Program

The EY Startup Academy offers numerous event that offer startups – depending on the focus of the event – the opportunities to acquire essential skills in management, to receive professional advice or to learn what investors are focused upon. The 6-week program consists of the following events:

Pitch Contest:

  • A preselected number of candidates faces the jury and tries to convince EY, the other judges and the audience. There will be discussions of the different business models and Q&A-sessions. At the end of the evening, the most convincing startups will be nominated for participation in the EY Startup Academy. The number of participants is not predetermined.

Initial Challenge:

  • At this event, the startups present their business models in front of experts from EY as well as other partners. All participants of the EY Startup Academy have, thus, the chance to present themselves in front of a strong network.

Investor Readiness:

  • This type of events is dedicated to discussions of key points of investment decisions and focus areas of investors. Amongst other, the following topics will be discussed: business models, business plans, company valuation, operations, IT and funding negotiations.

Public Event:

  • At public events, issues of general business interest will be discussed and this type of events offers all startups participating in the Academy the opportunity to network with the audience and guests who have been invited especially for this event. Each public event is linked to a topic that is important for startups. An example is the procurement of public funds.

Workshops:

  • Through practical and realistic exercises, the participants acquire special skills and collect ideas and solutions to different problems. With fifteen workshops, this highly educational format will be the most popular. The EY experts explicitly offer to respond to the individual cases of the participants and to also discuss these in the group. Experience from recent years has shown that the exchange with EY’s peers and subject matter experts is particularly interesting for the participants.

Fireside Chat:

  • Exclusive and small meetings with investors and founders, where different topics are discussed.

EY Academy Award:

  • At the end of the EY Startup Academy, one startup receives the EY Academy Award from a jury. In addition to the prize money, the startup receives a free consulting contingent. Information on the jury members, the selection criteria and the prize money will follow.

 

The EY Startup Academy’s program in detail (examplary schedule in 2023)

Timeline