Pre-Acceleration program
Turning your disruptive idea into a viable business

The Pre-Acceleration program is one of the best opportunities for young startups in Italy. Thanks to B4i, we understood how you can shift from Idea to Startup in the right way.

Alessandro Puppo, Green Games

The Pre-Acceleration program in brief

Our Pre-Accelerator is a 3-month training program designed for aspiring entrepreneurs who are working on early stage business ideas. It aims at helping them develop an MVP (minimum viable product) and validate their business ideas.

Sessions, in the format of practical training and lectures, will cover different aspects of starting up a business, from customer discovery and market assessment to business model and MVP design, operations and financial planning. While attending the program, entrepreneurs will be supported by a dedicated mentor and have access to legal, marketing and financial planning counselling services.

The program is held twice a year and welcomes up to 25 teams per batch. It is completely free and organized in a blended format: there will be sessions to attend at Bocconi University on Saturday mornings and remote evening workshops during the week. This will also allow entrepreneurs who work or study full-time to participate. If carrying out face-to-face lessons will not be viable, the entire program will run online.

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Some highlights from our 1st batch

200+
applications

20
selected teams made of 3 members on average

44
hours of training

16
speakers

1
mentor assigned to each team

60+
mentorship sessions

The first batch of the Pre-Acceleration program ended in early May 2020, after 3 months full of ideas, work and enthusiasm.
The group of participants brought together people with very different ages and educational and professional backgrounds. During the program, several topics were covered and insights were gained from entrepreneurs and professionals with consolidated experience in varied entrepreneurial ecosystems.
To mark the end of the program, in July, selected teams will participate in a Demo Day pitching their ideas in front of a panel of evaluators.

Eligibility criteria

  • Participants need to be in a team of at least 2 people, who must have reached the age of majority.
  • At least one team member must be either: a student, an alumnus, a researcher, an employee or a member of the faculty of Bocconi University or a student, alumnus or researcher of one of the partner institutions (i.e. Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Politecnico di Milano, Università degli Studi di Milano Statale).
  • We expect participants to commit to attend all sessions and workshops in order to make the most of this opportunity.
READ THE PROGRAM FULL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
KEY DATES
Jul 192020

Applications deadline
The application period closes and our team begins the process of candidates selection

Sep 262020

Start of the program
The selected candidates begin their 4-month program

Dec 122020

End of the program
The initial ideas of entrepreneurs have now taken the form of a minimum viable product

Feb2021

Demo day
Participants will pitch their ideas in front of a panel of evaluators including potential investors, customers and advisors

Main benefits

  • Access to a network of experts and mentors including Bocconi Professors, Alumni across continents and industries, and beyond
  • Direct access to talent from Bocconi and our university partners, from bachelor courses to MBAs
  • Discounted services from Bocconi and B4i partners, including databases, cloud, CRM, legal, accounting, digital marketing packages, etc.
  • Program format that allows entrepreneurs who work or study full-time to test the validity of their entrepreneurial ideas while keeping their ongoing commitments
  • Legal, Marketing and Financial Planning Bureaux available to support entrepreneurs in: selecting appropriate legal structures and addressing privacy, GDPR and IP issues; finetuning customer development and go to market strategies; developing sound financial projections

Partners

Core team

Speakers

Mentors

Startups

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