The OK!Thess acceleration program supports groups of individuals with innovative ideas, at the early stage of their investigation or development. It helps participants mature their ideas in a short period of time, and discover a financially viable and scalable business model that will allow them to grow, as startup businesses, in large markets.
This is realized through:
Further, through several other activities, OK!Thess helps participants to grow their network and become engaged in Thessaloniki’s innovation ecosystem. Since the beginning of 2017 the acceleration program of OK!Thess has provided support to 79 innovative business ventures.
Adapting the program to the new circumstances created by the pandemic in Greece, participation in the 11th cycle will be realized for the first time exclusively online.
OK!Thess acceleration program takes place in 4-month cycles and accepts new participants three times a year: in January, May, and October. The next cycle of the acceleration program is the 11th, and is about to start on the 22nd of May 2020, with a deadline for submitting proposals on the 17th of May 2020.
You can watch a video from the 9th cycle Bootcamp from October 2019 at this link.
Teams are accepted into the program through an evaluation process that consists of two phases:
1st phase: The team is evaluated based on its submitted application form, in order to be invited and participate in the week-long training Bootcamp of OK!Thess. The Bootcamp provides 25 hours of online training with mandatory attendance, from the 22nd to the 30th of May 2020.
2nd phase: During the Bootcamp, the team is evaluated for its participation in the full program of the OK!Thess acceleration program, which has a 4 - month duration (June - September 2020). The program includes approximately 20 training workshops and masterclasses with mandatory attendance, as well as weekly meetings with startup coaches of OK!Thess, which will be held exclusively online for the first time.
Important dates:
* To better prepare teams before submitting their application, OK! Thess coaches will be available for online meetings on May 13, 14, and 15, to discuss their business idea. Send an email at mail@okthess.gr to book a meeting with one of the coaches.
The teams which are selected at the end of the Bootcamp to be accepted in the 4-month acceleration program follow a common training program and a personalized consultancy program.
During the whole cycle, every Thursday afternoon (19:00-22:00) a compulsory training masterclass/workshop takes place. Workshops/masterclasses concern training on methodological tools for business model discovery (Lean Startup Methodology) and basic skillsets pertinent to entrepreneurship. Indicative topics:
In addition to the training program, participants meet with their startup coach once a week in order to discuss progress, to evaluate the deliverables they worked on and address challenges. As part of this process, coaches also bring the teams in touch with experts from the mentor network of OK!Thess.
Participation in the Bootcamp of OK!Thess is free of charge. Provided that a team successfully completes the 2nd stage evaluation at the end of the Bootcamp and is accepted into the full program, there is a symbolic fee of 150€ (per team) as a contribution to the activities of OK!Thess.
To participate, fill in the following form, hit submit and wait for the confirmation email. In case you don’t receive it, contact us at mail@okthess.gr .