive a certificate and best teams can access for advanced programs (incubators, accelerators). So, your future depends on you, but STARTER can be kick-off 🙂 

Here is just a selected list of options a team can continue after they have passed the STARTER program ⇓

First, we cooperate with several incubators, programs, accelerators etc, who give out their own useful and very developing prizes in the STARTER finals:
– Tehnopol Startup Incubator (EST www.tehnopol.ee/startup-inkubaator; ENG www.startupincubator.ee/en);
– Tallinn Creative Incubator (www.inkubaator.tallinn.ee/);
– Prototron Fund (www.prototron.ee);
– Ajujaht (Brain Hunt) accelerator and development program (www.ajujaht.ee);
– Estonian Business Angels Network EstBAN (www.estban.ee/);
– CleanTech ForEst, EIT Climate-KIC accelerator, ClimateLaunchPad (www.cleantechforest.ee/;
– EIT accelerator programs, including: EIT Raw Materials (www.eitrawmaterials.eu/accelerator-program); EIT InnoEnergy (www.innoenergy.com); EIT Digital (www.eitdigital.eu/accelerator);
– SEB Innovation Centre (www.seb.ee/innovatsioonikeskus);
– Elisa Startup Scouter (www.elisa.ee/et/elisast/elisa-startup)

But there are several other options also available to study and apply:
– Startup Wise Guys (www.startupwiseguys.com);
– VUNK by Telia (www.vunk.eu);
– Storytek (www.storytek.eu);
– For IoT and Hardware success stories: BuildIT (www.buildit.ee);
– NULA ĂĽhiskondlike algatuste inkubaator/NULA incubator for societal initiatives (www.nula.kysk.ee);
– For cleantech start-ups: Sunly Startup (www.sunly.ee);
– 1-year training for startups by Alpine House (www.superangel.io/alpinehouse);
– European Space Agency Estonian business incubator (www.esabic.ee);
– For tech-based creative startups: Elevator Startups www.elevatorstartups.com);
– Creative and multimeedia future hub OBJEKT (www.objekt.is);
– Incubator for early stage startups in natural sciences startmeup (www.startmeup.ee);

STARTER graduates have won several competitions including: Brain Hunt competition in Estonia, Polar Bear Pitching Competition in Finland, international business development programme NGAL in USA, Prototron, Climathon, creative industries hackathon Loomehäkk etc. Several of them are now established companies: Decomer Technology, Wrap’n’Roll, Subatomic, Modash, Iluspekter, Timey, Compact, Ohhsanugis.

The STARTER program is free of charge and does not require any previous knowledge of entrepreneurship. STARTER runs twice a year and participants can choose between STARTERtallinn in Tallinn and STARTER@tartu at Tartu, depending on where they live. In spring semester also sub-program STARTERhaapsalu is active in Tallinn University Haapsalu College. In autumn semester sub-programs in Narva, Kohtla-Järve and Pärnu are carried out.
STARTER itself is a sub-program of the entrepreneurship education program (ettevõtlusõpe.ee) and is supported by the European Union. 

 

Authors: KĂĽlliki Tafel-Viia, Silja Lassur, Kristy Tättar – STARTERtallinn promotorsÂ