One of the first international business accelerators in Hungary, iCatapult launched in December 2012. Now they felt it was time to share some of the key takeaways and lessons learned along the way. Gabor Papp's article appeared on the iCatapult blog.
One of the first accelerators in Hungary, iCatapult launched in December 2012, but the actual, hands-on work started back in August. It has been more than a year and half since we have started the daily operations and got our hands dirty. At the beginning, there were many ideas about execution, each with its own set of assumptions. Finally iterated our way to a model that we were willing to go with. Our one-line pitch represents this model the best: iCatapult is a global business development accelerator for CEE tech startups. This one liner represents our vision and embodies our major commitments. iCatapult focuses on global technologies. We believe that many non-US startups have the potential of going global from day one. They just need the boost to avoid cultural, language, financial barriers and the lack of a cohesive network.Read more »
The concept of business incubation went on a victory tour, and governments realized that they needed to step in to help innovative ideas turn into global businesses. The State Accredited Technology Incubators could turn out to be the draft print for success.
The concept of business incubation went on a victory tour from Israel and Finland where governments realized that they needed to step in to help embryonic innovative ideas turn into global economic success. Hungary strives to become a regional startup giant by playing the same card. The recent award of Accredited Technology Incubator (ATI) titles could turn out to be the draft print of a bestselling story.Read more »
The National Innovation Office of Hungary announced the list of four technology incubators accredited by the State. The selected incubators get operational funding and become entitled to nominate companies to receive financial support from the State.
The National Innovation Office of Hungary announced the list of four Accredited Technology Incubators eligible for working with together with the State. Their mission will be to accelerate the growth of the local startup ecosystem by channeling funding from the Hungarian State for 20 grants worth around 5.5 million Euros in total. Read more »
The campaign to attract more startups to New York is reaching across international borders. Last night a coalition of private and city organizations introduced a group of 15 startups from Central and Eastern Europe to the New York tech and investor community.
On May 6, a coalition of private and city organizations introduced a group of 15 startups from Europe to the New York tech and investor community. The mission was to build local business connections for these companies and the event organizers say some of these entrepreneurs plan to relocate to the city. The event was part of a New York City Economic Development Corp. program to encourage investment and trade between New York and cities in Eastern and Central Europe. This initiative, called World to NYC, is an attempt to show entrepreneurs from around the globe what the city offers in terms of expansion opportunities.Read more »
For the first time ever, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is focusing on CEE-based entrepreneurs. From May 6-8 the NYCEDC, in partnership with iCatapult and STARTeurope, is hosting delegates for the 3-day Word to NYC (W2NYC) program.
The Big Apple’s tech scene is undisputedly thriving. Just yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg announced the “We Are Made in NY” campaign to celebrate and support the growing tech sector in NYC. There are more than 900 tech startups based in NYC. Venture Capital deals for tech companies in NYC rose 32% between 2007 and 2011. 2012 was also remarkable year for the City, a PivCo. report details that there were 100 deals for privately held tech companies with a total value of $8.3 billion.Read more »
