Empowering EdTech Entrepreneurs
Your EdTech startup journey continues! Ouser EdTech Next Incubator supports you and your education startup with target scaling of your business model. Achieve succesful market positioning of your startup.
Funded by
EDTech NEXT Incubator
You achieved the validation of your EdTech startup idea and are ready for the next step? Our EdTech Next Incubator aims to establish your startup successfuly on the education market. Top-tier mentors will help you to do exactly that and scale your business model to a specific purpose.
During the 12 months program you will achieve the Problem-solution fit, work towards the Product-market fit, and build a network of partners from the education sector. At the Founders Foundation, you become part of an international network in the field of education with ambitious founders, relevant entrepreneurs, customers.
Format
Continuous program
average 12-months scholarship
Individual support through the program manager and experienced mentors
free participation
We do not take any shares in the startup
Target Group
Complementary and ambitious teams in the education sector, whether they focus on B2C, B2B, or B2G.
All of Northrine-Westfalia
Hybrid format of online and in-person events in Bielefeld.
Goal
Reaching the Problem-Solution Fit
Conception and launch of first MVP
Program Schedule
The program generally consists of two phases. The first phase addresses topics that will help your startup in the validation phase. Every month, you will receive a dense offering of related expertise during a focus week in our Founders Home. In addition, you will be supervised with an interdisciplinary focus by coaches and mentors, both in virtual sessions and personal conversations. This makes up phase two.
The program focus is always on you as founders, your needs, and also the peculiarities of the EdTech scene. Exciting meetups and events help you to expand your network and gets you into contact with other EdTech enthusiasts. During regular check-ins your teams receives updates on the program and on the progress of the other teams.
Phase 1: Six Blocks of Startup Knowhow
- Legal & Taxes
- Product & Development
- Finances
- Marketing & Sales
- Team & Administration
- EdTech Essentials
Phase 2: Individual Supervision and Deep Dives
Coaching
Dive deeper into specific questions. This block represents a deep dive into topics that you want to study and discuss more in-depth in direct conversation with mentors and coaches.
Investing
In this block you will learn how to prepare a financing round, what you must pay special attention to and, most importantly, what investors look out for.
Pitch Training
Supported by experienced pitch trainers you will learn the art of storystelling. Build your first pitch deck and how to perform convincingly in front of an audience or customers.
YOUR PROGRAM BENEFITS
Practical Startup Knowledge
You will receive all the information and learn all the skills you need to scale a successful EdTech startup and connect with relevant partners. You will hone your Problem-solution fit into a Product-market it and work on your financing and sales strategies. Level up your EdTech startup!
Edtech Expertise
The Founders Foundation is the perfect place to start building successful EdTech companies. As a subsidiary of the Bertelsmann Stiftung the topic of education is deeply embedded in our DNA – we regard ourselves as an institution for startup education. Beyond that, the countless Hidden Champions from the German Mittelstand and global leaders right next door represent exciting points of contact and possible customers for training solutions in the B2B sector.
Top-tier Experts & Entrepreneurs
The program is spearheaded by successful experts and mentors. All lecturers of the EdTech Next Academy are experienced investors and startup experts – you will learn from the best!
EdTech Founders Community Access
You get access to our Slack community and to the EdTech Builders Group whose members are among the most interesting founders and startup scene luminaries Germany has to offer. As one of the leading organisations in startup training in Germany and with solid connections to the international startup scene, the Founders Foundation additionally offers you access to our network of highly qualified mentors and experts, partners in various industries, business angels, and VCs.
This Is What Qualifies You For the Program
YOU ARE A TEAM WITH COMPLEMENTARY ROLE PROFILES
YOU HAVE A CLEAR MARKET- OR PRODUCT HYPOTHESIS FOR B2B TECH
PREFERABLY, YOU ARE FROM OSTWESTFALEN-LIPPE
The Startup Journey
In the Lab, you and your team members further develop your business idea into a preliminary product, the MVP, and solidify your validation. You become experts for the problem, the solution, and the potential market. This is how you achieve the Problem-solution fit.
To accomplish all of that, you receive individual coaching from program managers and mentors and enjoy all the advantages our Founders Home has to offer. Once during a quarter, you face new startup teams on the Challenger Day where you pitch your progress and receive feedback from mentors and other founders.
During the 5-months full-time Accelerator, you go all out: You acquire the first customers, build your product, iterate your assumptions and insights, until you are on the stage of the Demo Day, with a solid Product-market fit and ready to launch into the first round of financing. On Demo Day, you show off your business case, and yourselves, to the German VC scene and become part of our alumni network.
The Road of Your Startup Journey
Your Supporters
Get valuable support during your time in the Founders Lab through our uniqe network of international entrepreneurs, top-class mentors and leading startup personalities.
Die Startup Journey
Christoph Wiederhold
Recruiting @ Happy Hire
Swantje Jung
Marketing Manager SpinLab
André Disselkamp
Co-Founder
Insurancy
Which Criteria Do I Need to Meet To Get into the Incubator?
Your startup should provide a solution for a specific problem or need in the field of education technology and that contributes to the solution of said problem or manages to address the need.
Your startup should offer a new und unique solution that stands out among existing solutions and has added value for users.
Your startup should have an experienced and promising team that is able to realize and execute an idea and lead your company to success.
Das Startup sollte ein erfahrenes und erfolgsversprechendes Team haben, das in der Lage ist, die Idee umzusetzen und das Unternehmen erfolgreich zu führen.
Your startup should have a lot of market potential and the option to be successful in a large market.
Your startup should have sufficient financing options to be able to execute your plans
Which criterion has the most weight depends on the particular program.
The selection criteria are ranked on a numeric scale from 1 to 6.
- no relevance
- low relevance
- limited relevance
- relevant
- high relevance
- very high relevance
Get Your Business Idea to the Next Level!
Are you ready to make your B2B business idea into a successful startup?
Then apply for a spot in the EdTech Next Incubator.
READY FOR THE FINAL SPRINT?
Secure your spot in the EdTech Next Incubator Deep Dive.
During the program, we supervise teams in intense financing and pitch training sessions and personal 1 on 1 coaching sessions.
Gründerstipendium .NRW
APPLY FOR THE GRANT AND RECEIVE MONTHLY FUNDING
After you have successfully completed Startup School, the Gründerstipendium .NRW offers you and your team the ideal opportunity to get the your business idea started.
The Gründerstipendium .NRW is grant awarded by the “The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia” (German: MWIDE) offers you the chance to receive financial support.
Any questions?
Our program manager Dennis Birkhölzer is happy to answer all your questions about the EdTech Next Incubator.
Not exactly the right place?
Can’t find yourself and your company’s maturity level represented here? This is where you go next:
You Have Questions?
Talk to us!
We are happy to answer your questions about our programs, our mission and the events we are hosting.
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