What is StartupYard?
StartupYard, based in beautiful Prague, is Central Europe’s leading pre-seed and seed accelerator for technology startups. Founded in 2011, we have accelerated 125 startups from 25+ countries, and over half of our alumni have been funded receiving in total more than €105m. 20 companies have been acquired.
StartupYard alumni include a broad range of successful and award-winning tech startups including BrandEmbassy, Gjirafa.com, TeskaLabs, CityPay, Neuron Soundware, Rossum.ai, BudgetBakers, DameJidlo, Carebot and SteelMountain, among many others. Our alumni now collectively employ thousands of people, across the world, and have created 100s of millions of Euros in shareholder value.
What are we looking for?
StartupYard invests in and accelerates startups that are solving a unique and difficult technology problem, or tackling an old problem in a unique and challenging way, with the possibility of scaling globally. Startups that apply should be able to benefit from intensive mentoring from some of the tech industry’s best minds.
What do we offer?
Program & Funding:
StartupYard is a three-month, fully remote mentorship program designed for early to seed-stage startups. We help high-tech startups grow by connecting them with a top-tier network of corporate partners, including telcos, banks, and tech companies.
Participation is completely free: there are no upfront costs. We provide the acceleration program through a convertible note worth €45,000 (in-kind investment). If your startup needs funding, you can receive €25,000 in cash – bringing the total convertible note value to €70,000 = €45,000 (in-kind investment) + €25,000 (in cash).
In exchange for the program and funding, we typically target around 5% equity in your startup. The convertible note is valid for 24 months.
Follow-on funding after the program
We operate a follow-on fund for startups that perform well during and after the program, with investments of up to €100,000. This gives high-potential founders an extra boost to scale faster and hit their next big milestone. This follow-on fund is in partnership with DEPO Ventures who have full power to decide which teams are eligible.
Perks:
Every startup in our program gets access to over €1 million worth of perks through the exclusive GAN (Global Accelerator Network) partner program. These include free access to professional services like cloud hosting, legal support, marketing tools, and more; resources that would otherwise cost you a fortune.
Network: More important than money, our startups gain access to our extensive network of mentors, investors, and advisors from Central Europe’s leading firms in Technology, Finance, Telco, Software, and Retail. Among our top mentors are C-level executives from KB-Bank, Vodafone, Accenture, KPMG, Seznam, Google, Boston Consulting Group, Microsoft, E.ON, and many more.
“n8n Automation Templates” and “Mega-Prompts”
These are two of our most powerful founder resources.
- Our n8n Automation Templates are plug-and-play workflows for n8n, Gumloop, and similar tools, saving you weeks of setup so you can automate sales, marketing, customer onboarding, reporting, and more from day one.
- Our Mega-Prompts Library is a curated collection of high-impact AI mega-prompts, designed specifically for startup founders. They help you generate investor decks, marketing copy, sales scripts, and growth strategies in record time.
Together, they give you the kind of leverage normally reserved for teams with big budgets and dedicated ops staff.
Can I apply even if I don’t have a product yet?
No. You need to have at least a solid prototype and be close to launching. We are interested in people who have the capability and the ambition to deliver and build global solutions.
What type of commitment do you require?
StartupYard’s official program is a fully remote program where you get to choose when you are available over a period of 3 months. We look for startups that will benefit most from cooperation with StartupYard, so ongoing support and assistance should become a natural extension of our relationship over time.
What do you mean by mentor driven?
Our program revolves around the mentors. During the first month, you will go through intense mentoring sessions with industry experts from many different businesses, including a host of c-level executives from leading tech companies, as well as successful business founders and investors. You’ll then follow up continuously with those mentors who are best placed to help you expand your network, and make connections you need going forward.
Will we receive training?
It depends what you mean by training. We’re not a school, and we won’t teach you how to code, but we organize one-to-one sessions with experts on specific topics like financial projections, investments, growth hacking, media training, pitching, etc.
Do you invest in start-ups?
Teams that are selected can receive, if they want, a €25,000 cash investment via a convertible note. We also offer follow-on funds to our best performing startups.
I’m a single founder. Can I still apply?
In rare cases, we select solo founders. However, the vast majority of our startups have a founding team. A founding team is not only important for you as a company, but it is vital for the StartupYard program, which is far too demanding for a typical single founder alone.
I’m not located in Prague. Do I have to be physically present on-site?
No. StartupYard is a fully-remote program.
Can I apply even if I am not from Europe?
Yes you can but you must be in a similar time-zone as us (Paris, Prague, Berlin).
We have already raised money from friends/family or business angels. Can we still apply?
Yes you can. We are not about money. We are about growing your company to the next level.
How can we apply?
Very simple: if you already have a deck you just need to upload it and we will review it in detail. If you don’t have a deck (or if you are not happy with it), you can just answer a series of questions. In either case, just go to our apply page and select the program that’s right for you.
