Founders2Founders Program

Applications for participation in the EIT Founders2Founders programme are open now! A series of one-day workshops in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, and Dnipro

Bring your start-up to the European market!

EIT Strategic Regional Innovations Cluster together with Vacuum Deep Tech Acceleration are accepting applications for ambitious Ukrainian entrepreneurs to participate in a one-day intensive training programme. The Cluster is funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union under Horizon Europe, fostering the largest innovation network in Europe.

The event is aimed at founders and employees of innovative SMEs in the early and middle stages of development (TRL3-TRL5)* who:

• are interested in expanding their business to international markets;
• are looking for knowledge and support in legal and financial aspects;
• seek to improve their business strategies and market approaches; 
• improve their pitching and presentation skills to attract investors.

* TRL 3 – 5. 
TRL 3 — The concept is confirmed by experiment.
TRL 4 — Аvailable prototype. 
TRL 5 — The first tests of the prototype were performed.

The EIT Founders2Founders: Training on Entrepreneurship powered by EIT Community is implemented by Vacuum Deep Tech Acceleration with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, in cooperation with Diia.City, Diia.Business, and YEP Accelerator.

“The EIT Community has supported Ukraine for the last few years, mainly in ecosystem development. Currently, we offer top-tier entrepreneurial support to bring Ukrainian talents closer to the European innovation ecosystem and equip them with a specific skill set that will aid in the future reconstruction of the country. With a strong track record of successful ventures and built-in programmes such as EIT Jumpstarter, the EIT Community continues working with Ukrainian talents interested in changing the world via deep technologies,” Piotr Pawelec, RIS and EIT Community Manager, EIT InnoEnergy KIC.

Application period: from August 14, 2024 up to 10 days before the workshops start in each city (5 application waves in total):

Wave 1 – applications for the workshop in Kyiv on September 6.
Wave 2 – applications for the workshop in Lviv on September 20.
Wave 3 – applications for the workshop in Dnipro to be held on October 23.
Wave 4 – applications for the workshop in Odesa to be held on October 25.
Wave 5 – applications for the workshop in Kyiv to be held on November 8.

What participants of the Founders2Founders programme will receive:

1. Mastering important business concepts and developing business skills: Participants will be able to significantly increase their knowledge of business strategy, marketing, sales and business management. This includes learning about topics such as Unique Selling Proposition (USP), financing, partner search tools, and investment attraction.
2. Introduction to the opportunities of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and its Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs): Through the introductory module of the programme, participants will receive detailed information about the opportunities offered by EIT Community to support start-ups, which opens up additional resources and prospects for their development.
3. Receive practical recommendations and advice from entrepreneurs and investors: After each practical block, start-ups will receive individualised recommendations for further actions. The hands-on work will provide individualised guidance, feedback and support to help startups improve their skills, productivity and access to foreign markets.
4. Expanding your network of useful contacts and new acquaintances: Participation in the workshops provides a unique opportunity for start-ups to establish new business relationships with other entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts, which can contribute to the further development of their business.
5. Training on mastering the art of pitching a startup to investors:  Start-ups will be able to improve their pitching skills, which will help them to attract investors and other stakeholders more effectively.

Programme finale:

The programme will culminate with the presentation of innovative solutions, the best selected F2F start-ups, during the annual large-scale event – the International Export Forum 2024 – Innovation Boost.

Companies will be able to present their innovative solutions to business angels, investors and representatives of corporations, as well as win a cash prize for the development of their business.

* Pitching to investors will be in English

Requirements for applicants:

• SMEs, including start-ups registered in Ukraine or companies that have moved from Ukraine to a member state of the European Union, its overseas countries and territories (EEA) or associated countries of the Horizon Europe programme¹ after 02/24/2022.
• Companies that have an MVP or product in the early and middle stages of development (TRL3-TRL5).
• They are working on innovative solutions, services and/or products.

¹EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia.
Horizon Europe Associated Countries: Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine.
Outermost Regions: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Martinique, Mayotte and Saint-Martin (France), the Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain).

The process of reviewing applications and determining the winners:

1. Open call: Submission of the application via the link: https://vacu2m.com/f2f-registration/.
2. Eligibility check: Review of applications for compliance with the basic eligibility and selection criteria.
3. Evaluation of the application: The Vacuum Deep Tech Acceleration project team together with the EIT Community Officer in Ukraine conduct a detailed review of the applications.
4. Selection of startups: 12 start-ups are selected for each of the 5 workshops (1 start-up can attend 1 workshop).
5. Invitations: Selected start-ups receive an invitation to participate in the workshop.

Organisation of workshops:

There will be 5 one-day workshops in a hybrid format, consisting of an introductory module on EIT Community and its opportunities for start-ups, 4-hour training sessions, and 3-hour practical work. 

Language of the events: English

In case of unforeseen circumstances, the training sessions can be held online.

Training topics:

• Business strategy, including USP (unique selling proposition), marketing and sales.
• Entering the European market and product development.
• Financing, including fundraising and external financing.
• Partner search tools, national and international business development and innovation programmes, investment attraction.
• Legal requirements, including IPR, GDPR and investment documents.
• Effective pitching and product presentation.

After the theoretical part, the start-ups will take practical classes on the following topics:

• Business strategy, including USP (unique selling proposition), marketing and sales.
• Entering the European market and product development.
• Legal requirements, including IPR, GDPR, and investment documents.

Individualised recommendations: After each workshop, start-ups will receive individualised recommendations on how to proceed. The hands-on workshops will provide individualised guidance, feedback and support to help start-ups improve their skills, productivity and access to foreign markets. 

Final report: The wrap-up note will contain key findings, action plans and recommendations discussed during the workshop to help start-ups effectively implement the knowledge gained.

Detailed training programme:

09:30 – 10:00 Registration
10:00 – 10:15 Module 1: Introductory module on EIT and its opportunities for start-ups
10:15 – 11:00 Module 2. Effective pitching and product presentation
11:00 – 11:45 Module 3: Financing, including fundraising and external financing, partner search tools, national and international business and innovation development programmes, investment attraction
11:45 – 12:00 Coffee break
12:00 – 12:45 Module 4. Business strategy, including USP, marketing and sales
12:45 – 13:30 Module 5: Market entry and product development 
13:30 – 14:15 Module 6: Legal requirements, including intellectual property rights, GDPR and investment documents
14:15 – 15:15 Lunch
15:15 – 16:15 
– Practice 4 Business strategy, including USP, marketing and sales + follow-up – *.
– Practice 5 Market entry and product development + follow-up – **
– Practice 6 Legal requirements, including intellectual property rights, GDPR and investment documents + follow-up – ***
16:15 – 17:15
– Practice 4 Business strategy, including USP, marketing and sales + follow-up – **
– Practice 5 Market entry and product development + follow-up – ***
– Practice 6 Legal requirements, including intellectual property rights, GDPR and investment documents + follow-up – *.
17:15 – 17:30 Coffee break
17:30 – 18:30 
– Practice 4 Business strategy, including USP, marketing and sales + follow-up – ***
– Practice 5 Market entry and product development + follow-up – ***
– Practice 6 Legal requirements, including intellectual property rights, GDPR and investment documents + follow-up – **
18:30-19:00 Assessment testing and issuance of certificates to participants

* group of 4 start-ups
** group of 4 start-ups
*** group of 4 start-ups

Read more about the Founders2Founders project:

The overall goal of the project: To help Ukrainian start-ups successfully compete in the European market and attract investment by improving their strategic capacity and market readiness.

Specific objectives:

1. To provide start-ups with the necessary knowledge, tools and resources to improve their business strategies, market readiness, financial management, legal compliance and pitching skills.
2. Strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem by offering intensive trainings and workshops to help start-ups scale and expand into foreign markets.
3. Summarise the key findings, action plans and recommendations discussed during the workshops in the form of individual policy briefs.
4. Document activities, results and feedback to assess the effectiveness of the programme and identify areas for improvement for future initiatives.
5. Raise the awareness of the EIT Community and its opportunities for the start-ups.

The project will be implemented from August 14, 2024 to December 12, 2024.

For information:

EIT — The EIT strengthens Europe’s ability to innovate by powering solutions to pressing global challenges and by nurturing entrepreneurial talent to create sustainable growth and skilled jobs in Europe. The EIT is an EU body and an integral part of Horizon Europe, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.  

The Institute supports dynamic pan-European partnerships, EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities, among leading companies, research labs and universities. Together with their leading partners, the EIT Community offers a wide range of innovation and entrepreneurship activities across Europe: entrepreneurial education courses, business creation and acceleration services and innovation driven research projects. 

EIT Community Strategic Regional Innovation Cluster — A unique collaboration platform of eight Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) focusing on strengthening the innovation capacity of ecosystems in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, classified as moderate and modest innovators countries, according to the European Innovation Scoreboard. The Cluster covers 23 EIT RIS-eligible regions, including Ukraine and Western Balkans.

Vacuum Deep Tech Acceleration is the first and at the same time the only acceleration programme specifically focused on deep tech and knowledge-intensive technologies in Ukraine with a full range of support from ideas to first national customers and/or institutional investments. Over the past year, more than 60 startups have been accelerated, attracting more than $2M in investment and $3.2M in sales.

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MES) is an open and partnership-oriented central executive body responsible to society for the sustainable and innovative development of Ukraine’s education and science system at the national, European and global levels, and enjoys the trust of the educational and scientific community, international partners and Ukrainian society as a whole. 

The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine is a central executive body responsible for the formation and implementation of state policy in the field of digitalization, open data, national electronic information resources, interoperability – the interaction of network systems based on unified interfaces or protocols, the introduction of electronic services and the development of digital literacy.

The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine is a state executive body that develops and implements state policy in the field of economy and trade. It is also responsible for implementing state regulatory policy, state policy on entrepreneurship development (except for registration of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs), and pricing policy.

Diia. City is a unique space that combines a set of tools for developing and scaling IT businesses. It has one of the best tax systems in Europe, a new flexible form of cooperation between companies and specialists – GIG contracts, and effective and widely used tools for attracting investment.

Diia.Business is a large-scale national project for the development of entrepreneurship and exports, which was initiated by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine in February 2020. Since May 2021, the project has been implemented by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine in cooperation with the Entrepreneurship and Export Development Office, a government agency responsible for the development and support of Ukrainian entrepreneurship in domestic and foreign markets.  

YEP Accelerator is an ecosystem of innovative entrepreneurship. Incubation and acceleration programme, mentoring and grants for early-stage startups. Since 2016, we have accelerated 500+ start-ups. Our team also develops entrepreneurial education in 95 universities across the country, teaching 3000+ students each semester.