FAQ
Who qualifies for our acceleration program and investment?
To be considered for investment, your start-up must be selected for our deeptech oriented acceleration program. Startups must meet all of the following requirements:
Be Deep-tech based: These are science – or technology-based start-ups with strong and protectable intellectual property. Patents are not required at this stage but there should be clear potential to protect the technology in future (via patents or know-how).
Stage of development: Early-stage before sales. The science behind the technology should be complete, with at least a laboratory prototype ready for demonstration. This corresponds to the NASA Technology Readiness Level 4 or higher.
The business idea has potential for developing a scalable business on the B2B market.
The team should be highly committed and contain at least one entrepreneur and at least one developer of the technology/science. We expect a clear division of roles between business and technology in the team.
A legal entity is not necessary at the application stage. A company needs to be registered in Latvia when selected for acceleration.
What is the investment amount that my startup can receive?
The Commercialization Reactor Fund invests up to 50,000 EUR per startup during the acceleration program (pre-seed investment). It can be supplemented with a follow-up seed round of up to 250,000 EUR after acceleration stage. Seed stage investment is only possible if your start-up has gone through the acceleration program and received the pre-seed investment from our Fund.
What is the Acceleration program agenda?
The goal of this Acceleration Program & investment is to make your start-up seed investment-ready by finding your first customers and industry partners.
The Acceleration Program runs over 6 months and is split in two parts:
Entry Level is a combination of weekly group sessions and workshops, team meetings with coaches team individual work. The main aim of this part is to provide a solid foundation for your business development and to get you ready to meaningfully talk to the industry. In this part of the program, you receive up to 10k EUR.
Advanced Level is industry focused and tailored to specific needs of the start-ups. Thus more emphasis is made on team meetings with coaches and industry mentors. At this stage you can receive an additional 40k EUR investment.
What are the investment terms?
The pre-seed stage investment in most cases is a convertible loan that converts at the seed round valuation with a discount and a valuation cap. The pre-seed stage is very difficult to value, so we leave it for the next round.
How much does the acceleration program cost?
The program is provided free of charge. However, there is a monthly infrastructure fee, which covers accounting services for financial oversight and other costs.
How can I apply?
Click the “Apply” button at the start or end of this page, and you will be redirected to the Startup Includer platform, where you will be prompted to create a profile, if you do not have one already. Creating a profile will only take you a few minutes, but will make it a lot easier for us all to understand if your start-up and our Fund are a good match!
How much time do I have to spend participating in the Acceleration program?
We suggest you spend 24/7 working on the your startup. Yet during the Entry level we require at least 30% of presence but starting from the Advance level it has to be full time for at least one of the founders.
Do I have to register my startup in Latvia?
Yes, you have to register in Latvia, we will help you with registration and legal settlements.