Founders of early-stage startups or at MVP level who want to expand into a new CEE market, raise investment, or reach a recurring monthly revenue (MRR) of 2000 euros are invited to join the Rubik Garage accelerator. Forty-four startups from 10 countries were accelerated last year’s editions, and now we are back with details about signing up for a new batch.

The program is free and equity-free, but it requires the full involvement of the selected founders in each phase of the program. Registrations are open until March 5, at 23:59, and the Rubik Hub team is looking for motivated teams who are operating or wish to launch into the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Apply here.

So far, Rubik Hub has supported over 300 startups, with a community of over 200 mentors and founders. Only last year, the startups from the accelerator raised a total investment of 7 million euros and reached paying customers in over 90 countries. For the upcoming edition, they joined forces with 4 investors as strategic partners: Startup Wise Guys, Fortech Investments, ROCA X and Seedblink, and with start-up.ro as media partner.

“We believe that the coming years have great potential for the development and growth of startups in Romania and CEE. Since last year, when we accelerated 44 startups from 10 countries in the 2 cohorts of Rubik Garage accelerator, we started looking for passionate founders who have a strong vision for what they want to build. We also focused on teams of founders who are perseverant, solution-oriented, open to offer and receive support, coachable, committed to their startup and focused on healthy growth. At the same time, we are looking for teams that have a strong understanding of the market or niche in which they build the product (founder-market fit). This is a huge advantage that can increase the chances to raise an investment round”, said Valentin Iulian Ţoc, coordinator of the accelerator.

Rubik Garage 2023 program structure

• The program starts with all the founders in a physical Founders’ Bootcamp, at Rubik Hub, in Piatra Neamt, on March 22. The first workshops and mentoring sessions will take place there, in the co-working space (1500+ sqm) located right next to the mountains.
• The acceleration journey will continue online over 3 months, until June 18, and will feature over 60 hours of intensive live workshops and “Ask Me Anything” sessions with experts.
• In order to accelerate the development of startups in the essential areas, the workshopsare tailored to the level of development and the areas of interest of the founders. The topics will include pricing, launching on international markets, product-market fit, myths about investors, how to deliver a successful pitch, etc.
• 1:1 mentoring and feedback sessionswith mentors. There are over 200 mentors in the Rubik Hub community.
• Meet the investors’ sessions– friendly interventions of investors and experts from the Rubik Hub community on strategies to raise investment.
• The acceleration phase will culminate in aDemo Day in June, when the founders will have the chance to present their startup to mentors and investors in the Rubik Hub community.

Boryana Levterova, co-founder of Infinity Toy Box (Bulgaria) & 2022 alumnus, recounted her acceleration experience : “The Rubik team has been very helpful in connecting us with people who can help us overcome our challenges: advisors, other startups, etc. I would highly recommend the program to anyone looking to grow their startup with strategic and friendly guidance from a group of outstanding individuals.”

Investment Readiness Program

The most active teams with the greatest potential to raise investment in the next 6-12 months will be selected in the follow-on Investment Readiness Program.

They will attend exclusive workshops focused on key aspects of the fundraising process, including methods for evaluating an early-stage startup, strategies and key metrics to watch for when raising investment, investor management strategies and preparing a successful pitch deck. Founders will also benefit from match-making and introductions to relevant investors

Benefits and opportunities for startups

Startups are the core of what Rubik Hub creates, and the Rubik Garage acceleration program gives founders access to several advantages and benefits worth over 150,000 euros, including:

• Discounts and benefits offered by tech partners such as Notion, AWS, Twillio Segment, Hubspot, Miro, Freya Sense, SMSO, Idea Buddy, 2value
• House of startups – free co-working space for 2 years, and accommodation grants
• Opportunities to participate in international conferences for startups
• Jobs in Startups– a platform where startups can look for their next employees or co-founder.

“If you want to open doors, then Rubik Hub has the keys. For us, the biggest value was in making ourselves known in the Romanian ecosystem. Through Rubik Hub, we made the connections to enable that”, says Emil Chichioi, co-founder of Bloomcoding & 2022 alumnus.

Don’t miss the chance to be one of the successful startups that began in a garage! Apply until March 5^th.

source: RubikHub