The program itself is free of charge. However, we do require chosen participants to pay a deposit of €100. This is returned on completion of the program, which includes:

• The business plan is submitted and has all adequate parts and is well written
• The pitch is delivered, has all required parts and is well put together
• The validation task is completed and presented

The Spark Program is built of a combination of the entrepreneurial theory combined with strong coaching and doing- based approach.

You can expect to get both theoretical and practical support for founding and running your business/start-up. You can also expect to be part of a community that believes in you, and where all the topics of being a founder and finding your way as an entrepreneur can be honestly discussed. In addition to group-based studies, you will be supported 1-1 in your business. Last but not least you will receive coaching in resilience and mindset, which are all integral parts in succeeding as a fresh business owner.

First, we expect active participation in the workshop sessions and 1-1 coaching and commitment to show up and put in the work required.

You’ll be supported to get out there in real life in the effort to find your target audience, form relationships early on with them and develop your business based on a customer-centric approach. Sometimes these kinds of steps can seem challenging, especially when done for the first time – but this is why the program is here, to guide you through the process of founding and setting up your business for success.

By the end of the program, we expect our participants to: 

• Deliver us an executable business plan for their idea

• Deliver a well put together business pitch 

We will of course be supporting you fully in taking those steps.

The Shortcut Spark Program is one-of-a-kind, a meaningful, practical, and intentional program that is designed to pull the curtains back on the startup ecosystem, by offering entrepreneurial training, space and practical methods to test out your business idea in a real life. It is one of the most thorough early-stage programs in Finland and has a proven track record of new founded companies out of the program.

In addition to the core entrepreneurial skills, we focus on building your sales, marketing, pitching and digital skills with the aim of helping you to found and run your start-up dream. We’ll cover as well the funding instruments available in Finland, as well as how to build yourself a team to work with. 

To set up our participants for success, we will also coach them in the confidence and resiliency needed to succeed. It is the first program of its kind built by women for women, that specifically addresses the challenges, unique responsibilities, and professional biases that women and non-binary people face.