I. What is the Indpuls Startup Support Program?

The Indpuls Startup Support Program (the «Program«) is an initiative promoted by Associació Indpuls (“Indpuls”), which aims to support technological companies (the “Startups”) to accelerate their go-to-market and development of pilots with medium and large industrial companies.

II. Who are we?

Indpuls is an association founded in 2022 by some of the leading Catalan industrial companies which aims to foster collaboration and innovation between startups and companies in order to make the industrial sector a key asset for the generation of wealth and opportunities with a positive and sustainable over time impact on the territory.

Indpuls is committed to supporting entrepreneurship and innovative initiatives to promote new business projects and facilitate their growth. To this end, Indpuls is launching the Program, which aims to facilitate the growth of Startups by offering them direct access to its partner companies and facilitating possible future collaboration agreements and investment opportunities among them.

III. Why are we launching the Program?

Indpuls is launching the Program with the aim of finding Startups that provide technological solutions aimed, first, at improving simulation and prediction capabilities for industrial companies in the following areas:

• Internal process efficiency
• Logistics and supply chain
• Circular economy
• Value-added services for customers
• Disruptive innovation

And, second, Startups that  provide alternative proteins to meat protein.

In particular, the main objectives of the Program are the following:

• Validation of the business model and value proposition to accelerate time to market; and
• Intensive and short collaboration process among the Startups and Indpuls’ partner companies with potential for collaboration or investment results.

Considering the above, the expected results of the Program are (i) the development of proof of concept and pilot projects; (ii) the collaboration between Startups and industrial clients; and (iii) the identification of investment opportunities.

IV. What profile of Startups should join the Program?

The Program is aimed at all types of Startups ([start-ups already incorporated, in early stage or in a growing stage]), that are interested in collaborating with medium and large industrial companies in order to accelerate their go-to-market and development of a pilot, proof of concept or collaboration, and which are focused on the development of some of the following technologies:

• Artificial Intelligence and Big Data;
• Robotics and cobots;
• Digital Twin and Virtual Commissioning;
• Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality;
• Industrial Internet of Things;
• 3D Printing; or
• Alternative proteins.

V. What does the Program offer?

The selected Startups will receive the following benefits during the Program:

• Mentoring: Access to experts in different areas of Indpuls’ partner companies and Lead To Change, strategic partner of Indpuls;
• Business opportunities: Ability to develop a pilot or collaboration with one of Indpuls’ partners;
• Networking: Meeting senior executives from medium and large industrial companies in Catalonia with international presence;
• Investors: Connecting with potential investors in the industrial ecosystem;
• Visibility: Communication and participation in events; and
• Prize: Two (2) finalist Startups will participate in a seminar on Strategy, Growth and Innovation that will be held in Boston (the “Boston Seminar”), organized by Lead To Change, strategic partner of The Boston Seminar is valued at five thousand euros (5.000 €) per person (the participation in the Boston Seminar will be limited to one (1) participant per Startup).

VI. Which will be the content and format of the Program?

The Program consists of an open call for Startups to participate in an intensive and personalized growth program that will be 60,00% held at Indpuls’ partner companies, in-person or remote, and 40,00% in management support for their growth. (percentages are approximate).

The content and format of the Program will be the following:

• The selected Startups will participate in eight (8) individual or small group sessions, of which four (4) will be in-company sessions with industrial companies and four (4) will be sessions with Lead To Change.
• The selected Startups will participate in two (2) joint sessions, which will be held at the beginning and at the end of the Program.
• The Program will have an hybrid format, implying that some meetings or sessions will be held in-person and others will be held online through videoconferencing platforms.

VII. What evaluation criteria do we take into account?

The Startups that will participate in the Program will be selected by the Evaluation Committee on the basis of the following criteria:

• Company incorporation: It will be highly valued that the Startup is properly incorporated;
• Team: Previous experience will be valued, as well as a minimum team size of 3-5 people with the capacity to develop a pilot or collaboration, a pool of advisors in their sector and previous participation in an incubation or acceleration program;
• Disruptive technology: Spin-off, deep-tech or technological background;
• Clients: It is desirable that the Startup already has some clients or has developed some pilot projects;
• Value proposition: The value proposition will need to be aligned with the challenges of Indpuls’ partners;
• Collaboration: Potential for collaboration with one of the Indpuls’ partners will be valued;
• Founding partners: It will be highly valued that the founding partners of the Startups are fully involved in the company;
• Investment round: It will be positively assessed if the Startup has raised at least one investment round, if necessary;
• Languages: Spanish and English proficiency will be valued;
• Availability to travel: Full availability to travel to Catalonia; and
• Commitment: Firm commitment to participate in the Program will be imperative.

VIII. Evaluation Committee

The evaluation committee will be composed of a multidisciplinary team with participation from:

• One (1) representative from each of the companies associated with Indpuls;
• One (1) representative from Lead To Change, strategic partner of Indpuls; and
• The Chief Executive Officer of Indpuls.

The Evaluation Committee will select ten (10) Startups to participate in the Program. Once the Program has been completed, the Evaluation Committee will select the two (2) finalist Startups that will participate in the Boston Seminar.

IX. Application ¹

Startups interested in participating in the Program may submit their application from [May 8] to June 12, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. (CET, Brussels, Madrid time).

The application may be submitted through the form published on the website enabled by Indpuls for these purposes. [In addition to the information required in the form, an executive summary of the following documents must be attached:

• Startup investor deck (up to a maximum of [12] pages);

The revision of the applications will be carried out during the whole period through which the call is open and after its closure. Once a first revision of the application has been made, the Evaluation Committee may require the holding of one or several meetings with the Startups to comment on their project and request additional information.

On June 21, 2023, the Evaluation Committee will select the Startups that will participate in the Program. Such resolution will be published on the website enabled by Indpuls for these purposes.

The Program will start on July 5, 2023 and will end on September 19, 2023.