Startup Ecosystem

From dream to business. Learning for those who do not miss opportunities

WITH US YOU WILL INVENT AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN STARTUP

From dream to business. Learning for those who do not miss opportunities

WITH US YOU WILL INVENT AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN STARTUP

WHO IS IT FOR?

If you dream of your own startup but don't know where to start, join the KSE Graduate Business School's Startup Ecosystem programme and make your dream come true! We are looking for talented and courageous participants who are ready to work on their idea from 0 to MVP, which will be invested.

WHAT IS HAPPENING?

● 80 academic hours of training in business basics● workshops from Ukrainian and foreign experts● opportunity to validate the idea and create an MVP● development of a step-by-step business plan● mentoring support from professional startups

WHAT IS THE OUTCOME?

The finalists will have the opportunity to attract the first investments for the development of their own business. The programme was created to develop innovative solutions in the areas of Agriculture, Green Tech, Demining, Logistics, Health Tech, Robotics, Manufacturing and IT/AI, which are crucial for the development of Ukraine's economy.

Mistake Marathon

The start of your Marathon and the first event in the Startup Ecosystem programme. Here, you will learn about the failures and victories of Ukrainian startups and make sure that mistakes are experience, without which there is no success.

You will receive your first assignment - to write a motivation letter answering the question: "What positive impact do I want to make by taking the opportunity to become a member of the Startup Ecosystem?"
The jury will select 100 of the most motivated future founders who will move on to the next stage of the programme.

DONE

Innovation Day

100 participants from the previous stage will continue their studies at Innovation Day in December. You will work on your own idea in one of the 8 proposed areas - you will learn how to validate your idea, modify it to meet the needs of the audience, and pitch it to investors. You will attend lectures and workshops from KSE GBS professors and guest speakers who will immerse you in the world of startups.
Your second task is to present your idea and describe the problem it solves, the target audience, and competitors. The best 80 ideas will move on to the next stage of the programme.

DONE

Best Idea Development Stage

Here, we select the best ideas to turn the teams' work into full-operating start-ups. It is at this stage that the ideas of the selected teams will begin to turn into MVPs - minimum viable products.

DONE

MVP Stage

The selected teams from the previous stage will start creating their own MVP (minimum viable product). Participating startups will learn areas of competitor analysis, pricing modeling, design thinking, financial planning, and working with the target audience to get the first feedback on the MVP. Your team will receive a practical task: to collect feedback from the potential target audience on the product, which is developing. During the presentation of the results at the end of the MVP Stage, participants will have the opportunity to receive feedback from experts in the form of advice/questions/comments during the MVP Crash Test.

DONE

MVP Stage

You're almost at the finish line! The Investment\ Prototype Stage will focus on preparing startups to attract investment for further development. Teams will receive training in pitching, business plan development, and grant writing. They will also develop skills in presenting their projects to stakeholders and future investors, launching pilot projects and IT products, and take part in a workshop on low-code methodology and a practical lean manufacturing game.
We are preparing for the final of the programme - Demo Day!

IN PROGRESS

MVP Stage

The day has come! It's your big moment to pitch your startup idea to potential investors, jury members and invited guests of Demo Day. The winner will get the opportunity to travel to Berlin and present their startup at Stage Two, one of the largest European competition for the best startups from leading universities, and meet a future angel investor. May the Force Be With You.

IN PROGRESS

Adam Schultz

Seasoned entrepreneur, digital marketing strategist, and startup incubator leader

As the Founder and CEO of Verified Studios, Adam has been at the forefront of digital transformation, leveraging cutting-edge strategies in digital marketing, product development, and business operations since 2002.

Mykola Osiichuk

Commercial Executive of Hyalual - the global developer and manufacturer of aesthetic medicine solutions

Background in business management (MBA at KSE and MSc in Global Business Management at Newcastle Business School) and in Finance and Investments

Hryhorii Lehenchenko

Member of the Board, СТO of Prozorro.Sale

He has 15 years of experience in technical management. He is a curator of the Becoming CTO course at Projector Institute.

Oleg Zubchenok

Goal-oriented MBA professional with proven experience in business growth and operations

Professional focus areas are strategy development, business processes design and improvement, GR investment evaluation and assets management. Special interests are Innovations (IT-start-ups and biotechnology)

Igor Jablokov

Founder and CEO of Pryon

He previously founded industry pioneer Yap, the world’s first high- accuracy, fully-automated cloud platform for voice recognition. After its products were deployed by dozens of enterprises, the company became Amazon’s first AI-related acquisition

Amy Brandli

Expert in the HealthTech sector

She worked at Visana Health and led clinical operations, finance, account management and human resources from the first hires to the initial funding round of USD 10.1 million

Markiyan Moroz

Investment analyst at Roosh Ventures

Specialist in AI startups and venture capital investments

Myron Yanitskyi

Investment analyst at Roosh Ventures

Specialist in venture capital investment and go-to-market strategy

Alex Losievychev

Principal at GR Capital

Alex worked with corporate debt at Citibank, screened and analyzed thousands of tech companies, invested in most renown European startups (Glovo, wefox, sennder, Billie, WorkMotion). KSE Alumnus.

Tomas Karpavicius

CEO at Voltronas

20 years in angel investing, creating startups and other businesses. Lecturer of economics at Vilnius University. Special focus on: energy, AI, logistics and agriculture.

Jen McFarland

Founder at Marit Digital

20+ years in the tech sector, teaching IT and AI classes and offering fractional digital and technical expertise for small business and teams.

Yuriy Boyko

Owner, Managing partner Legal & Accounting Company OPS Group

12 years of management experience as a manager and partner, including 7 years as the owner of a successful systems business.

Do you have the experience to become a mentor and the desire to strengthen the programme with your expertise? Are you ready to work with us to find talents who will change the future for the better with their ideas?

Join the Startup Ecosystem mentor team! Leave your application

Leave the application

Startup Workshop

Startup Hackathon

Mistake Marathon

Innovation Day

Idea Development

EDUCATION SUPPORTERS

INFORMATION SUPPORTERS

PROGRAM PARTNER

The Startup Ecosystem project allowed me and my startup team to structure our knowledge, hear important and valuable opinions from top foreign experts from MIT, and feel ready to make a real business product. Thanks to the project, we learned more about the practical aspects of creating a startup and received valuable feedback from lecturers and judges during pitches.

Anton SalataCEO & Co-founder Jamlix

Our startup was actually created from scratch within the Startup Ecosystem. Inspired by the experience of people who came to us to share cool insights, we created VyshyvAI. With each stage, our idea changed, evolved, and transformed, and now we are on the verge of launching the project, having a lot of guidance that helped turn the idea into an effective project. Before participating in the ecosystem, I thought I had good project management skills because I knew how to write budgets and was familiar with canvas, but it turned out that it was a drop in the bucket, and during the period of participation in the programme, they multiplied many times over and found application not only in the startup but also in my professional life. The Startup Ecosystem literally created our project, our team, and a new, pumped-up version of myself! The programme impressed me with its cool approach, which provides a high-quality knowledge base and relevant materials for working out the theory in practice, but at the same time creates space for freedom of action and development, without any rules or restrictions. The community that has formed deserves special attention, it seems that we are creating not just one startup, but a whole cluster of projects that are ready to work and move together and help each other, and I am grateful to the organisers for this.

Oleksandr MaslovkiyCEO & Co-founder VyshyvAI

The most important thing I have learnt in the Startup Ecosystem is the love of learning. I am glad that you have shown me how interesting and practical learning can be, sometimes it can be difficult, but it always feels good after the work is done. Here I met many bright people who are passionate about their ideas. I got very good networking, and the best of all was the positive attitude and practical knowledge.
In fact, I learnt a lot of skills in the Startup Ecosystem. Thanks to Elena Shepel, I started to understand finance better. From Iryna Pulvas, I saw how to better define a personality and tried it in practice. From Ivan Zatvarsky, I learnt more about the competitor market and how to work with it and research it. The Startup Ecosystem had a lot of mentors, high-quality and useful information, and interesting ideas.
As for the startup, the project showed that every idea has the right to exist if you work on it and are not afraid to make mistakes and try again. I am glad to have the opportunity to listen to lectures and expand my knowledge and capabilities in such an environment.

Viktor OstashevskyiCTO Elixira

How long is the programme?
The programme lasts for 7 months, during which you will work on developing your own startup idea and validating it, creating an MVP and assembling your cool team.
The programme will be accompanied by support and mentoring from Ukrainian and foreign mentors, business experts and lecturers from KSE Graduate Business School.
Is there an approved list of sectors for creating startups?
Yes, the programme was created to develop innovative solutions in the sectors of Agriculture, GreenTech, Demining, Logistics, HealthTech, Robotics, Manufacturing and IT/AI, which are crucial for the development of Ukraine's economy.
All programme participants work in teams in one of the following sectors
What are the stages of the programme?
0P: Workshop - DONEStartups Fails and Wins
1P: Simple Program - DONEBrainstorming techniques to generate startup ideas (practise)
Lectures: ● Incubators and Accelerators, Community and Ecosystem Builders ● Investors: Angel Investors, Venture Capitalists, Corporate Investors● Strategic Partners● Nonprofits and NGO
2P: Idea Development Program
● Introduction to LEAN● Kaizen principle● Market analysis (lecture + workshop)● Building a startup team● Mentors & Advisors● Design thinking● Innovation strategy and management of inventive activity"● Idea Crush Test
3P: MVP Program
● Competitor analysis● Financial planning (cash flow)● Marketing strategy● "Management accounting, cost management ● cost management and costing. Pricing model"● Proof of MVP hypotheses ● Branding (promotion in social networks)● MVP Crush Test
4P: Investment Program
● Presentations and public speaking ● Grants and fundraising● Creating a business plan ● Communication with investors ● Communication with the team● Product launch ● Team management ● Governmental regulations● IT project management
4P: Prototype Program
● Presentations and public speaking ● Grants and fundraising● Creating a business plan ● Communication with investors ● Communication with the team● Intellectual property ● Pilot projects ● Team management ● Prototyping
Pitch DayPitching competition
How much does it cost to participate in the programme?
Participation in the programme is absolutely free.
What is the format of participation?
The programme will be held exclusively offline at the Kyiv School of Economics campus (3 Shpaka St., Kyiv). The event will not be recorded.
Participants from other cities are responsible for their own accommodation and meals during the programme.
Can I work individually?
No, programme participants work in teams. Team size is 4 people.
What will participants receive at the end of the programme?
Teams that have passed all stages of the programme will be given the opportunity to pitch their idea to investors and attract investment for business development.