In recent years, the European Funds that we have received really give us a lot of opportunities. Among other things, many new small companies invest in seed funds. In the following years there will be even more funds for beginner entrepreneurs within the framework of seed and accelerators. How to make the fund interested in the idea? What will be the ideal project and what do investors pay attention to first of all?

All of this matters and therefore such issues must be taken into account. How to characterize an ideal project? First of all, it is a project that will be characterized by innovation and it will be possible to say that it is unique. The aim is for our project to be able to solve a real problem, satisfy a market need or have added value for users. A precondition is also a positive opinion from experts who deal with technology issues and are able to implement the planned phases with funding of up to around EUR 200 000. However, the most important issue is a good and motivated team, whose members have not only scientific but also business competences.

How do I get interested in the fund? The most important will be a meeting with the fund. A project can hit in different ways, because the possibilities of its message will be different. However, such a key issue will always be to present your project. There are situations when the project will suit us on paper, but after the meeting it will turn out that the person who came and presented it was not able to interest the fund in an appropriate way. However, it may be the other way round if it turns out that the description of the project itself does not look very good, but the meeting will be successful and we will be able to take advantage of this project.

At what stage can a start-up apply for financing from capital entries? The money should be deposited for a specific purpose. This depends on the stage at which the company will be located. It may be related to the preparation of a prototype, the next version of the product, sales or entry into a new market. What does the fund expect from potential partners? Most often one looks at the business skills of a leader who will manage the whole project. The team is important, but if there is no person who will manage it and will build the quality of the project, unfortunately, there will be no results. If you are setting up a company, you need to understand who the customer is and you need a vision of the company. You should be competitive and have a good prototype product that will be able to interest those customers who will appear.