ACCELERATION THROUGH ACCESS
DESIGNED TO MAKE GREAT TECH STARTUPS INVESTOR-READY
We empower founders like you to become investor-ready. Our highly customized 3-month program in St.Gallen – founded by the University of St.Gallen, START Foundation, and Swiss Innovation Park East – equips you with crucial business strategy, connects you with seasoned mentors and investors, and fast-tracks your journey to venture capital.
Applications for Batch 3 (September to December 2026) are now open. Apply through our online application form to join the next cohort and accelerate your startup’s path to investment readiness.
Applications are closed. Subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to know when applications reopen.
Are you interested in joining the next batch? Apply now for the next batch and we’ll be in touch once the next application phase open or subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know.
Applications for the current batch are closed.
Join the waitlist to be the first to know when applications for the next cohort open.
YOUR PATH TO EXCELLENCE
The program runs over the course of 3 months with a mix of on-site and online formats. Your presence in St.Gallen, Switzerland during the on-site events is mandatory. We offer co-working facilities for startups.
Pitching Sessions
Refine your pitch with the feedback from peer founders
Expert Support
Hands-on workshops and individual coaching by subject matter experts
Industry Connects
Get matched with experienced business leaders for insights
Mentorship
Regular compact sessions with your personal mentor
Boot Camp
Kickstart your journey with an offsite and form a lasting bond with your cohort
Mock Office Hours
Get directly challenged by VCs and other investors
Demo Day
Shine in front of investors and raise funds on the spot
Community Events
Socialize & network in the St.Gallen ecosystem
WHAT YOU WILL GET
Get funded and focus on accelerated growth
Secure CHF 15k in scholarship & benefits and the opportunity for up to CHF 200k in funding
Co-create with world-class experts
Receive individual coaching from leading experts from the St.Gallen ecosystem
Be investor-ready to secure your next round
Build your market strategy for ambitious growth and funding success
EXPERTS THAT MOVE THE NEEDLE
To accelerate your individual path to success we match you with world-class experts and mentors like successful founders, business leaders, investors and renown experts from various fields.
Ursula Oesterle
VP Innovation at EPFL
Cornelia Gut-Villa
CEO of Startfeld Foundation
Alex Illic
Co-Founder of ETH AI Centre
Dietmar Grichnik
Vice-President of University of St. Gallen
Melanie Gabriel
Co-Founder of Yokoy
Andreas Göldi
Partner at b2venture
EXPERTS THAT MOVE THE NEEDLE
To accelerate your individual path to success we match you with world-class experts and mentors like successful founders, business leaders, investors and renown experts from various fields.
GET A SNEAK PEAK INTO THE PILOT BATCH
PREVIOUS STARTUPS
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OUR CURRENT COHORT
WHAT YOU WILL WALK AWAY WITH
For us, investor-readiness means not just having the right mindset or presenting well, but also being able to back up your words with hard evidence.
Company
Essentials
Cover all angles beyond the basics, removing blind spots in your documents and preparing you to confidently answer the beyond-the-paper questions during key conversations with potential investors.
Corporate &
Legal
Establish an investor-ready structure with clear ownership, sound governance, and well-crafted agreements that make your company reliable for funding, partnerships, and procurement.
Financials & Fundraising
Build a clear and adaptable financial model and define a convincing fundraising strategy that aligns with your valuation, milestones, and growth ambitions.
Customers &
Go-To-Market
Refine your positioning, validate your target markets, and translate customer insights into a focused go-to-market plan and measurable pipeline.
Team Culture & Organization
Shape your company culture and structure, clarify roles and responsibilities, and define how you’ll attract, onboard, and retain top talent as you scale.
Connections
Leverage curated introductions from our ecosystem to industry leaders and veterans who help you validate markets, open doors to pilot projects, and build relationships that accelerate your traction and credibility.
During the HSG START Accelerator, we made significant progress with our go-to-market strategy and were also able to acquire our first customers from the St. Gallen region. As a startup, we matured considerably thanks to the intense roasting sessions with other participants and experts.
Kordian Caplazi
Founder & CEO, Rimon Technologies, HSG START Accelerator Alumni
Access to the St.Gallen ecosystem is invaluable. Through the accelerator, we were able to establish valuable connections with mentors, industry experts, and potential partners who helped refine our business model and significantly influenced our development.
Felix Carl Wiegandt
Founder & CEO Inhale+
The main value of the program for us was the financial and business planning support, where we as engineers from EPFL were lacking most.
Yegor Piskarev
CEO & Co-Founder, Dexterous Endoscopes
From all the programs I have seen across Europe, this is by far the best one. And the main reason for that is the quality of people, mentors and experts.
Saoirse McConnell
Co-Founder SurfAce Cleantech
Through the program we’ve got investor-ready. In fact, we were doing our due diligence in parallel and closed our round successfully.
Donato Rubinetti
CEO & Co-Founder, Ionic Wind
HOW DOES THE SELECTION PROCESS WORK?
We optimize for funding success and don't waste your time.
1. APPLICATION
Apply to the HSG START Accelerator through our online application form. Once submitted, our team will review your application and get in touch with next steps.
online
2. ELIGIBILITY
Our team will review the eligibility of your application.
online
3. DEEP DIVE
We will host a half an hour call with qualified startups to get to know you better and clarify any open questions.
online
4. ASSESSMENT
We will invite the short-listed startups to an selection day where they will pitch to our expert jury.
online
5. ONBOARDING
The selected startups will be invited to join our next cohort and will go through an onboarding proccess to prepare for the start.
in person
IS THIS THE RIGHT PROGRAM FOR YOU?
When identifying teams to join the program, we look for:
Location
Your company is based in Europe and you are ready to intensively work together to close the business-side gap in the program in St.Gallen.
Industry
B2B Tech business models are your thing. That can be DeepTech (Robotics, HealthTech / MedTech, SensorTech, ClimaTech, FoodTech) as well as AI or SaaS (Fintech, Adtech, Proptech) with a strong technology depth.
Innovative Technology and Solution
You demonstrated first market traction and validated your MVP and now you are looking for a program helping you to secure your next funding round.
Funding stage
You are in Pre-Seed / Seed (up to CHF 1 million funding secured) and/or have up to CHF 10 million non-dilutive grants secured. If you are seeking to raise CHF 1 to 10 million equity in the next 12 months then we can help best.
Strong Founder Team
The founding team is fully committed and at least one founder should have a scientific or engineering background to get the maximum benefit out of the program.
APPLICATIONS FOR BATCH 3 ARE OPEN.
Apply now and become part of our next vibrating cohort.
APPLICATIONS FOR BATCH 2 ARE CLOSED.
Join the waitlist to get early access to the next application round and selected updates from the program.
APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED.
Subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to know when applications reopen.
APPLY FOR THE NEXT BATCH.
Are you interested in joining the next batch?
Apply now and we’ll be in touch once the next application phase opens.
OUR PARTNERS
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The HSG START Accelerator quickly explained
Based in St. Gallen, this program accelerates European Tech startups. It delivers the tailored business acumen needed to complement technical brilliance and achieve investor readiness. Startups connect directly with an unparalleled network of investors, universities, and industry leaders. The non-profit organization is founded by the University of St.Gallen (HSG), the START Foundation, and the Switzerland Innovation Park East (SIP Ost).
FAQ
Every startup participating in the accelerator receives a scholarship of CHF 10,000 payed out in tranches across the run time of the program plus CHF 5k in benefits. Additionally, the HSG START Accelerator invests up to CHF 200,000 into selected startups.
We focus on tech product startups in all areas, where founders integrate science and groundbreaking engineering at the heart of their ventures, which we can help to accelerate with the enterpreneurial expertise of the St.Gallen ecosystem. Please note that consultancies and pure service companies are not eligible for the accelerator.
Our startups get access to our accelerator facilities in St.Gallen, mainly at the Switzerland Innovation Park East, at the University of St.Gallen and the START foundation.
If you meet our criteria to enter the program, we strongly encourage you to apply, you could potentially accelerate your traction through the accelerator.