HOW CAN YOU GET FUNDED?

Innovation Capital has a mandate to invest in pre-seed and seed stage companies with significant presence in Bulgaria. We are not a bank, we don’t offer grants! We make investments in companies for minority equity of which we would be looking to exit in 3-7 years and realize a substantial return. Although we are not planning to run your company, we would like to monitor its development and prevent you from making some critical mistakes. Of course, you will be able to rely on our expertise and most importantly on our business and investment network. 

We are constantly approached by a number of companies, startups, entrepreneurs, stakeholders and project owners with business ideas that need funding. Although we are easily reachable and you will either know us or will be able to introduce yourself to us at an event, we don’t have the capacity to set up a personal meeting with everyone that is interested to apply. Therefore, we created a more structured application process. We would invite you to fill out an online application form here.

Only the most promising companies will be invited to the next step of the selection process. 

Accelerator

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Funding Options and Requirements: 

• Accelerator - EUR 40,000 for the most promising companies passing the Pre-Acceleration phase and additional EUR 25,000 for the top performers during the 9-month post-acceleration ​

  • The project tackles a clear problem with a valid solution within a well-defined market segment​​

  • Can be at idea stage, but ideally an MVP has been developed already.. At this stage the team must consist of well-rounded and successful entrepreneurs with complementary expertise, outstanding reputation and relevant industry experience

  • Problem/solution fit has been achieved

  • Companies that reached product/market fit will be tolerated

  • Product validation could be justified in the following ways: customer interviews, reference to comparable products, actual subscribers/users/sales

  • International scalability is preferable

  • Benefits:

    • Utilize the mentorship network during the acceleration (pre-seed investments)

    • Get full use of the capacity of the fund managers to accelerate the development process, optimize the sales cycle, attract key hires, etc.

    • Follow-on funding and fundraising for bigger tickets is also available at the right time

    • Besides funding, you can benefit from many services such as co-working space, software infrastructure, product development, digital marketing, branding, fundraising, financial management, etc. 

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• Pre-seed – up to EUR 50,000​

  • Your company has already launched its product/service and is looking for capital to expand its operations

  • At least EUR 10,000 in booked sales for the past 12 months

  • Contracted sales of at least EUR 10,000 for the next 12 months

  • Letters of intent from customers for EUR 25,000

  • Co-investment commitment for at least EUR 25,000

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• Seed – EUR 50 000 – 1,000,000 

  • The business has either a substantial user base or is making stable recurring revenues or contracted sales (a minimum of EUR 100,000/year), letters of intent of at least EUR 250,000, co-investor for at least EUR 100,000)

  • Your business has been recognized as a market leader or with a very good chance to become one or is operating within a specific innovative market niche

  • Your company has received a previous round of external funding

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​The Selection Process

• You can expect this process to last 2-3 months (from application to money in the bank)

• First, we review and estimate the viability of the project 

• A limited number of teams are invited to individual meetings or pitching sessions

• Upon investment interest, short-listed companies will receive indicative term sheet

• We initiate a financial, legal and commercial due diligence and valuation process

• After satisfactory due diligence we will offer an investment agreement

Good luck and we look forward to reviewing your applications! 

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The Innovation Capital Team