As part of the EIC Tech to Market (EIC T2M) Entrepreneurship Programme, the European Innovation Council (EIC) invites EIC Pathfinder (former FET-Open and FET- Proactive), EIC Transition, and all innovators eligible for EIC Tech to Market (see section “Who can apply”) to apply for the EIC T2M Business Idea Validation Bootcamp. The new batch will kick off virtually in October 2024.

The online Bootcamp takes place from 15th October to 8th November 2024 and includes collective workshops, team coaching, customised one-on-one mentoring, and stakeholder interviews to help you design your business model based on your initial idea, to test it outside the lab, and to present your pitch to a panel of experts.

The former attendees of the EIC T2M Business Idea Validation Bootcamp expressed high appreciation for the Bootcamp, mainly for enhancing their design thinking and validating their business models with specialized insights from industry experts. The technical feedback was deemed the most beneficial for the advancement of their technology solutions, while the business-oriented feedback was taken into account for their business plans and strategies. The significance of the coaching and mentoring guided them in plotting their future action plan and thoroughly investigating funding avenues and the services offered by the EIC Business Acceleration (BAS). Learn more about this Bootcamp from a former participant's perspective in the following article.

 

Are you interested in this opportunity?
Make sure to apply until 10 October 2024! 

 

What to expect from the Bootcamp?

The EIC T2M Business Idea Validation Bootcamp aims to help researchers to bring their project from the research stage to impact creating innovation by using the Design Thinking Methodology. Starting from a common baseline, the programme includes personalized, step by step support to strengthen the value proposition and align it with respect to the market needs, get feedback and insights from customers and investors, get tailored training and support to pre-validate the business model. 

The EIC T2M Business Idea Validation Bootcamp is a 4-week support programme to help participants align their research results with real business challenges and receive real-world inputs from industry representatives and investors to strengthen their value proposition and align it to the market needs. 

The Bootcamp aims to evaluate the business idea and its market readiness by: 

1. Applying an entrepreneurial mindset to research outcomes
2. Strengthening business and design thinking skills
3. Developing and validating the business model with support and feedback from experts 
4. Training participants on how to establish business idea validation strategies and readiness within their teams
5. Performing a 'reality check' on the developed business model
6. Preparing for and implementing a pitch presentation in front of a jury that provides expertise in ideation, technology, and business aspects

 

Activities and timeline:

The Bootcamp will run for four weeks, online, from 15th October to 8th November 2024.

• 4 weeks (8 to 12 hours/week) of group training activities, coaching, and mentoring, plus one-to one feedback from market stakeholders/investors through direct online interviews.
  • Week 1: Introductory session to the design thinking methodology and business model theory with relevant workshop. Coaching and mentoring in correspondence with the learning content and hands on activities for the development of the business idea. Preparation for the Business Idea Validation Procedure 
  • Week 2 and 3: Online interviews with stakeholders; these 2 weeks are devoted to testing and validating your business idea viability through interviews with at least 10 industry/market representatives and investors. In parallel you will be supported through business idea validation process by coaching sessions and checkpoint sessions.
  • Week 4: Group sessions support to integrate the feedback, make the final adjustments of your business idea and business plan, explore funding opportunities for early-stage investments in the creation of your business, and develop a personalized experience with EIC Business Acceleration Services (BAS).
  • Throughout the Bootcamp: Comprehensive pre-venture support with continuous assistance to prepare your team for a successful business launch.

 

Topics covered in training and mentoring sessions to help you succeed in your entrepreneurial journey:

• Introduction to Design Thinking Methodology
• Introduction to Business Models, presentation of various business models and templates, application of business model concepts 
• Business Idea and Planning
• Business Idea Validation through interviews with stakeholders and experts
• Impactful pitching for fundraising and business development
• Access to Funding for early-stage businesses
• Pre-venture support

 

Who can apply?

The application for this initiative is open only to EIC Pathfinder (ex. FET-Open and FET-Proactive), EIC Transition, ERC-POC, FET Flagship, Women TechEU beneficiaries, EIC Seal of Excellence holders, and Horizon Europe Pillar II (Digital Industry and Space, Climate, Energy and Mobility, Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment).

Please note that projects from all domains and sectors are welcome to apply.

The EIC T2M Business Idea Validation Bootcamp is open to motivated teams of researchers and to individual researchers. For teams, complementary profiles are considered to form eligible and successful teams and provide high-quality engagement. The profile of participants can be:

• Entrepreneurial lead/representative: responsible for the business orientation and entrepreneurial side of the idea/innovation (usually postdocs, PhD students or any researcher that could imagine herself or himself as a potential entrepreneur).
• Technology lead/representative: responsible for driving the technical direction of the idea/innovation and focused on how technology can be used to support business objectives.

The number of places is limited. A selection committee will choose the best applications based on the following criteria:

• Strong motivation of the team to work on the entrepreneurial project
• Dedicated time to attend an intensive one-month training programme
• Business idea maturity/development stage.

 

EIC Business Acceleration Services

This opportunity is brought to you by the EIC Business Acceleration Services through its Tech to Market (T2M) programme. 

All participants need to fill out a short quality survey just after the event and an impact survey after six months.

To explore further opportunities, keep an eye on our events page.

The services to be delivered will cover EIC beneficiaries from all the countries participating in the EIC programme, namely, all the 27 EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. 

To learn more about EIC Tech to Market (T2M) programmes, check out the FAQ page. 

Cancellation policy

Cancellations will only be considered in duly documented cases of “force majeure”. Unjustified cancellation can lead to exclusion in future Business Acceleration Services events.

Need help?

Should you have any questions regarding the event or your eligibility, please contact us through our contact page (please choose “EIC T2M Entrepreneurship Programme” as the subject).