Introduction to our VC network and STARTPLATZ Community
September 29 – October 31
The application period starts on 29th September 2022. Startups can apply via the application form until October 31th. After that a short list of startups will be invited for interviews. Then the STARTPLATZ Accelerator jury will decide who's in the next Batch!
November 28 - November 29
The kick-off is the start of the program. The startups meet at STARTPLATZ Cologne and get to know each other. Moreover the startups can pitch for the first time in front of the community.
November 28 – February 02
In phase 1, the startups focus on the MVP and validation. Exciting workshops like the Founder Session, Mentor Matching, Expert Sessions and Pitch Training will function as support tools.
February 08
The midterm pitch determines which startups will move on to phase 2. The startups will pitch to the STARTPLATZ community and share their progress.
February 27 – April 23
Phase 2 focuses on growth and funding. For this purpose, 1on1 coaching sessions, partner networking sessions and expert sessions are planned. In VC Office Hours, the startups come into direct contact with VCs and get answers to all of their questions.
April 20
The Demo Day marks the end of the Batch. The startups pitch one last time to the community, report on their successes and have the opportunity to network.
We evaluate all applications received and invite the most convincing teams for further interviews.
If you have convinced us,
you are part of the next STARTPLATZ Accelerator batch!
The Accelerator program is exclusive to startups in our community. If you are not part of the community yet, sign up for a membership and you are ready to go.
Fill in the application form and tell us about you and your startup. Upload your pitch deck as a PDF – please refer to our
Pitch Deck Guide. If you are selected for an interview you can also present an updated version of your pitch deck.
You present your startup to the STARTPLATZ Accelerator jury and we have the opportunity to ask questions and get to know you better.
The Accelerator program is exclusive to startups in the STARTPLATZ community. Therefore a team community membership is mandatory. You will not only be part of the program but benefit from all other STARTPLATZ perks. Find details here.
Unlike many accelerator programs, we do not take any equity from the startups in the program. There are also no additional costs or fees for taking part in the program. The only cost is that of the STARTPATZ membership.
You should be a digital startup with a software-based product or service. At best you are a startup that deals with the topics Web 3.0, NFT or Metaverse.
You should be an early-stage startup, young and dynamic, heading towards fast growth and first investment.
We are looking for ambitious founders who aim to take their early-stage startup with digital focus to the next level.
The founders in our program should be committed to their startup full-time.
You should have an MVP or advanced prototype that is testable and can be used by the first pilot customers.
Your startup's product, business model, and strategy should be scalable and suitable for high gowth
Your startup should be solving a relevant problem in a new and innovative way.
Any Questions?
We have answered the most frequent ones for you!
You still have questions?
Shoot: accelerator@startplatz.de
The STARTPLATZ Accelerator is a program for scaling and developing early-stage startups. Powered by STARTPLATZ.
You do not have to give up any shares. There are no costs for the accelerator program itself, you only need to be a STARTPLATZ member (minimum Community Team Membership , find all our tarifs here ).
STARTPLATZ Accelerator is cross-financed through the other business areas of STARTPLATZ (memberships, coworking, renting out offices & conference rooms, and events).
The STARTPLATZ ecosystem and the structure of the Accelerator promote & attract the attention of potential investors. We also actively support matchmaking through our large network, events such as the Cologne Funding Days, office hours with VC's and Business Angels, and high-profile events such as the Demo Day.
In addition, eligible founders or founding teams can apply directly at STARTPLATZ for the Gründerstipendium NRW (founders' grant) of 1000 € per month. Here is some more information on that.
Your startup should be in the early stage, i.e. you have a testable MVP at the beginning of the program.
If you have the following things at hand, it will take you no longer than 5 minutes to fill out the form:
Your contact information, a short description of your concept (max. 100 words), your pitch deck.
After you click on APPLY, you will be forwarded to an application form.
Fill this out, upload your Pitch Deck at the end of the form and click on "Submit Application".
Afterwards you will receive a mail with a confirmation of receipt.
At the end of the application period, we look at all applications and select the most convincing ones. We invite these teams to pitch their business idea again personally in front of our jury and have a little interview.
After the pitches, we consult and inform the teams of our decision in the following days.
Our program is 99% remote. If possible, we'd love to meet up in real life for the kick off though, as we want to promote a good batch dynamic from the beginning on.
The size of the team is not important for the application.
Yes, you can also apply as a solo entrepreneur.
The focus of the STARTPLATZ Accelerator is on startups in the early stage, the idea phase should already be finished.
Yes, teams can reapply for the following batch after a cancellation. A new application is required for this.
STARTPLATZ offers a comprehensive service offer for founders & Startups as well as Corporates, which would like to dive into the agile startup world and create synergies.
At STARTPLATZ you have the opportunity to work together with other entrepreneurs in our coworking areas and to profit from the effects of the crowd.
In addition to the standard memberships, we offer startups the opportunity to apply for the discounted bootstrapping program.
You already have an office and have no need for coworking space?
Then have a look at our Community Membership. Become a part of the community, get discounts on workshops & events as well as room bookings.
By the way, an overview of all workshops & events can be found here.
You are looking for a stage for your startup?
With the Rheinland-Pitch STARTPLATZ organizes the largest pitch competition in Germany.
No, we expect our teams to dedicate most of their time to the growth of their startup and a little to our program. Any other programs at the same time would dilute the focus on execution.
On average the workload is about 5 hours per week.
We expect you to participate in all expert sessions with at least one team member. We are convinced that every team can benefit from all of our sessions. However, we don’t want to steal your time! If you feel like a specific expert session won’t be of any value to you or you really just can't make it, please let us know as early in advance as possible. We want to avoid us and our voluntary speakers being surprised by a high no-show rate. Also, participation is one of our criteria to choose the teams for the second phase of the program."
We are open to international teams and have quite a few non-German speaking mentors. As soon as we have one person with us who does not feel comfortable with German, we'll happily do everything in English.
No. The Midterm Pitch marks the end of phase 1. After the pitches, the STARTPLATZ Accelerator team consults and decides which teams will make it into the second phase of the program. This is to make sure that all teams in phase 2 can profit ideally from the contents. The evaluation criteria are:
