Are you a startup that connects social & sustainability-focused mission with technological innovation? Check out Youth Business Poland - an extraordinary accelerator that supports positive impact companies.
Accelerator Strategy Overview
Geography: mostly Poland as well as Central-Eastern countries
Preferred industries: positive impact startups, those which connect their social & sustainability-focused mission with technological innovation, for instance: green tech, sustainable production, manufacturing and farming, ecological food production and carbon footprint reduction.
Company stage: Mostly young businesses (up to 3 years) or during the ideation phase
Product stage: from the scratch to the ready product
Product type: lack of specific requirements
Revenues: lack of specific requirements
Program Details
Duration: usually 3-6 months
Participation fee: 0 zł
Equity Investment: No
Grant: depending on the program, in average 75 000 - 90 000 PLN per program
No. of batches per year (+ months when you collect applications): a few programs and recruitments per year
No. of startups in a cohort: in average 15-20
Q&A with Adrian Migoń, CEO Youth Business Poland
What are the 5 most important things you look for in a startup applying to your acceleration program?
Our actions are based on our mission, therefore we do our best to choose among accelerated startups those, which are characterized by:
- Engagement & diligence - it’s important to us that the startup’s founding team is engaged and passionate. During the program, we provide knowledge and support through workshops, mentoring, and direct meetings. However, without the team's commitment and effort, the implementation of knowledge is not possible, and it will not bring the expected results. That's why it is important for us to select individuals who are willing to work hard and are open minded.
- Team potential - people are very important to us. It is in them that potential lies, and often it depends on them whether a particular idea will turn into a success. We believe that character traits such as ambition and determination are essential for achieving success in a startup. The complementary skills of individual team members also matter. A team with diverse skills is a huge advantage and one of the key factors for the project's success.
- Openness to feedback - without this factor, one could even argue that the time devoted to acceleration is wasted. A startup must be characterized by openness to constant changes and suggestions. History has shown that many successful projects have undergone a complete pivot of the project, business model, or strategy. Without openness to feedback, there is no chance for effective learning and change, which are often necessary to achieve success in the future.
- Customer-centricity - focusing on the needs and satisfaction of the customer is one of the most important elements that can contribute to the success of a startup. The high competitiveness of the market, the necessity to tailor the product to the clients’ needs, product differentiation, and building customer relationships are all customer-focused elements. Adapting to clients’ needs, while simultaneously ensuring product or service quality and directly impacting sales, is a crucial aspect of a startup's operations. Therefore, it is important to us that the project is capable of listening to the needs of its customers and devotes a lot of attention to fulfilling those needs.
- Impactfulness - social responsibility and solutions that positively impact the environment and people are the elements which are close to our hearts and fulfills the mission of our foundation. We strive for our programs to focus their attention on startups that can genuinely make a difference in the quality of life.
- What startups should take into account before applying to your acceleration program?
Before a startup decides to apply to an acceleration program, it should take into account several important things. It is crucial for founders to be able to dedicate their time to participating in the program. Partial participation often hinders fully benefiting from the opportunities that acceleration offers. Active involvement in workshops and mentoring brings results only when participants are engaged and focused on their tasks.
It is also worth to ask oneself questions before participation, such as the purpose and expectations one has for the program. What impact will my participation in the acceleration have? Such questions allow for verification of whether the project's current priorities align with the program and fulfill the development strategy. It may be the moment to create the strategy if it hasn't been established yet, and acceleration can be the ideal time for its formulation. These questions enable maximizing the value that the program can bring to the project's lifecycle.
Can you share some of the red flags that can disqualify a startup from joining your accelerator?
Projects that are in the idea phase but have not done any groundwork - such as basic market analysis, competitor research, preparation of an action plan, or a clear business model - are unlikely to have a chance to stand out among the competition.
Lack of openness to knowledge and suggestions, lack of commitment, and insufficient time investment are elements that red flags to us and most likely make participation in the program meaningless.
What are the most valuable skills that selected startups can develop thanks to your program?
Startup’s customer development is an essential element of the entire acceleration process. We base our learning on methodologies such as Lean Startup, which aims to understand the problem at hand. This requires a thorough verification of possibilities and confirmation that the proposed solution will indeed meet the needs and requirements of the target group. We prioritize startups that place their customers at the center, understand their needs by conducting interviews, creating prototypes, and testing them. Continuous improvement and introducing enhancements are vital elements of a startup creation This allows for refining the model so that the project can evolve and fulfill its role.
An important value we provide to startups during the program is the opportunity to broaden their network, including B2B partnerships. This brings tangible value to the project, such as the possibility of piloting their project with a corporation or securing investment. In the past year alone, four startups in our program received funding for project development and established investor relations. Many others increased their sales and signed new B2B contracts during the acceleration program.
How does your accelerator support portfolio companies during and after the program?
During the program, our foundation usually supports startups by organizing workshops, providing individual mentorship and advisory services. Networking events are organized, connections are shared, and partnerships are formed. Informal meetings often take place, during which participants arrange meetings and share contacts within their industry and beyond. We also assist in preparing pitching sessions, from workshops to practical support and consultations, such as organizing Semi Demo Day or the final Demo Day. We frequently invite companies, projects and guests from various fields to our events, providing our participants with additional opportunities to present themselves to new investors and potential business angels.
As a foundation, we strive to support our projects and alumni on an ongoing basis. Our strength lies in our ability to match the right people to situations. The events we organize often serve as a chance to meet again among individuals who have officially completed the project. Through ongoing contact with the founders, we understand their current needs and aim to provide assistance even after the program ends.
What are the best-performing companies in your portfolio?
There are many projects in our portfolio that are thriving in the market, we can mention a few startups that we have been working with for years, which are:
1. Plantalux - a family-owned company specializing in plant lighting technology for greenhouse cultivation. The group has developed a lamp equipped with the latest generation of COB (Chip on Board) LED diodes through close collaboration with the Japanese company Citizen and Plant Breeding (Hodowla Roślin) Strzelce Sp. z o.o. (IHAR Group). The company has built an application that works in conjunction with a range of sensors, creating a cohesive system for efficient planning and management of greenhouse production while reducing electricity consumption.
2. Sundose - a fully personalized, complete set of vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics, and adaptogens, all enclosed in a convenient sachet. Its composition changes according to the customer's needs. Sundose provides an alternative to outdated and generic mass-produced supplementation. By focusing on individuality, comprehensiveness, ease of implementation, and purity, it represents a shift in the way we approach supplementation.
3. Biltech - the creator of an application that facilitates recurring payments and protects against overpaying for services and utilities at home. With the BillTech app, users can gather all their bills in one place and pay them with a single click. When the system detects that the user is overpaying for their services, BillTech provides them with a significantly better offer and allows for a quick and easy process to switch providers. BillTech offers the ability to retrieve invoices from multiple sources. In addition to convenient payments, it contributes to real savings through personalized offers.
These are just a few examples of successful startups we have been collaborating with, and they highlight the innovative solutions they bring to their respective industries.
What key lessons have you learned from projects that didn’t work out the way you expected?
The key takeaway for us is not to judge projects too quickly. Our experience has shown us that among projects that didn't prosper at the beginning, many have put in a great amount of work that eventually brought incredible results. Sometimes, the opposite happens as well—startups that seemed like a great success are not properly managed by owners who aren't fully committed to the project, don't implement suggestions and changes, and end up failing.
Why, in your opinion, accelerators are becoming more popular nowadays?
Accelerator programs are becoming more and more popular, mainly because founders of projects are recognizing the growing support available through acceleration. Participating in a program brings tangible benefits such as securing business partnerships and gaining valuable knowledge for the team through the accelerator, which has built its expertise over many years. This is crucial as it significantly accelerates the pace of business development and this brings the interest of investment funds and business angels. In the case of informed and aware businesses, funds are much more eager to invest. Additionally, accelerator programs offer free support in the form of a wide range of workshops, networking opportunities, and mentoring, all of which have a direct impact on the business.
What are the hottest markets you currently look at as an accelerator and where do you see the biggest hype?
We believe that in the near future, several key areas of market development will emerge, and therefore, acceleration will focus its attention on projects that prioritize creating positive impact, achieving sustainable development goals, and caring for the world. These directions include technological innovations, sustainable investments, and environmental preservation efforts. All these directions that aim to create a more sustainable and fair future in which humans and the planet can coexist harmoniously have the potential for significant growth in the near future.
Do you have any predictions about the key trends that will shape the European accelerator scene in the near future?
One of the trends we have been recently observing is the increase in the number of projects in the areas of sustainability, digital technologies, artificial intelligence as well as support for social, medical, and educational entrepreneurship, which we consider as growing trends.
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