Testimonials

STARTERtartu provides an opportunity to test the viability of our idea, and for us it was a door to the Startup Estonia community. A year ago, we won invitations to the Educational Technology Conference EXEX , which opened new doors for us. Now we have passed development programme in Ajujaht and today we will continue incubation programme at Tartu Centre for Creative Industries. All of this has been moving forward step-by-step. For all early-stage startups it is definitely worth presenting your idea at events such as the Kaleidoskoop, because you never know what new opportunities may this open up for you. 

STARTERtartu gave CommuniCare the chance to validate our idea, get valuable early-stage mentors and help us to a big stage. Thanks to the opportunity to pitch on the Pitching Stage at sTARTUp Day, we were forced to work hard and perfect our pitch. With that, we not only won prizes from Kaleidoskoop, but actually won the title of the
country's best STARTER programm. That gave us the boost that we needed to enter the real business world as a recognized company.

The whole STARTERtartu programme was a great opportunity to develop the idea, get new experiences and learn. All tee workshops were productive and forward-looking. Meetings with mentors helped to set us a better vision and an action plan to where we aimed. 

The programme contributed to both my professional and personal development. One major contribution for me was skill of storytelling. I realized that you may have the best idea in the world. But if you can't instill this idea, then the idea will fail. Storytelling turned to be one of the best ways to achieve so. I recommend STARTER programme to everyone!

For TRIT team STARTER meant many „firsts“ - first time to share our idea to a stranger, first mentor meeting, first contest, etc. To sum up STARTER gave us an understanding that our idea can be doable if we want to commit and secondly confidence that turning it into reality is what we truly want. STARTER pushed us to expand comfort zone and boosted us to enter the entrepreneurship world! Although we need to go on from here on our own, it is good to know that IdeaLab and STARTER people are always there for us!

To run a successful business you must first start from something. In this programme, it is possible to learn how to do it and also make plans come true. The mentors teach the process of creating a functional business model and things that are necessary for that.
It is good to have an idea ready before you enter but it isn’t mandatory. It is always possible to join another team (and make a lot of new friends).
Those who don’t want to make a company are also welcome to just gather knowledge.
I learn a lot from this programme and made some nice friends. I improved my public speaking and sales skills. Selling your idea for raising money or yourself for a job - these skills come handy in everyday life.
I recommend it because the experience comes handy in your life and it differs from regular business courses.

Our idea - CarZam is a device that detects car problems based on sounds and vibrations. The STARTER programme seemed like a perfect way to take this crazy thought to the next level after participating in Idea Storm event where we first got to this idea.
During those months we learned all the necessary fundamentals to start a business.
Since the most effective way of learning is through hands-on experience. I liked that at first there is a mentor explaining new topics and after that, we could put the knowledge to use.
We won the business ideas competition Kaleidoskoop and got an opportunity to pitch at the JA Europe Enterprise challenge in Riga.
Thanks to STARTER our team members were selected to represent the University of Tartu in international business development program NGAL, where we had a chance to pitch and compete in Nebraska, USA.

IdeaLab STARTER programme is the best way to get out of your comfort zone and think outside the box. I got the opportunity to do things I never thought I could do. I got to work with so many intelligent people. It gives you a sense of fulfillment.
I got to meet and network with leaders of various industries. I heard and learned so many valuable things from them.
When you go through the IdeaLab STARTER programme, you would have something tangible that you have created and can be proud of.

Why should you waste your time for STARTER programme? Well, let me say that it might be a life-changing opportunity. This programme gives you all the business development skills you need. Also, you can practice your English a lot! I was the CEO of "360 Home" and we were a team of 3 people. We had amazing mentors and were happy to be part of this amazing STARTER programme.
At the moment I work as a product developer in SEB bank part of a Baltic team. I have been a mentor for different student companies and other businesses. I am still 21 years old, but I think this programme was an important part of my success story. You need to go there!

STARTERcreative gave me the opportunity to focus on my biggest dream that I even did not want to talk about first, as it seemed too weird and different from others. I had only little background knowledge about entrepreneurship before participating in the programme, so the business lecture provided me with a very good overview and guided how to manage as an entrepreneur in this world. I really enjoyed lectures – they inspired and gave me the feeling that everything was possible. Networking and socializing with others was so supportive as all of us shared a common goal – to fulfil our dreams. The most important thing I learned was to always stay myself and put my heart into what I do. If you feel that there is an inexplicable desire inside you and you want to do something special, I warmly encourage you to participate in STARTERcreative programme. The program has supported me and my dream, it will do the same for you, just believe in yourself and the dream you have!

WoW! Attenzione! STARTER CREATIVE team is so cool! I got so much energy from them, and I really was waiting those meetings! I got so much inspiration, good ideas, better skills at teamwork, new friends, knowledge about "how to choose A TEAM" and how to start to build up the business.
I think it's a good opportunity to meet up with people, who are having the same plan, to do something creative with the ideas, what they have. Socialization is the key! You can have a good idea, but You will know, how to do it after STARTER CREATIVE session, + You will meet people, prob. they will be Your "star idea" team members.
It is important for me to constantly expand my horizons. Thank You STARTER CREATIVE people!

STARTERcreative was a well-planned and organized program. It gave our team members a lot of self-confidence and better understanding of how the start-up world works. These are things one needs to know when starting to test a new idea, build it into a working prototype and pitch it to potential investors.

Behind STARTERcreative is the most skilled and helpful team of experts and mentors which will support, guide and give valuable feedback throughout the program and process of building your idea into a real business.

The most invaluable asset STARTER program gives you is the potential connections you make with mentors and investors you meet during the events and lectures.

Our team greatly recommends everyone who wants to test their idea or dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur to participate in the STARTER program.

This program gave me a tons of self-confidence and understanding about start-up world: how it works; what you need to be an entrepreneur; how to work in team and most important: if you believe in your idea, you need to keep going, even if you feel that you are alone in this.

I strongly recommend to participate in this program. This is really good opportunity to start working with your idea, get to know people and make new connections. Behind STARTERidea program, there is the most helpful team, who will support you and guide you trough the journey of becoming an entrepreneur. So don’t miss your chance and act now, by registering to the next STARTER program!

"STARTER program was extremely useful for us. We have learned how to test our idea, ask the right questions and look at the problems from different angles. Every single day of the program we were able to move further with our idea and see the real progress. Moreover, at every move we have been able to receive a constructive feedback and wisely plan our strategy. Starter program is a great opportunity for everyone who wants to learn more about real - life execution of the idea and turning it into the live product. We surely recommend every young entrepreneur who desperately wants to make this world a better place to participate STARTER program."

“It was a diverse and well-planned program that gave a good picture and basis in getting to know the start-up business. I enjoyed the welcoming and open attitude that helped to make contacts and meet potential team members and mentors. I would recommend the course to others as well. It really does help to overcome some growth-hardships through the experience and expertise of people who have been in a similar position. Seeing the success stories helps to maintain the belief that anything is possible when you have enough persistence and desire.”

“I liked the program, because it covered all topics that one startuper needs to know. It gave a chance to aquire knowledge about the most important things and really helped to create connections to see it as a full system. There are always up to three core members of the team, who all have their own focus field they are working at. But as a boat has to move forward throughout teamwork, they all need to know, what issues colleagues are every day facing. How to start-up program gives a great overview of everything connected to one company, which as a result helps to learn new fields, but also learn new things about team mates and grow a whole start-up stronger.”

“In order to understand opportunities provided by the current reality, it is important to broaden your mind, learn new knowledge and skills. Participation in student pre-incubation program is a privilege, since it builds foundation to your future opportunities. I met new people, built a new network, learned about entrepreneurship, gained experience, confidence and courage to be both: successful entrepreneur and competitive employee. I took advantage of the privilege provided by the university. I suggest that you do the same: grab the opportunity to be successful!”

“Idea Lab events are creating a great environment for inspiration and networking. YoMo team has found a new team member ans acquired multiple contacts, some of which have created a potential for partnership. Also many thanks to all mentors. Their advice helped a lot. Definitely, only you should not only come, but be active for it to be actually useful for you. It is useful to check the events schedule regularly to see if the topic that interests you is coming. Sometimes you can get a great advice from the mentor, but most importantly, it helps you to get your head around a certain topic, discuss it with others, who are also interested in it and have different background and experience. Speaking out about your own project helps to listen to advice, which people are usually willing to give. Listening to others helps to find new ideas and learn some life lessons.”

“My background is in humanities and social sciences, but I received the necessary business development skills from the STARTER program. We found the mentor contacts to be very valuable as well. Our idea focused on building a VR quiz solution for museums and we were very successful in the program, we won a number of opportunities to develop our project even further. If you’ve ever thought about doing something with your brilliant idea, then the best option to start would be the first day of the program.”

“For us at Promental the program gave an understanding of our business processes. Thanks to the program, we found courage to step from one established service to the next and expand, and it worked out great. I would recommend the program for everyone who has flirted with the idea of reinventing themselves as an entrepreneur. It's a great chance to test your ideas on paper and in practice.”