Answers to the most commonly asked questions
How can Kiuas help me?
General
Kiuas supports founders and startups in pretty much anything related to founding and running a startup.
Kiuas Accelerator helps startup entrepreneurs to validate ideas, pivot, and most importantly, grow fast. The program includes workshops, mentoring, peer-to-peer support, software tools, and introductions.
Kiuas Co-Founder is a platform for finding co-founders or for becoming one. If you have a startup idea or even a company, you can share it and look for a co-founder.
For those in the earliest stages of their startup journey, we have partnered up with Aalto University, Reaktor and Maki.vc to come up with Starting Up. It is an online course that lets you learn to think like an entrepreneur and develop your problem-solving skills.
How is Kiuas different than other accelerators?
General
Does Kiuas provide funding?
General
No. However, Kiuas has a broad network of both VCs and angel investors that you meet during the program.
We and our alumni are also happy to help you to understand the fundamentals of fundraising and different sources of public funding.
What and who is behind Kiuas?
General
Kiuas was founded in 2017 on the legacy of Summer of Startups, which has been organized by Aalto Entrepreneurship Society since 2010. Today, Kiuas is operated as an independent non-profit organization supported by three main partners - Aalto University, the City of Espoo and Elo.
Our employed core team consists of five people. The startups are supported by our 100+ coaches, some of which are highlighted here.
What does Kiuas mean?
General
Kiuas (in English: a stove) is a central and key part of a Sauna. Kiuas is the furnace that generates the heat. It makes the Sauna hot.
What kind of feedback has Kiuas Accelerator received so far?
Accelerator
We are proud and humble of our track record of creating value for founders. We always ask the Accelerator program participants if they’d recommend the program to other founders. So far, 100% of them have said yes. Here are some examples of the feedback:
“This kind of accelerator should be a must-have for any founder. The topics that are picked for the program fill in 100% of what a founder should consider when planning their growth.”
Participant of Accelerator 2021
“An amazing experience that took us 6 months ahead of time than we would have without the program. The mentoring were mind-blowing and really challenged to look at our business from a more advanced point of view.”
Participant of Accelerator 2020
“Being accountable for the team goals to the Kiuas team made the weekly work very fruitful. What I found especially helpful was that the Kiuas team really familiarised themselves with our specific pinpoints and steered us to the professional who most likely could help us to solve that problem.”
Participant of Accelerator 2022
What does a typical week during the Kiuas Accelerator program look like?
Accelerator
During the program, sessions are organized 3-4 days a week. They take place on weekdays within normal working hours.
Typically you can expect to spend about 10h per week working on the program. The program content is tailored to your needs and consists of mentoring, workshops, talks, weekly meetings, etc.
Overall, the program is intensive but the focus should be on working on your startup.
Does the Kiuas Accelerator program require in-person presence?
Accelerator
No. The program sessions are hosted fully online and can be completed without in-person participation. However, some optional side events take place in person in the Helsinki region.
What happens after the Kiuas Accelerator program?
Accelerator
We typically meet you a couple of times within the following months to discuss your needs and reflect on the program. Also, you maintain access to the services and software of the Toolbox.
Furthermore, you will become a member of the Kiuas Slack community where over 500 other founders can help and share advice with you.
In general, we are eager to help with anything - whether it’s an intro to a client or an investor, finding talent, or just testing new ideas with someone!
Why does the Kiuas Accelerator program cost 1%?
Accelerator
As a participation fee, we ask for a small stake in your company. This commits us to help you even after the program ends, as our financial incentives are aligned: we benefit only if you succeed. We are happy to sell our stake in any future funding round, or exit, whichever is convenient for you.
We've settled on 1%, as it is enough to cover our expenses, yet small enough that we don't mess up your cap table or investability in the eyes of investors. One percent is not much, but it enables us to help startups like yours in the future as well.