S3E Charge Program supporting Startups to improve the Business Model

S3E Charge is designed for growth start-ups with deep tech products, services, or process concepts, grounded in a scientific discovery or meaningful engineering innovation and at a growth development stage, that are already in the market.

S3E Start is a 14-week tailor-made mentoring and networking program that aims to provide skills to growth start-ups to enable them to:

• link the product/service/process product with market needs,
• better communicate their offerings to potential clients and investors,
• become market ready to pitch, persuade and readapt the business offerings to different audiences, depending on market needs,
• connect to ‘Innovation Leaders’ and ‘Strong Innovators’ Ecosystems,
• better understand to protect IP,
• prepare an investment ready business plan,
• get access to funds and funding.

S3E Charge will facilitate growth start-ups to be better aligned with Horizon Europe’s goals, namely by better positioning them to apply for public or private funding and programs, assisting them in linking their business offerings to market needs and becoming market ready to pitch and attract investments whilst having validated and honed their business plan and value proposition.

The participating teams in S3E Start will be supported in the development of:

• a business plan for a product, service or process and
• an investment-ready pitch presentation of the product (or service) concept that enables them to quickly communicate the business case.

What they offer?

• S3E CHARGE offers you an 14-week tailor-made mentoring and networking program that involves:
  • Mentoring (by pan-European industry experts) that will guide each growth start-up through the validation of the project, the development of the investment-ready business plan and the investment process. The mentors supporting the S3E Charge edition are individuals who are connected to deep tech and entrepreneurship, and who are prepared to help start-ups solve problems that arise throughout the program. Note: meetings with mentors last 1,5 hours and are held every two weeks (7 meetings in total).
  • Networking with industry leaders and investors and showcase opportunities at the S3E Open day in which the teams will give a 7-minute pitch followed by a 10-minute Q&A period to investors. Post Open Day the project will have a mechanism to facilitate one-on-one meetings between investors and start-ups.
• It is also important to mention that:
  • The teams will undergo a mentoring program that will have as the visible outcome an investment ready business plan.
  • The teams will pitch their project, at S3E Open day, to investors and corporate ventures.
  • Non-dilutable funding opportunities (both national and / or European) will be permanently scouted and posted on the project web site and mentors will also provide support for the start-ups to apply to these opportunities.

Who can apply?

• Growth start-ups with deep tech products, services, or process concepts, grounded in a scientific discovery or meaningful engineering innovation and at a growth development stage, that are already in the market, from all Southern Europe.
• For the scope of S3E, Southern European countries include the following European countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Cyprus, Romania, Slovenia and Spain. And the following Associated countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.

For more information, visit S3E – Southern European Entrepreneurship Engine Consortium.