Hubble is an acceleration program dedicated to the development and launch to market of the best high-impact startups in the digital marketplace. The program is characterized by selective screening activities and is aimed at transforming startups into strong entrepreneurial entities, improving their market position, as well as growing and scaling their business models.
Given the program's high socioeconomic impact, Hubble will see the selected startups grow through mentorship, training and networking during a 4-month acceleration period.
Each year, from hundreds of applicants, Hubble selects up to 10 projects which will then be supported financially with a grant and accompanied on their acceleration path through supportive professionals and mentors, as well as physical spaces to work in.
The program was born from the collaboration between Fondazione CR Firenze, Fondazione per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione and Nana Bianca, and its first objective is to create a digital ecosystem of impact on the territory and support new, innovative startups.
The project is mainly aimed at ambitious founders and innovative startups with concrete ideas for the development of a product or service, especially if focused on projects with a high impact on the digital market. An exclusive acceleration program then, characterized by very selective screening activities aimed at selecting the best national and European proposals, for a maximum of 10 each year.
Every selected startup will receive 60.000 euros in grant for the development of the business.
You will have access to digital services and plans at favorable prices, from the main players of the digital world, for the value of 250.000 euros.
The program provides work stations for the whole team, inside our coworking space located in the Florence Fondazione CR Innovation Center.
The program provides all teams with the opportunity to take advantage of a precise and customized formative plan, consisting of 1to1 entrepreneurial counseling with professionals, experts and mentors of Nana Bianca’s network.
We offer the coaching of a highly experienced mentor for each accelerated startup.
You will become part of our network of investors, entrepreneurs and local businesses.
We offer support and counseling during your startup’s fundraising process.
Throughout the year, the batch will be enriched with a series of key events including convergence days with the network and the local area, as well as workshops open to the city. These include, for example, the end-of-term Demo Day, an event also open to international investors and stakeholders.
The selected teams will have the opportunity to attend high-level entrepreneurial training courses curated by the University of Florence's Foundation for Research and Innovation, which will be held at Nana Bianca's headquarters. The program includes training in Online Marketing, Business Modelling & Planning, Pitching and Fundraising and more.
First, we will analyze and improve your business plan: we will do this together with you, your team and your mentor, to get you off to the best start.
We will test your business idea, putting together everything needed to make your project market-ready in the shortest time possible
An ad-hoc data collection where we will give you everything you need to make your business fully sustainable and scalable
The right managerial preparation to launch your venture to the marketplace: this phase will define the roles, tasks, goals, and intermediate milestones to be achieved
Do you have questions? Our team can help you find the answers.
Successful applicants receive up to EUR 60,000 in cash as well as training and accelerator services, and must be physically present in Florence for the duration of the program (16 weeks). In return, we ask for up to 15% in equity options, divided between Nana Bianca and sponsoring entities according to varying shares. We reserve the right to exercise the option at any time within a 36-month period.
We prefer applications from teams with a marketable prototype, but we also consider prototypes in beta stage that need some further development. You will be required to submit an Investor Deck containing the following information:
Problem Solution - Growth Stage Traction / KPI's Value Proposition (What's different?) Competitive Landscape Customer Segment - Revenue Model Team - Details on legal constitution of the company Total Funds Raised Current CAP table (Max 12 slides!).
The Hubble accelerator program is dedicated to startups with a strong digital connotation. At this stage, we are happy to support projects in the areas of Saas, Mobile App, Blockchain, Dapp & Web3, Smart Cities Solutions, IoT, Sharing Economy, Circular Economy, Energy, Health and Bioinformatics. We have great experience in online marketing, advertising tech, mobile, and e-commerce, but we believe in synergies and rely on a valuable network of mentors.
The program is 16 weeks long and requires your team to relocate to Florence. It is intensive, comprehensive and geared toward global competition. You will be exclusively assigned a high-profile mentor with whom you will work once a week, for 4 months. You will have to attend all of our training sessions, and two mentors will be assigned to you that will support you every day. We will test and reiterate your business model together with the help of our IT, marketing and graphics departments. The schedule is tight: each week consists of one module and each module has its own milestones. Our goal is to help you achieve the metrics and traction you need to proceed to future investment rounds.
No. We are only interested in your business idea and the demo you have prepared. Our program follows a standard approach, both established companies and teams yet to be established are accepted.
For companies incorporated abroad (EU): not necessarily, but you still need to register a company headquartered in Florence in order to participate in the program.
For companies incorporated in Italy: it is' required to register the registered or operational office in Florence in order to participate in the program. We will help you with the paperwork.
Tutti i team selezionati devono avere sede legale o operativa a Firenze. La costituzione dell’impresa con sede a Firenze è obbligatoria e avrai 60 giorni di tempo dal momento dell’ammissione al programma per registrare la nuova entità. Non preoccuparti però, ti daremo una mano con le pratiche.
No. You will receive the grant in tranches, contingent on reaching milestones, that you will be notified of once you are admitted to the program. At the end of the program you will have received the full amount. Some of the milestones are generic and pertaining to the program, while others will be specific to your team. Generally speaking, milestones pertaining to the program will be communicated once you are admitted, while specific milestones may be awarded as the program progresses.
Our mentors are here to help you enter the global competition. Each selected project is assigned a mentor, and the choice of mentor is at the sole discretion of the committee.
Not necessarily; equity allocation is not automatic at this stage. However, we encourage you to get the most out of your relationship with your mentor and to think long term.
We expect 250% commitment from you and your team. Our program is intensive and structured to help promising entrepreneurial projects become globally competitive. You and your team will be immersed from day one and are expected to participate and bring out the most from every input you receive.
