Frequently Asked Questions

General

Accelerator

Applying

Bootcamp

How is Kiuas different than other accelerators?

General

We tailor each program to your needs and only select teams that we believe can succeed.
We embrace the "from founder to founder" -mentality. We make sure that the people who are helping you have actually built successful companies themselves.
We stick to topics that move your company forward. Instead of fine-tuning your pitch and making you look successful, we create real success by focusing intensively on customers and the product.
Kiuas is truly founder centric and committed to your success. Our position is unique as we are not investors that expect a return on their investment within a certain timeframe. That can lead to a conflict of interest. Instead, our interests are perfectly aligned with your interests as a founder.
We are well-connected with a network consisting of entrepreneurs, investors, clients, talent, and all the relevant players within the Nordic startup ecosystem.
Kiuas has a community of over 500 alumni entrepreneurs who help each other with pretty much anything related to running a startup.
As a Kiuas Accelerator participant, you get access to our toolbox that features over 500 000€ worth of tools and services for your company

How can Kiuas help me?

General

Kiuas supports founders and startups in pretty much anything related to founding and running a startup.

Kiuas Labs is our newly launched framework where you get a a custom-made actionplan for you to validate your startup idea and receive sparring from Kiuaswhenever you need it for free.

Kiuas Accelerator helps startup entrepreneurs to validate ideas, pivot, and most importantly, grow fast. The program includes workshops, mentoring, peer-to-peer support, software tools, and introductions.

Kiuas Co-Founder is a platform for finding co-founders or for becoming one. If you have a startup idea or even a company, you can share it and look for a co-founder.

For those in the earliest stages of their startup journey, we have partnered up with Aalto University, Reaktor and Maki.vc to come up with Starting Up. It is an online course that lets you learn to think like an entrepreneur and develop your problem-solving skills.

Does Kiuas provide funding?

General

No. However, Kiuas has a broad network of 100+ VC and angel investors from over 15 countries who join the program to meet and mentor our accelerator teams. You can find some of our partner VCs here.

Instead of pitching at a Demo Day, Kiuas Accelerator teams are provided with direct 1-on-1 meetings with our investors at the end of the program. For our fall 2023 batch, each of our startups got 10 investor meetings on average.

We also co-operate closely with FiBAN (Finnish Business Angel Network) as we have provided our accelerator program startups an exclusive fast track to their FiBAN Pitch Finland events since 2022.

What and who is behind Kiuas?

General

Kiuas was founded in 2017 on the legacy of Summer of Startups, which has been organized by Aalto Entrepreneurship Society since 2010. Today, Kiuas is operated as an independent non-profit organization supported by three main partners - Aalto University, the City of Espoo and Elo.

Our employed core team consists of five people. The startups are supported by our 100+ coaches, some of which are highlighted here.

What does Kiuas mean?

General

Kiuas (in English: a stove) is a central and key part of a Sauna. Kiuas is the furnace that generates the heat. It makes the Sauna hot.

What kind of feedback has Kiuas Accelerator received so far?

Accelerator

We are proud and humble of our track record of creating value for founders. We always ask the Accelerator program participants if they’d recommend the program to other founders. So far, 100% of them have said yes. Here are some examples of the feedback:

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“This kind of accelerator should be a must-have for any founder. The topics that are picked for the program fill in 100% of what a founder should consider when planning their growth.”

Participant of Accelerator 2021

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“An amazing experience that took us 6 months ahead of time than we would have without the program. The mentoring were mind-blowing and really challenged to look at our business from a more advanced point of view.”

Participant of Accelerator 2020

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“Being accountable for the team goals to the Kiuas team made the weekly work very fruitful. What I found especially helpful was that the Kiuas team really familiarised themselves with our specific pinpoints and steered us to the professional who most likely could help us to solve that problem.”

Participant of Accelerator 2022

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“Definitely the number one accelerator program out there and you are doing such a valuable and meaning ful job. Kiuas provides a ridiculous amount of opportunities to talk to the brightest and most experienced entrepreneurs in Finland. These opportunities are supported by a kind and driven team, who will help you with any challenges you face. For sure, it was one of the most fruitful experiences of my life and I got exactly and more what I was looking for. Forever grateful for the Kiuas team and this is only the start of the journey.“

Participant of Accelerator 2023

What does a typical week during the Kiuas Accelerator program look like?

Accelerator

During the program, sessions are organized 3-4 days a week. They take place on weekdays within normal working hours.

Typically you can expect to spend about 10h per week working on the program. The program content is tailored to your needs and consists of mentoring, workshops, talks, weekly meetings, etc.

Overall, the program is intensive but the focus should be on working on your startup.

Example of a week:

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Monday

9-10: Program Weeklies w. Score Board

11-12: Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR)

Tuesday

13-14: Financial Modelling Workshop: Why a FINA Model should be at the heart of your operations w. 1 VC + 1 founder

Wednesday

Individual/Group Office Hours w. Kiuas Team

13-14: Program Lunch: Go to Market Strategy w. significant speaker

Thursday

13-14: Fireside chat w. 3 experienced founders: The Road to a100-million in revenue

Friday

10-11: Founders Talk: How to build a product that users love before scaling

Does the Kiuas Accelerator program require in-person presence?

Accelerator

No. The program sessions are hosted fully online and can be completed without in-person participation. However, some optional side events take place in person in the Helsinki region.

What happens after the Kiuas Accelerator program?

Accelerator

We typically meet you a couple of times within the following months to discuss your needs and reflect on the program. Also, you maintain access to the services and software of the Toolbox.

Furthermore, you will become a member of the Kiuas Slack community where over 500 other founders can help and share advice with you.

In general, we are eager to help with anything - whether it’s an intro to a client or an investor, finding talent, or just testing new ideas with someone!

Why does the Kiuas Accelerator program cost 1%?

Accelerator

As a participation fee, we ask for a small stake in your company. This commits us to help you even after the program ends, as our financial incentives are aligned: we benefit only if you succeed. We are happy to sell our stake in any future funding round, or exit, whichever is convenient for you.

We've settled on 1%, as it is enough to cover our expenses, yet small enough that we don't mess up your cap table or investability in the eyes of investors. One percent is not much, but it enables us to help startups like yours in the future as well.

The application period for the Kiuas Accelerator is closed, can I still apply?

Applying

Unfortunately not. We run two programs per year, one in the spring and another one during the fall. The application period is open for about 4 weeks and typically closes at least one month before the program.

You can leave us your email on the Accelerator page to receive a notification when the next application period opens.

Why should I apply to the Kiuas Accelerator program?

Applying

The program content is tailored to meet your current needs. We offer support where you need it the most, provide the right tools, and connect you with the right people. Furthermore, you become a member of our over 500 startup founder community.

Every coach you meet and the sessions you participate in are selected to address the most urgent issues that you are dealing with. You will receive support for industry-specific issues as well as for general issues related to running a startup.

Here are some of the topics that are addressed during the program:

Idea validation
Product development
Go-to-market strategy
Sales & marketing
Scaling
Fundraising
Legal / IPR
Growth hacking
Hiring / team building
Internationalization

Kiuas is the fastest way to grow your network of relevant industry experts and investors in the Nordic ecosystem. Having them teach you the fundamentals of building startups supercharges your progress by letting you avoid the mistakes they’ve made. Furthermore, we at Kiuas are passionate about our mission to empower the next generation of leaders and are committed to challenging you, asking the hard questions, and pushing you forward.

Who can apply to Kiuas Accelerator?

Applying

Early-stage startup founders that are building globally scalable solutions.

If you are wondering whether you should apply to Kiuas Accelerator, send us a message, and let’s talk! Even if applying is not relevant to you at the moment, we may work with you in our Kiuas Labs so we are eager to get to know you and see if we can help in some way!

I’m working on my startup alone, can I apply to Kiuas Accelerator?

Applying

Please do!

However, please make sure that you are capable of building the first solution (prototype/MVP) out of your idea by yourself (without missing a developer, for example).

If you are looking for a co-founder, you can use our online platform Kiuas Co-Founder to look for a co-founder for your startup!

How do you rate the Kiuas Accelerator applications and select the teams?

Applying

In general, when assessing an application we ask ourselves the following:

Is this the right team to solve this problem? Do they have the right skills and expertise in place to build a product in this space? Is there any track record of the team’s ability to execute?

Is the team solving a real problem? Is there traction or unique customer insights that prove that this is a problem that needs to be solved? Is the ambition level of the team to build something globally scalable and significant?

For Kiuas Accelerator Spring 2024 we have divided the assessment to two parts:

You get accepted to Kiuas Bootcamp by:

1. Submitting a complete application

2. Working on a company that eventually seeks rapid growth and global markets

3. Being a full-time entrepreneur or seeking to become one given the chance

Based on your motivation and drive at the bootcamp as well as your application and how well it displays the criteria mentioned above we select 20 of the most suitable teams for the batch.

Who can join Kiuas Bootcamp?

Bootcamp

We will invite you to Kiuas Bootcamp if you meet the following criteria:

You submit a complete application
You are working on a company that eventually seeks rapid growth and global markets
You are a full-time entrepreneur or you are seeking to become one given the chance

Will this take a lot of time on top of my actual work?

Bootcamp

No. The minimum requirement is to submit your goals, quick progress updates during the week and if you met your goals by the end of the week. While we recommend that you utilize the workshops and mentoring that we provide, they are not mandatory, so participating in the bootcamp can be very easy on your schedule if you choose so.

Is attending the bootcamp mandatory if I want to apply to Kiuas Accelerator?

Bootcamp

Yes. As a minimum requirement, we expect all applicants to submit their goals on Monday 12.2., report on their progress during the week and write a final submission on Friday 16.2. to share the results. We believe that attending other parts of the bootcamp is a big value add for your team, but if you are unable to attend you can still be selected if you make the submissions.

Can I participate in the bootcamp remotely?

Bootcamp

Yes, most of the bootcamp week is arranged remotely by default. The in-person kick-off 12.2. is highly recommended for all participants, but you are able to complete the bootcamp without in-person participation.

By joining the bootcamp am I obligated to join the Kiuas Accelerator batch if selected?

Bootcamp

No. We will give you the participation agreement for review during the bootcamp and you will be given plenty of time to decide whether you want to commit to Kiuas Accelerator. You can attend the bootcamp and opt out of Kiuas Accelerator with no harm done.

How do you assess the progress achieved during the bootcamp?

Bootcamp

Your ability to set actionable goals that make you focus on the right things considering your stage and company. Your ability to execute and adapt your goals during the week. Your ability to reflect on your learnings and modify your plans accordingly.

Can I update my application during the bootcamp?

Bootcamp

Yes. We will give you an opportunity to review and update your application at the end of the bootcamp. In fact, we hope that during the week you learn something new about your business or your customers and share your learnings with us.

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