The program focuses on 4 verticals: Agro Digital, Food Innovation, Supply Chain and Health.

Applications for the  TechStart  open innovation and acceleration programs are open, announces the Venture Hub. This will be the fourth edition of the programs that aim to bring innovation into organizations and accelerate startup projects and technologies from different economic sectors. This year, the innovation hub will work with four verticals:  Agro Digital ,  Food Innovation ,  Health  and, for the first time,  Supply Chain . Those interested in participating in the journey must register by March 17 on the  Venture Hub website.

The programs are aimed at startups that have already gone through the ideation process, that is, that are already operating in the market with at least one validated minimum viable product (MVP) and with a structured team and operations. However, startups that are at a more advanced maturity level can also participate in the applications. Entrepreneurs who are in the ideation phase and who are still validating their products can fill out the form, however, the evaluation for projects in the early stages of structuring will be more careful and rigorous.

Each TechStart vertical works with multiple themes, with the purpose of attracting and identifying startups that have diversified solutions for the most different challenges of the sectors. One of the themes that the agribusiness program will be  Agrometerology and climate change. While Supply Chain will deal with the  logistics operations management area , for example. In turn, TechStart Food Innovation will act on issues of  waste, distribution and sustainability and new forms of consumption . The health journey is looking for startups focused on  mobility for longevity, artificial intelligence and integrated electronic medical records , among other subjects.  

How will the application and evaluation stage work?

All those interested in participating in the programs must pre-register by March 17th. After that day, it will no longer be possible to register the startup. The final weeks of March and the first days of April will be dedicated to the selection process of the registered companies, which will be analyzed by the Venture Hub team and TechStart co-directors. 

In early April, approved startups will be called into the  TechStart Warm Up phase . During the Warm Up, those approved will receive content, activities and tools focused on the evolution of their business model, their value proposition, sales funnel and preparation for investments, in addition to participating in face-to-face and online meetings. The materials that will be used throughout this phase, expected to last 9 weeks, were tested internally and are composed of methodologies and models created to meet the needs of the entrepreneur, in the context in which he finds himself.  

In addition, startups will also be evaluated through deliverables with a focus on demonstrating their potential for traction and scalability and will be selected for the  TechStart Acceleration stage.

The Acceleration phase is where the actual acceleration program will take place. This phase, based on open innovation, consists of a journey of four and a half months, in which the approved startups will undergo an extensive business professionalization journey, being introduced to topics such as patenting, attracting investments, traction, technological development. 

The objective is to develop in startups the ability to solve their challenges and customer problems in a cyclical way – creating, defining, testing, observing the results, capturing more data, analyzing and understanding, developing a little more – with agility and always returning to the market for validation, based on the Lean Startup concept. 

The entire development process will be carried out through dynamics and mentoring, both with Venture Hub specialists and with the co-directors’ teams.  

By participating in the TechStart program, participating startups will be part of the Venture Hub’s open innovation ecosystem, made up of diverse actors, including companies, research institutes, startups, investors, CEOs and experts in innovation and technology. 

So that they can test and validate their projects safely, the startups participating in the journey will have numerous benefits. Among them are:

• Entry into the TechStart open innovation ecosystem;
• Access to the Venture Hub coworking space;
• Participation in events and workshops;
• Connection with investors and investment funds; 
• Networking with different players in the ecosystem; 
• Easy access to resources and infrastructure for the development of MVPs;
• Among other exclusives. 

At the end of the TechStart Acceleration journey, startups from all verticals will participate in Demo Days, in which they will present to the public, potential investors and company representatives the solutions they have developed to solve the pains and challenges of the sectors.

Several startups have already gone through the Venture Hub cycle of open innovation and acceleration, with some startups receiving investment proposals, while others have established partnerships with representatives of the ecosystem, working together to build a better world. In fact, TechStart 2023 has the participation and involvement of startups from previous cycles, helping new entrepreneurs in their journeys. 

Enroll in TechStart programs:

Agro Digital: http://bit.ly/3XLIS2w

Food Innovation: https://bit.ly/3H7TwJR

Health:  https://bit.ly/3XyNfOE

Supply Chain: http://bit.ly/3XAmSb3

Venture Hub is a startup accelerator and an innovation partner for corporations, research and technology institutes and companies of all sizes, operating in the following verticals: Food, Agro, Logistics and Health and Longevity. With our agile, dynamic methodologies, events, innovation tools and ecosystem partners, we help organizations find creative and practical solutions to their biggest challenges, bringing real results and increasing the role of the internal team.

Thiago Presotti