Rockstart Emerging Tech

About

Join Rockstart’s Emerging Tech Program to grow your company and get ready for global scaling. Rockstart supports entrepreneurs with a strong purpose by connecting them with the brightest minds in the industry. The Rockstart Emerging Tech Program provides access to the European Emerging Tech ecosystem, industry/corporate partners, talent, capital, and coaching.

The participating startups will spend 180+ days in a high-value startup Program consisting of two main elements:

DEEP DIVE WEEK -A highly intensive and concentrated week, working with peers in Den Bosch on a specific theme, including a combination of tailored events and group sessions for the startups. There is one Deep Dive week per month and 6 throughout the program. The startup and team can stay at their location during the program, but certain team members need to be present in Den Bosch for the Deep Dive weeks.
CONTINUOUS TRACK – Throughout the program the focus areas “Team Development” and “Financials” will occur consistently, additionally continuous coaching takes place both locally at the startups location & remotely and will be executed by mentors and the Program Director Raymond Alves.

We’re interested in startups that are using promising new technologies to make a positive impact. For the Rockstart Emerging Tech program, we will be looking for founders with:

Domain expertise
We are looking for deep expertise and knowledge in one specific domain. The perfect founder profile has experience working in one specific industry and understands the challenges in and around this industry, have a strong network and have easy access to data.

Deep tech solutions
We will be looking for the core proprietary tech solutions. As a team, you’re experienced data-scientists, machine learning and/or Emerging Tech experts. You have already built some technology (or part of it) and can apply it.

More specifically, we’re interested in the following Emerging Tech applications:

Algorithms & Libraries
Autonomous Robots
Autonomous Vehicles
Virtual Assistants
Document Search & Analytics
Image & Video Analysis
AI-optimized Hardware
Visual Inspection
Predictive Analytics

We are looking for deep expertise and knowledge in one targeted domain. The perfect founder profile has experience working in a specific industry and understands the challenges in and around it, has a strong network and easy access to data.

Applications are currently closed

Rockstart Provides Access

Market

We connect founders with the most relevant industry players and facilitate the process in order to drive partnerships and pilot customers for the startups in the Emerging Tech program.
Expertise

We have brought together an impressive lineup of mentors, who bring expertise in AI, data science, product and building businesses around technologies from scratch.
Tech talent and community

We've partnered with Jheronimus Academy of Data Science to give founders access to state-of-the-art research know-how, a pool of tech talents, and Rockstart's international community of alumni.
Capital

We are matching and setting up events so startups can leverage Rockstart's network of more than 200 local and international investors. We support our startups to raise capital during and after the program, where 66% of our alumni successfully secure follow-on funding.

What we offer

1. FUNDING We offer each startup a €100,000 convertible loan investment - €20,000 in cash and €80,000 in-kind funding consisting of, amongst others, office space and other facilities, expert workshops, international events, and intensive hands-on (mentor) support. That means no program fees.
2. MENTORSHIP Intensive individual mentoring and strategy sessions during the core of the program. A big part of our mentors are founders themselves and/or in the management teams of successful corporations. These are experts in the areas of Product Development, Business Development, Sales, Marketing, AI & Tech Development.
3. PERSONAL & TEAM DEVELOPMENT We support you in more than just getting your financial and legal structure in place. The program also includes a component focused on personal and team development. Your business is not the only thing that has to grow. You need to evolve as well.
4. COMPLETE SOFT-LANDING SUPPORT In collaboration with the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science, we provide our startups with office space with all the required facilities and services in Den Bosch.

5. INVESTOR NETWORK Through Rockstart's network of investors, 66% of our alumni secure follow-on funding after graduating. We grant access to 200+ local and international investors including Greylock Partners, Balderton Capital, Notion Capital, Tola Capital, Portugal Ventures, 2bpartner, and Vitulum Ventures.
6. ACCESS TO MARKET We give access to our large pool of corporate partners to run pilots with and secure clients. We work with industry leaders in various domains, including the likes of Shell, ABN Amro, De Volksbank, and Vodafone Ziggo. With programs in Amsterdam, Nijmegen, Den Bosch, Denmark and Bogota (Colombia), events in 25 cities across the globe and a vast network of corporate partners, Rockstart offers a global scale-up opportunity to startups.
7. ALUMNI PROGRAM After the acceleration program, you will get access to our Alumni Program that includes fundraising advice, PR and marketing support, legal and administrative services, etc.
8. Access to Tech talent Being in partnership with the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science (JADS) gives our startups access to expert tech talent as well as access to different AI-related seminars and events with JADS professors and special guests.

Rockstart AI Summit 2019

Rockstart Emerging Tech Alumni

OPTOSS

Opt/Net has developed an AI driven anomaly detection platform OptOSS. The platform enables the monitoring of large volumes of streaming data and it allows to identify, diagnose, and react to anomalous patterns in a matter of seconds. The team of Opt/Net BV joined Rockstart AI program with a ready product and Rockstart opened the doors to the market by connecting the startup with Vodafone Ziggo. During the program an agreement on paid pilot version to perform tests based on the Vodafone Ziggo company data was concluded. OptOSS AI is part of the Accenture Community taking part in the #AIA18 Accenture Innovation Awards journey within the Living & Working theme.

Pixyle

Pixyle is a B2B innovative startup, offering visual API for analyzing fashion items in images that helps fashion e-commerce companies improve their conversion, Net Promoter Score and Search Engine Optimization. Their API is built on top of state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence technology and integrates seamlessly within any e-commerce platform. The first adoration of the product was extremely niche, but during the program with the support of the Program team and her core mentor team (former CEO of Catawiki) the business evolved its niche focus from sustainable fashion to all E-commerce. A big emphasis was on the technology, and the decision was taken to grow the world’s largest image search dataset. Since Demo Day Pixyle has been extremely active meeting investors who have shown interest in the proposition.

What you'll learn

We’ve created a strong curriculum that will help you validate your tech solutions, produce results and scale your business in a structured and accelerated manner. In 180 days, you will learn about the following subjects:

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Piloting
Legal and Tax

METRICS & ANALYTICS
SALES
Tech development and scaling
PITCHING

Investment readiness & Fundraising
NETWORKING
Hiring Strategy
TEAM DEVELOPMENT

FAQ

1. WHY SHOULD WE JOIN ROCKSTART PROGRAM?
If your team is dedicated to turning your startup into a high-growth company, Rockstart Program is a radical opportunity to push your vision forward. We’ve run more than ten acceleration programs since 2012, assembled an extensive mentor and partner networks, and developed a curriculum that provides validation opportunities and hands-on access to experts in a variety of fields.
2. WE ALREADY RECEIVED SOME FUNDING AND/OR ARE NOT EARLY STAGE. CAN WE APPLY?
Yes. Your investor(s) would probably like you to join a program because they know what kind of support you can get by participating. Seed investors often spend a lot of time to coach the companies they invest in to increase their survival rate but cannot organize a mentor network or provide the expertise an accelerator can. Rockstart Program will help you to bring your startup to the next level by teaching your team how to think through your business proposition, open doors that used to be closed, help you with funding, marketing, and PR, and make sure you lay the foundation for growth plus lots more. We tailor the program to meet the needs of the ten selected startups.
3. I AM BY MYSELF AND DON’T HAVE A TEAM. CAN I APPLY?
You need to have a team of at least two people to join the program. It is difficult enough to build and grow a business, so you should have a partner to be able to make it a success. During the selection period, we focus on team dynamics and it’s a critical component of the selection process. You and your teammates should have complementary skills and positive team dynamics to be able to make it work.

That said, we do realize it is sometimes difficult to find the right partner. If you are very convinced that your startup should be part of the program, we recommend you apply. We might be able to connect you to the right partner. A team should be in place before we invite you for selection days.
4. HOW MUCH FUNDING DO ROCKSTART PROGRAM STARTUPS RECEIVE?
Startups accepted to Rockstart’s Emerging Tech Program receive €20,000 in cash, plus an in-kind investment consisting of office space and other facilities, expert workshops, international events, exclusive deals and intensive hands-on (mentor) support, all in exchange for 6 percent equity.
5. WHERE WILL WE LIVE DURING THE PROGRAM?
In order for startups to benefit the most from all program elements, we require founders to live and work in or around Den Bosch for the full duration of the six-month program. Our team can assist you in finding housing in Den Bosch.
6. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET ACCEPTED INTO ROCKSTART ACCELERATOR?
We believe in the power of a great team. Since our program is extremely intense and requires full team dedication, it’s important that you have a strong team in place with a track record, motivation and potential. We’re also looking for innovation. It doesn’t mean that you have to come up with a totally original idea, but your execution of that idea has to be unique. We’re looking to change the world with the startups we work with.
7. WE ONLY HAVE AN IDEA, ARE WE TOO EARLY-STAGE TO APPLY?
In order for us to help you get the most out of the program, we’re primarily looking for startups that have developed at least an MVP (minimum viable product), have customers or users and some traction. If your idea is still on the back of a napkin at the moment, we suggest you apply for the next Startup Weekend and test it out. However, as long as you have a business vision by the time our applications open, we’d love to hear it.
8. WHERE IS ROCKSTART’S EMERGING TECH PROGRAM BASED?
Rockstart’s Emerging Tech program is based in Den Bosch.
9. ARE THERE GEOGRAPHICAL RESTRICTIONS IN APPLYING TO ROCKSTART ACCELERATOR?
No. We are open to startups from all over the world. If you are from outside of the EU, we will support you in applying for the Dutch startup visa. Rockstart is one of the few accredited facilitators who can propose startups to receive this visa.
10. I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS
If you have more questions, please contact us.

Rockstart

Emerging Tech

Program

ACCELERATING EMERGING TECH STARTUPS AND

PREPARING THEM FOR GLOBAL SCALING

About

Rockstart Provides Access

What we offer

Rockstart AI Summit 2019

Rockstart Emerging Tech Alumni

Pixyle

What you'll learn

Our Mentors

Partners

Ecosystem Partners

Our team

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FAQ

INTERESTED IN THE RESULTS OF OUR PROGRAMS? SEE OUR STATS

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