Spring ACCELERATOR

Fuel for your start-up served here. Build up on your idea or MVP and move your early-stage start-up to a next level business with mentoring, lectures, and investment opportunity.
Registration for Spring Accelerator is closed.
Apply now
Your next opportunity awaits you in the Autumn program.

About the Program

Spring Accelerator is 2-month program specifically designed to help idea and pre-seed stage start-ups with elementary needs and support to further develop and launch their ideas or start-up projects. The program provides free industry experts' mentoring and lectures on various business, finance, marketing or more topics from local and global speakers.

The acceleration program is suitable for those who are just starting out or are seeking know-how, guidance and resources for their prototype or MVP (minimum viable product).

Our program invites tech start-ups that are developing products that solve significant customer problems. The scalability of the solution and the team are important aspects we consider.
Approx. 20 start-ups will be selected for this program and will be divided into 2 groups:

Group 1

Teams with more developed prototype, MVP or an idea with a big potential will get an opportunity to attend all the lectures and discuss the issues with the mentors on 1:1 meetings.

Group 2

Teams will get access to attend all of the lectures during the program.
Online/Hybrid
Approx. 2 months
Early-stage

Benefits of the Program

Support

Start-up founders get access to online lectures on various topics in the evenings and mentoring.

Funding

AceON can provide investments from 50K – 70K EUR for 5 – 7% share in the start-up. The form and conditions of an investment are determined by negotiation with the founders.

Community

We engage in-house professionals, industry experts, entrepreneurs and people who purely want to help. By taking part in our program, you can meet other founders or strategic partners.

APPLY Today

Get your business off the ground. Join AceON Spring Accelerator and get hands-on support from community of industry experts, entrepreneurs, and partners.
Apply now

Meet our MENTORS AND SPEAKERS

Peter Pašek

Peter Pašek

Managing Director & Partner
Accace Slovakia

Peter Pašek

Since 2013, Peter has managed Accace, one of the largest consulting companies on the Slovak market. Recognized as specialist in transaction and tax consulting, he participated in several sales of companies, set up the structure of the transaction and represented companies in negotiations with investors.
Ján Kasper

Ján Kasper

Co-founder AceON | Co-founder & Managing Partner ZAKA

Ján Kasper

Experienced entrepreneur operating in 50 companies across 9 different industries, generating a total revenue of 700 million EUR. His primary interests lie in the communication, energy, leisure & hospitality, and real estate and development sectors. Obtained his MBA at Webster and PHD at Comenius University.
Andrej Petrus

Andrej Petrus

Head of Investment Committee
ZAKA

Andrej Petrus

From working in AI venture builder and in consulting, Andrej is now leading ZAKA's investment committee. He holds a finance degree from Humboldt University of Berlin and University of Economics in Prague.
Mihaela Pasek-Virlan

Mihaela Pašek-Virlan

CEO & Partner
Accace

Mihaela Pašek-Virlan

Mihaela became a part of Accace in 2007, since navigated through various positions across different countries, in 2020 became the CEO. Mihaela is also a member of YPO, a global community of leaders and CEOs, actively participating in socially responsible activities organized under the civic association #accacelife.
Laura Ștefan

Laura Ștefan

Managing Director & Partner
Accace Romania

Laura Ștefan

Laura has more than 20 years of experience. She has helped grow Accace's services for both new and established businesses in Romania. Laura´s a true finance storyteller and visionary mentor. Her skills are not just about numbers but about crafting narratives that guide businesses towards new horizons and greater success.
Slavo Tuleja

Slavo Tuleja

Managing Partner & Founder
Kiuub

Slavo Tuleja

Slavo is currently building Kiuub, a productised No Code Agency, where they help tech entrepreneurs and SMEs quickly turn their ideas into working products using the power of No Code. In the past he worked with ZAKA.VC or Skoda Auto DigiLab, mentored start-ups on lean methodologies and go to market strategy. Also a co-author of The Caffeine Capitalist newsletter.
Bohumil Pokštefl

Bohumil Pokštefl

ex-CEO at Kontentino,
Founder at SaaS Garden

Bohumil Pokštefl

Bohumil is the former CEO and Co-Owner of Kontentino - the fastest-growing tech company in Slovakia for two years. He founded a cozy CoWork boutique for emerging tech founders, launched SaaS Garden, a studio building SaaS tools. Bohumil was named Forbes 30 Under 30 and Founder of a Year.
Milan Novotný

Milan Novotný

Director of SEO & Content
CloudTalk

Milan Novotný

Milan’s work revolves around helping SaaS companies optimize their SEO. He helps CloudTalk scale its organic traffic and gain new customers across the globe. Milan works as an educator in the SEO space. He has mentored Techstars start-ups and provided guidance to Depo Ventures VC fund.
Barbora Debnárová

Barbora Debnárová

Business Development Lead
Accace International

Barbora Debnárová

Barbora is leading Accace international business development. She has vast experience with regional outsourcing tenders in EMEA, as well as with the expansion of Accace Circle community of BPO and advisory providers.
Patrik Ruman

Patrik Ruman

CEO & Co-founder
Techband

Patrik Ruman

A business and tech enthusiast who likes to push himself and those around him forward. He worked for Exponea and Dateio. Later, he founded his own start-up Techband.io. In his spare time, he contributes to the organisation of the start-up competition CESAwards and building NGO - StartuPeak.
Marianna Szarková

Marianna Szarková

CEO at Campus Cowork,
Co-founder of StartuPeak

Marianna Szarková

She thrives on connecting like-minded business enthusiasts through impactful networking events. Her passion lies in supporting youth in entrepreneurship, and education is a cause close to her heart. Proudly serving as a long-term country partner of CESAwards, she is dedicated to fostering innovation and excellence.
Samuel Hopko

Samuel Hopko

Co-founder & consultant
Plectrum Engineering

Samuel Hopko

Samuel has worked in roles such as DevOps engineer and platform director. His experience includes designing architectures, providing architecture consulting, leading teams, and leading company-wide infrastructure transformations. He co-founded a company Plectrum Engineering focused on what he loves - platform engineering and education.
Martina Hanusova

Martina Hanusová

Chief Sales Officer
Payout

Martina Hanusová

Martina is focused on business development, sales, and marketing. Her specialties include payment systems, FinTech, setting up sales plans, and marketing strategies. Additionally, she has a passion for entrepreneurship and contributes to the startup community as an organizer for Techstars Startup Weekend events.

Richard Kakaš

DevOps Specialist
Raiffeisen Bank International

Richard Kakaš

Richard is DevOps Specialist at Raiffeisen Bank International and CTO at Silvergon. In addition to 5 years’ experience with cloud solutions and their automated deployments, he also has lots of experience with full-stack software development. At RBI he is a part of the team developing chatbot solutions for millions of clients.
Ľubomír Bandžuch

Ľubomír Banžuch

Enterprise Commercial Client Executive CZ&SK at Microsoft

Ľubomír Banžuch

Ľubomír is Enterprise Commercial Client Executive at Microsoft. He spent most of his career at Microsoft, where he primarily works with Slovak and Czech customers. He specializes in sales, marketing, development strategy and sustainability in CZ&SK from Microsoft perspective and partners solutions.
Jakub Hrušovský

Jakub Hrušovský

Co-founder & Managing partner
Birne

Jakub Hrušovský

Co-founder and managing partner of the Birne marketing studio. As a marketing consultant, he focuses on effective marketing strategies for conscious medium-sized businesses that want to stand out, increase revenue and resonate among their target audience.

Kristína Gáliková

CEO
Full Time PR

Kristína Gáliková

Kristína is CEO of the PR remote agency Full Time PR, which creates news for Slovak and Czech media. She has been working in the media for more than ten years and thanks to tailor-made communication she and her team create long-lasting and effective communication for the clients, through which companies increase brand awareness.

Samuel Zálešák

Associate & Member of Supervisory board at ZAKA

Samuel Zálešák

Samo holds an engineering background specializing in energy and renewables, complemented by a wealth portfolio management track record. As an analyst, Samo´s favorite investment deals yield not only 50x returns but also foster scalable, sustainable growth with a meaningful environmental and societal impact.

Juraj Popovič

Project manager at SAPIE & Product manager at Hopero

Juraj Popovič

Juraj has over 10 years of experience in business and government. He worked for companies like Orange and CSOB involving strategic project management, digital product management or new venture building. He also contributed to national R&D and innovation policies.

Martin Hergovič

Crypto regulatory lawyer & analyst
blockwiseLABS

Martin Hergovič

Martin is a crypto regulatory lawyer, business strategist, crypto analyst, and regulatory policy consultant. He has extensive experience in launching, scaling, and consulting start-ups, DAOs, and web3 companies. In addition to this he is a heavy DeFi user and a proud NFT collector organizing community events and galleries.

Michal Bendžala

Finance Manager
& Data Enthusiast

Michal Bendžala

Experienced finance manager and data enthusiast with experience in management of multiple teams across Europe. By implementation of Power BI solutions helping start-ups and companies open their data potential and uncover new business possibilities.

Michaela Šišková

CEO & Co-founder
DNA ERA

Michaela Šišková

Michaela is CEO and co-founder of the Slovak biotechnology company DNA ERA. She received many awards: the title Female Entrepreneur of Slovakia (category of a budding entrepreneur), was included in Forbes 30 under 30, in the Top women in business by Forbes and nominated as TOP female entrepreneur by Trend magazine in 2022.
Gerald Zankl

Gerald Zankl

CEO & Co-Founder
Kickscale

Gerald Zankl

Gerald is CEO of Kickscale, start-up giving access to sales training playbooks. Before he lead the Global Inside Sales Team at Bitmovin. He describes himself as a veteran in the field of sales development, BD, enterprise sales, B2B marketing, helping tech start-ups to grow their business and increase revenue and profitability.

Pavol Čobirka

Chief Commercial Officer
Whalebone

Pavol Čobirka

Pavol is a seasoned start-up strategist with a knack for global expansion. With a track record that includes co-founding PEKAT VISION and orchestrating its €16 million sale within two years, Pavol specializes in sales, globalization strategies, and fostering sustainable growth.
Mate Klemp

Mate Klemp

Multipreneur &
Co-founder of WEZEO

Mate Klemp

Mate, with over 20 years in UX & UI design, has driven innovation across various sectors at WEZEO. He now focuses on founding organizations in Slovakia and the EU, supporting young talents and female entrepreneurs. Actively involved in education and socio-developmental initiatives like Openlab and skyro.ai, he shares his expertise as a lab master.  Mate Klemp is a Multipreneur and Co-founder of WEZEO

Matej Kukucka

CMO & Co-Founder
StreamBee

Matej Kukucka

Matej Kukucka is the CMO & Co-Founder of StreamBee, a start-up that empowers content creators with actionable insights and analytics. Before that, he was the CMO of various SaaS companies, where he grew marketing teams and inbound revenue from the ground.
Natalia Mikušová

Natália Mikušová

Head of Portfolio & Communication
ZAKA

Natália Mikušová

After years of marketing experience in leading positions, Natalia is now a member of ZAKA VC. She is in charge of portfolio management and communication, but is also active in deal sourcing, partner network and operations.
Dmytro Grechko

Dmytro Grechko

CEO & Founder
Deskree

Dmytro Grechko

Dmytro is the founder of Deskree, a startup that makes rapid API development and cloud infrastructure accessible to any development team. He spent over a decade managing development teams and building over a hundred of digital products.
Vojta Diatka

Vojta Diatka

Head of Product
Biometric Ventures

Vojta Diatka

Vojta is a seasoned product manager with experience managing products for millions of users (Seznam.cz), leading product teams in startups and helping startups thrive with product consulting.

The Program

Build credibility and visibility with lectures that can directly impact the future of your start-up.

How to manage the value of a startup or why is it difficult to value a startup?

Let´s look together on start-up valuation and how to do it properly.

ESOP, or how to set it up properly?

ESOP, or Employee Stock Ownership Plan,
is used by many start-ups to attract talented employees and make them loyal.

Convertible instrument or what
should not be overlooked?

Find out more about this type of fundraising and how to avoid burning yourself out right at the beginning.

Looking at the term sheet a little differently

Understand the term sheet, the document among you and your investor to set up the conditions of the investment.

Market-Channel Fit & SEO: Catapulting Your Startup's First 1K Users

Exact steps and templates which are used at Cloudtalk to grow to 10+ millions of ARR, frameworks to help founders succeed and reach first 1K Users.

Launching an idea in 2024

No Code, Go To Market & Experience sharing from working with early stage founders

Globalization

How to expand your business globally? Let´s talk about the cycle of the start-up from the first analysis, strategy to scaling.

Structuring your fundraising

How to structure your fundraising? This important topic will be explained by the expert evaluating the start-ups for the potential investment at VC fund.

How to validate MVP

How to validate your MVP and get first paid customers.

What the "marriage" with an investor
is about

Understand the relationship between the investor and start-up after the investment and how to maximize the benefits.

How to avoid lawyers in digital business?

Practical legal basics for early-stage founders. Legal Q&A.

Key principles of product management

Understanding the customer, Creating value proposition, Defining product strategy, running phases from MVP through refinement to growth and scaling, Data-driven decision making, Setting up the product team.

Partners

AccaceStartuPeakKiuubwiboCloudtalkCampusBlockwise labsStreambeeProneaITKey Media

FAQ

What is the difference between Spring and Autumn Accelerator programs?
My start-up is just an idea. Am I too early to apply in Spring or Autumn Accelerator?
Where do the AceON programs happen? Is it online?
Do you invest in start-ups?
What type of start- up can apply?