The Region Alliance for Interconnected Startup Ecosystems – RAISE – project aims to develop a new and sustainable integrated support framework to foster startup growth and scale-up across Europe. RAISE will address this by developing a long-term collaboration and action plan for the establishment of a virtual interconnected space. It targets companies that have already achieved first results, possibly supported by regional programmes and are now aiming to grow.
In this framework, one of the crucial actions foreseen by the projects was the creation of training, mentoring, and networking sessions which could help startup promoters get in contact with the appropriate mentors and trainers who can help them gain access to their target markets. All project partners were required to contribute to the success of this task, by tackling topics such as Business Model Actions, Venture Capital actions, Talent Matching and Women Entrepreneurship. Specifically, in the last two months, EURADA has overseen the organisation of a learning opportunity on the subject of Business Partnership Actions. The action was designed to facilitate and enable startup promoters and their respective projects to proceed to the market, by focusing on sales channels expansions, technology partners and other business partnerships.
Defined as the legal relationship that is most often formed by a written agreement between two or more individuals or companies, a Business Partnership is often not so easy to get, and to be achieved, several aspects must be considered. With the help of one of EURADA’s historical members, META Group, a leader in mentoring companies from ideas to market by coaching researchers, and entrepreneurs, investing in promising opportunities and advising public and private organisations on innovation strategies, we set up a two-month academy. Aiming at providing personalised training and interactive learning, this coaching session revolved around a total of four online workshops of 90 minutes each, dealing with crucial aspects. The structure of each workshop has been a sum of a theoretical session and a practical one, giving in this way the opportunity for participants to gather tailored tips related to their business directly from the coach.
The Lean Canvas workshop at first taught us that one of the grounds for failures for early-stage startups is that usually there is no market need towards the products/services they are developing. Thus, to avoid falling into this statistic, it is important for early-stage startups to explore the Lean Canvas as a strategic planning tool. The first goal in adopting the Lean Canvas is to reach the problem-solution fit, which happens when a startup is developing a solution for a specific need for the customers. The Unique Value Propositions (UVP) Canva workshop thus emphasised that to reach this goal, startups need to use the UVP as a strategic tool when undertaking the marker analysis. Needless to say, high-growth early-stage startups need money to scale and boost their activities. It is then important that founders and CEOs understand the different kinds of investors operating in their market are, and which is the best way to approach them. The Approaching Risk Capital Investors workshop highlighted some tips and techniques to put into practice in order to succeed in this. The first approach to investors is the key to increasing the odds of getting the funds. Thus, as stressed during the last workshop How to master your pitch, preparing a great pitch about their mission and value added is crucial for start-ups to move the first steps.
It becomes clear that, in order to build a European start-up ecosystem, it is crucial for entrepreneurs to be experienced practitioners, having first-hand knowledge of the creation, management and advising of business ventures. EURADA is glad to have contributed to this mission and to share the success of its academy, which caught the attention of 31 people registered from all over Europe.
