AceON Accelerator

Hello unicorns 🦄, once again, we're bringing insights and tips for start-up founders in our newsletter. Take a look 👀 at what’s included in our newest issue, No. 26: ✨ See how we are doing at AceON Accelerator, ✨ Learn something new – we are sharing some insights from the lectures in Autumn Accelerator 2024, ✨Register for our upcoming event to explore the question: Solo founder vs. Having co-founders?, ✨ Last-minute tips for events in November 2024, ✨ Networking for founders, ✨ Vocabulary: CLA and SAFE, ✨ Tip for this month: A film about Sequoia Capital and the evolution of VC. Enjoy! #aceon #aceonaccelerator #newsletter #unicornchronicles

A pitch deck is probably your one and only tool to present your idea and solution to VCs. ZAKA VC, a co-founder of AceON Accelerator, evaluates 3.500 start-ups annually, which is approx. 70 pitch decks per week. Venture capitalists´ minds are thus well-trained to read pitch decks, quickly identifying red flags why not to invest. 🚩 That’s why it’s crucial to create a great pitch deck. Ján Kasper, PhD., MBA, PhD., Co-founder and Managing Partner at ZAKA VC, recently led a lecture for participants of our #AutumnAccelerator 2024 on How to build your pre-seed round pitch deck & How to succeed with your start-up. Ján covered all the essential slides that make up a strong pitch deck. 🚀 Here are some of his insights as an experienced venture capitalist: 👍 At the very beginning of your deck, clearly and simply state what your start-up does in one or two sentences. Use impactful words like “increase” or “improve.” 👍 Clearly identify the problem you aim to solve - if you’re not solving a real problem, no one will invest in your start-up. VCs analyze the problem from multiple angles. Emphasize on the urgency, size, frequency, or growth of the problem. 👍 VCs aren’t experts in all industries and technologies, so they won’t dive deeply into your solution. They assume you have the expertise to create it, therefore, you do not need to be lengthy in your explanations within the deck. Instead, focus on whether your solution effectively addresses the stated problem. 👍 Show traction in your pitch deck, even at the pre-seed stage with no revenue. It’s important to demonstrate how quickly you and your team are progressing in development, validation of the solution, etc. #aceon #aceonaccelerator #lecture #pitchdeck #vc #investment

How can we inspire the next generation of start-up founders and spark a new wave of innovation? ✨One opportunity to support this mission was Startup Weekend Žilina organized by Martina Hanusová. The 11th edition was an exciting 54-hour hackathon where some teams even made their first sales, which is a remarkable milestone achieved in such a short time. 👏 From the AceON team, Pašek Peter and Petra Konarikova actively attended this event to inspire these ambitious and creative individuals to embrace entrepreneurship, discover their talents, enhance their communication skills, and build confidence. As Petra said, "No idea is a bad idea, and every effort should be appreciated, not shut down early on." Big congratulations to the winners: 🥇 1st place: Blinkfolio - recruiter friendly portfolio - An AI-powered portfolio builder for developers 🥈 2nd place – Auralight - candles with colored flames 🥉 3rd place – PearUpp - an application that facilitates and organizes peer learning for students. Let´s keep supporting the start-up community and innovations. 🚀 📷 Photo by Startup Weekend Žilina #aceon #aceonaccelerator #support #entrepreneurship

Having the right team is one of the key factors that can help you reduce risk in your start-up and make you more attractive to VCs, increasing your chances of getting funded in the early stages. 🤝 We are sharing a few insights from a recent lecture with Andrej Petrus, Head of Investment Committe at ZAKA VC, to help participants of the Autumn Accelerator 2024 understand how #venturecapital and #fundraising work. ⚙️ 💡 First of all, tech co-founders are an essential part of the team because they enable you to develop your product in-house rather than outsourcing it. Why is this important? When approaching VCs, it's not ideal to ask for funding just to hire your first tech team. It is your main responsibility as a non-tech founder or founding team to find these people. Showing that you already have the talent to build a product demonstrates credibility and execution capability. ✨ Another important aspect is to share the unique insights your team has. Do you, as a founder, have any distinctive insights based on your previous experience? What sets your perspective apart from other founders, and why are you the one who will win in this market? These are crucial pieces of information for investors. ⏱️ Running a start-up requires a lot of work, and it needs to be done quickly. How fast is your team moving? What progress have you made in the last week or month? Validate, iterate, and pivot quickly. As Andrej Petrus said, "Speed is everything." #aceon #aceonaccelerator #lecture #autumnaccelerator #startupaccelerator #vc #knowhow

We welcome our newest mentors in AceON Accelerator´s Autumn program (currently in progress 🙌), who are also helping start-ups beyond our accelerator to reach for the stars. 🚀 ✨ Frank Soudek 🚀 Productway is the Co-Founder and CEO of Productway, a product studio dedicated to helping start-ups with idea validation, MVP development, launches, and Go-To-Market strategy. As a Co-Founder of DOBROBOT, the # 1 non-profit auction platform in the Czech Republic, he built the platform and team from the ground up alongside David Procházka (Donio) and Livesport. Later, as Head of Product at Donio, he led the development of the leading non-profit and commercial crowdfunding platform in the CZ/SK region. With a background as a Product Manager, Designer, and Engineer, František offers expertise in all aspects of the product-building process, from strategy to execution. ✨ Michal Sutto, GTM Consultant & Founder at Questo. It’s easier than ever to build a product. It’s harder than ever to grow one. That’s why Michal created Questo, a collaborative program designed to help B2B tech teams dramatically supercharge their go-to-market execution. He helped boost growth at 60+ start-ups and scaleups across 15+ sectors and 10+ countries. ✨ Pavol Cobirka is the founder of KobiVentures and an experienced start-up strategist. With a track record of building and scaling successful ventures like Photoneo, PEKAT Vision, and Whalebone, he specializes in sales globalization, business growth, and strategic planning. As a mentor, Pavol helps start-ups create scalable systems, navigate challenges, and achieve sustainable growth. In his free time, Pavol enjoys calisthenics, cycling, dancing tango, and trading emeralds. Excited to support start-ups together. 🤩 #aceon #aceonaccelerator #mentor #expert #supportingstartups #startupaccelerator

Be sure to join #TECHHAPPYHOURS tomorrow and network all day long 🙌 Czech Startup Week 2024 has just started! Five days full of exciting start-up moments, meetings, and networking opportunities in beautiful Prague. Join other founders at #TechHappyHours powered by CzechInvest & Startup Kitchen, and watch start-ups pitch during the #DemoDay of Technologická inkubace at Prague Andel! 🚀 🎟️ Your Ticket is here: https://lnkd.in/egFMP2Gm You can't miss Jan Rezab, Linn Kretzschmar from CERN, Martin Felcman from Productboard, Lukáš Hurych from Credo Ventures, Linda Võeras from Karma Ventures, Or Haviv from Arieli Capital, Vit Horky from Czech Founders VC, Martin Drdul from Tensor Ventures or Arthur Jordão from ESNA - Europe Startup Nations Alliance and many others! Taiwanese start-ups like Jmem Tek, iCHASE, HADA Tech, Czech Webout with Stavario, and many others are among the international Pitch & Cheers Contest participants. There will be all-day networking. 🤝 And the Winner gets a Wild Card into the Startup World Cup the next day at the Engaged Investments Conference by DEPO Ventures. 🎟️ Tickets and more: https://lnkd.in/egFMP2Gm #aceon #startups #eventforfounders #CzechStartupWeek

Founders of AceON, Accace Slovakia and ZAKA VC, shook hands again and, together with Startup Kitchen, are organizing the second special edition of TRUESDAYS, moving the event from Prague to Bratislava. 🙌 The event is for everyone passionate about start-ups, offering a keynote speech, a panel discussion, and a roundtable addressing the frequently asked question: solo founder vs. having co-founders? 🤔 See you on November 5th at great new event space Unicorner at Accace Slovakia. 🎟️ Register here: https://lu.ma/a9mw6uds #aceon #aceonaccelerator #invitationtoevent #truesdays #letsmeet

"The size of the fund determines its strategy," said Pašek Peter during our very first lecture with the start-ups in the #AutumnAccelerator 2024. When looking for investors, it’s not just about sending your pitch deck to every VC you come across at events or through online searches. 🎯 Start by setting your target raise and do your research. Here’s why:   💰 Fund size matters: VCs have a specific amount of money that they usually invest in 20+ startups, diversifying their portfolio. Make sure your ask aligns with the amount they’re looking to invest. Too big or too small, and it won’t fit their strategy. 💰 Know the fund's vintage year: Funds are typically created for 10 years. If you approach a VC near the end of their cycle, they may already be out of fresh capital and becoming "zombie VC."   Beyond this important knowledge, Peter explained the difference between pricing and valuation of the start-ups, the distinction between pre-money and post-money valuation, potential return on invested capital, how much a start-up should raise to survive until the next investment round, or capital dilution.   We continue this week with two more lectures: Validation, and Fundraising & Venture Capital. 💪   #aceon #aceonaccelerator #lectures #autumnaccelerator #startupgrowth #investment

Today, in the evening, we kick off the Autumn Accelerator 2024 with our first lecture, featuring Pašek Peter, Managing Director & Partner at Accace Slovakia and Co-founder of AceON Accelerator! 🙌   We've designed a schedule for our start-ups, packed with essential topics to help them grow and fundraise. 🚀 The first lecture will focus on valuation, dilution, and how much to ask from investors - crucial knowledge for any entrepreneur!   And now, a little bit of start-up statistics. We’re thrilled to welcome 21 start-ups from 13 countries: Lithuania, Ukraine, France, Hungary, Czech Republic, Serbia, UK, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Georgia. 🌍   This 1.5-month intensive journey will culminate in the grand finale, Demo Day, taking place in Bratislava, Slovakia, at the end of November! 📅   Welcome, start-ups, and here's to a successful collaboration! ✨   #aceon #aceonaccelerator #autumnisON #startupaccelerator

This year, for the first time, AceON Accelerator was a community partner of the How To Web conference in Bucharest, Romania. 🙌 Check out some photos from the event from our "colleagues" from Accace Romania to get a feel for the atmosphere! 🤩 #aceon #aceonaccelerator #startupevent #communitypartner #aceonpoweredbyaccace