Finding a programme and applying to it
How to find programmes that are open, what to check before you start writing, and what applying actually involves - including the part most people underestimate.
What you will learn
- Where to find programmes that are actually accepting applications
- What to check before you spend an evening on an application
- What the application form is made of
- Whether applying to several at once is a good idea
Finding programmes#
Incubators publish their programmes on the platform, so you can find one without knowing the centre first. Each programme page carries what the incubator wrote for applicants - what it is, who it is for, what you get, and what they expect back.
- Browse incubators and the programmes they have open
- Read the eligibility criteria, and the non-eligibility criteria if they wrote them
- See what the programme offers - funding, space, mentoring - before you commit an evening
Tip
Read the non-eligibility list first if there is one. A centre that writes one is telling you exactly who it turns down, and that is the fastest way to save yourself an application you were never going to win.
What an application is made of#
Two parts, and only one of them is work.
- Your company record, which carries across - team, documents, what you do. You are not retyping it
- The programme's own questions, which the incubator wrote for this specific scheme
Fill in your company page first
Everything the platform already knows about your startup is pulled in. Applying with a half-empty company page means applying with a half-empty application, and a reviewer cannot tell the difference between a thin company and a thin profile.
Before you submit#
- Read the programme questions first - some are long, and you do not want to meet them at 11pm
- Have your documents ready. Anything they ask for at application stage gets asked for again if it is missing
- Be specific about traction. A reviewer comparing forty applications is looking for numbers, not adjectives
Applying to more than one#
You can, and most founders should. Applications are independent - each has its own status, its own requests and its own thread with that centre. Nothing about applying to one affects another, and incubators cannot see where else you have applied.
Careful
The honest caveat: each one is a real application with real questions. Four thoughtful applications beat twelve rushed ones, and the rushed ones are visible from the other side of the table.
After you submit#
The application moves into a workflow you can follow, with statuses telling you whether the incubator is working on it or waiting on you. That is covered in full on the Applications page - every status, and the two kinds of request that come back to you.
