Technopark Winterthur AG is launching the new ‘ASCENT Startup Accelerator’ funding program in cooperation with the RUNWAY Startup Incubator of the ZHAW. This program enables ambitious tenant companies at Technopark Winterthur to accelerate. Support is provided in the form of various funding elements such as coaching, rent reduction and support for exhibition appearances - each worth CHF 2,500 and averaging CHF 10,000 in funding per year.
Over the past year, Technopark Winterthur has worked intensively on the revision and launch of the new «ASCENT Startup Accelerator» start-up support program. The new support program helps ambitious tenant companies at Technopark Winterthur to get off the ground and take the next big steps in their development. Specifically, this means that tenant start-ups with the right requirements will receive tailored support from the funding program with the aim of rapidly driving their growth and success.
Diverse funding program
In order to provide the best possible support for the tenant start-ups, Technopark Winterthur’s support program focuses on three elements: coaching, rent reduction and support for exhibition appearances. Up to four elements worth CHF 2,500 each are available to the start-ups per year, whereby the TPW start-ups can also utilise the same element several times. The funding period is twelve months and can be extended twice. Startups can apply for the subsidy before they have even moved into the Technopark and thus benefit from the rent reduction as soon as they move in.
Application procedure: Quick and straightforward
As start-ups operate in a very dynamic environment, long procedures are not favourable. This is why Technopark Winterthur AG CEO Stève Mérillat, together with the tenant committee, favours a quick decision-making process. Once a startup has registered its interest in funding with the management of Technopark Winterthur, a preliminary meeting is held to determine whether the company is eligible for funding. If the result is positive, the company pitches to the tenant committee. Following the pitch, the committee decides directly whether to approve the funding. Once the start-up funding agreement has been signed, the desired funding elements can be defined at any time during the funding period. The RUNWAY Incubator at the ZHAW supports the companies in their search for suitable coaches in order to optimise the funding. More than 40 coaches from all areas of day-to-day business are available to the start-ups.
Criteria for the breakthrough
Startups must be or become tenants at Technopark Winterthur in order to receive support from the «ASCENT Startup Accelerator» funding program. In addition, a broad-based founding team with ambitions is required. They should have an innovative, highly scalable product and a clear business model that shows potential for profit and new jobs.
Cooperation with RUNWAY Incubator
The startup support program «ASCENT Startup Accelerator» is an independent program of Technopark Winterthur, but it is seamlessly connected to the RUNWAY Startup Incubator, which is also based at Technopark Winterthur. While RUNWAY focuses on the initial phase of startups and acts as an incubator, Technopark Winterthur’s funding program supports the subsequent phase and the scaling of the startup. The two programs share coaches and benefit from a similar network. In this way, they complement each other perfectly and enable end-to-end support in building a company.
Here you can visit the official site of the «ASCENT Startup Accelerator» funding program.
