– What requirements must a startup meet in order to participate? Accelerate Italy is looking for technology startups, B2B business models and which already have revenues. The startup owns the intellectual property of its product and is the owner, custodian or licensee of at least one patent or owner of a registered software. 

– What kind of startups are you looking for? Accelerate Italy is looking for startups with a strong technological component. Usually, we admit startups operating in the following sectors: Robotics; Artificial intelligence; Autonomous Mobility; Clean Tech; Internet of Things; Blockchain; Software; Industry 4.0; Health tech. 

– In which language are the courses administered? Accelerate Italy programs are held in English. For this reason, applicants must have a proven knowledge of the English language to participate in the program. 

– What topics are addressed during the courses? During the program, the Accelerate Italy team together with a team of Experts, Mentors and Investors will  provide startups with all the tools to be able to bring their startup to the United States. During the courses the following topics will be addressed: 1. Welcome and Program Overview 2. Opportunities Insights 3. Financing the Entrepreneurial Venture 4. Culture and Team Dynamics 5. Investable Business Plan and Scaling 6. Demo Days.

– Who has to take the courses? The leadership team (Founders; CEOs etc.).

– Is a fee charged to participants?  Accelerate Italy does not charge any fees to the companies to be part of the program. However, the participating startups are required to sign a participation agreement in which they are asked to set up a company under American law and to sign a warrant with Accelerate Italy. 

– Which is Accelerate Italy’s business model? Accelerate Italy invests its resources in supporting Italian startups with potential to scale in the United States, offering them an acceleration program without paying any fees. In exchange, Accelerate Italy requests the stipulation of a warrant, which will be applied only if the startup reaches the valuation levels agreed by both parties before the beginning of the program. Accelerate Italy believes in a win-win business model where the acceleration program is successful only if the startups are successful. For this reason, we ask for remuneration based only on the startup’s agreed valuation of success.

– What is a warrant? A warrant is a financial instrument consisting of a forward contract, which offers the possibility for holders to sign the purchase or sale of a certain financial asset. For more information, visit https://carta.com/blog/stock-options-vs-warrants-everything-you-need-to-know/.

– How is the course structured? Accelerate Italy provides startups with a 16-week course. During the course, every three weeks, we will invite an expert to talk about some key aspects of entrepreneurship. During these meetings, the startups will be asked to show their progress and make a test pitch. At the end of the course, the startups will be offered the opportunity to present their company in front of a group of selected investors.

– What does  “soft – landing” mean? By”soft-landing” we mean the transfer of the leadership team to Boston. By doing so, the companies will be able to create a US business network, which will be essential in order to establish their business overseas.

– What is the role of Accelerate Italy during the “soft-landing” phase? During the soft-landing phase, Accelerate Italy will work closely with the selected startups, supporting them during the constitution phase of the company, providing them with resources (legal; marketing; ect), helping their search for business opportunities (customers, investors, etc.).

– What does “dual-company” mean? By dual-mode company we mean the creation of a company in Delaware that will become the startup’s official headquarter. Even though the company will maintain its operational headquarters in Italy, it will be transferring the administrative and legal functions to the new US company.

– Why is it necessary to set up a “dual company” to access the program? We require the set up of a US company as this is the only way to have direct access to funding and to be able to have relationships with investors in the United States. Furthermore, this allows for direct commercial activities in the United States, enabling Accelerate Italy to fully support the expansion of the startup overseas.

– Our company has founded two startups, can we apply with both? We do not recommend it. We always ask startups to present themselves with the company that is deemed most suitable for the program. 

– If the application is not successful, can we ask for feedback on why the startup was not chosen? Usually, we do not provide feedback. If we did, we would spend all our time providing feedback and doing nothing else due to the sheer volume of applications we have to process.