Developers, designers, students, creatives, people with cool IT ideas – we need you and your skills. Don’t pack your suitcase, apply to SPARK and start your startup in the fifth jubilee generation. This is an ideal opportunity to start your own business as easy as possible and kill a few birds with one stone – you don’t have to move out of the country, you’ll get yourself a job, hire some people, and you’ll work on something you love and trust in.
All this with a huge help from SPARK team, who give more than a desk and a computer to startups. There are also weekly workshops, experienced mentors, law, finance and marketing tips, investor meetings, corporate partners, and if you miss a team member, we can find the best SPARK school students for you. And what’s the most important – we’ll motivate you daily.
You’ve stopped with the packing? Read on.
Application
What kind of ideas do we seek for our fifth generation? Software or hardware products, web and mobile applications, games, products that make everyday life easier with the help of the internet… The choice is yours, but these verticals can serve as inspiration and guidance:
Gaming & Sports Data;
IoT & Big Data;
Digital Media & E-Commerce;
By your choice, but should be IT-related.
The first three categories carry more points with the Evaluation Board, which doesn’t mean that the idea from the fourth category cannot be successful as well.
As before, there are two ways to apply:
Have an idea and a team that would work with you – apply with your startup;
Don’t have an idea or a team, but you would like to be a member of a startup – apply to a team.
Applications are open on our website for 21 days, more precisely from 13 November to 3 December 2017 at 3 PM.
If you don’t want to apply without getting to know us and need more info, now’s your chance – visit us and drink coffee with us – we’ll talk about startup program for the fifth generation and you’ll meet some of our old startups and get a chance to ask us anything. So, SPARK coffee, in the SPARK Café, on Tuesday (21 November) at 3 PM. Confirm your arrival at the FB event.
Selection and bootcamp
As already said, the applications will be closed on 3 December 2017 at 3 PM, and we’ll do the pre-selection and choose teams and individuals for SPARK startup bootcamp on 6 December. In just three days (11-13 December 2017), the bootcamp participants will be prepared to enter the startup world and present ideas to the Evaluation Board. This year the bootcamp will be very intense – hence the name. Our new potential startups will get all the help from our three guests – Filip Stipančić and Miro Hegedić from Lean Startup Croatia, and Sara Usinger from Takeoff Accelerator, along with the SPARK mentors. Teams will be formed around problems, solving them with the help of a mentor, experimenting and finding a solution that someone would pay for and at the same time adopting the Lean Startup Drill techniques, applicable to any future business idea. Lean methodology is extremely important for startups, which is why we have brought such a strong team to introduce you to all the secrets of startup journey.
On the last day of bootcamp (15 December 2017), we’ll choose the finalists who will pitch their ideas to the Evaluation Board. This is also the last step in entering the startup program and the opportunity to win your first “clients”. The startup program begins in the new year, or more precisely on 8 January 2018.
Prize game
On the occasion of the jubilee generation, we want to reward one of our Facebook followers, so we are organizing a prize game. Whether you have an idea, you want to launch a startup or not, you may already have your own business or lead a team of people – a lean methodology can help you both in business and in private life. That’s why we give you one-hour individual mentoring with Lean Startup Croatia. You have the opportunity to talk to Filip and Miro and find out how to create a product or service that will be used and paid for, in only 24 hours. Individual mentoring will take place on Monday, 11 December, in the afternoon (in agreement with the winner).
All you need is to:
like SPARK Facebook page
in the post comment, tag someone you think might launch their startup or join one of SPARK startups.
The lucky winner will be drawn randomly on 6 December and announced on Facebook.
We look forward to your applications and remind you: Don’t pack your suitcase – SPARK yourself!
