u:seed
Time for action: build your venture!
Have you been working on an invention or idea and want to bring it to the market? u:seed is a “no-excuse” programme providing mentorship, professional coaching, and financial resources to start your venture, attract early customers, and access to relevant funding (either from public agencies like AWS, FFG, or Vienna Business Agency, or from private capital).
We seek bold innovators who want to get their hands dirty and work hard to turn their ideas into reality. u:seed implies a high level of commitment that will be rewarded with a unique and exciting experience bringing teams to become founders. We expect teams to work independently at least 10 hours a week to achieve their goals.
what to expect
We offer tailored workshops and weekly customised coaching from experts. High-profile mentors will give you support in your journey. This translates into committing 20k€ in resources for each team. In addition, we provide financial support (between 10k€ and 25k€) to validate ideas and develop early prototypes.
In six months, you will be able to bring your innovation to the market. At the end of the programme, you will pitch in front of our vibrant community of entrepreneurs and investors.
programme
The most important element of u:seed is the team action to build their venture. We provide the backbone to structure and support their efforts.
The programme is articulated in (i) “relevant content” through workshops and sandpit sessions, (ii) “guidance for action” through weekly 1-on-1 professional coaching sessions, (iii) “ecosystem and peers” through mentoring and peer interactions.
Most of the sessions will be held on Monday and Friday at the Venture Hub in Apostelgasse 23, 1030 Vienna, and will run from October 2026 to March 2027. The selection, negotiation, and programme preparation phases that help defining a custom plan for each team, will run over the summer.
Below, a timeline of most sessions. Team coaching and general mentoring sessions will be scheduled ad-hoc for each team.
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application deadline
12 July
Apply for the u:seed programme here. Applicants will be shortlisted and invited to an interview by 15 July.
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INTERVIEWS
20 and 21 July
Shortlisted teams will be invited to an initial round of interviews.
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NEGOTIATION
22 July - 28 August
Pre-admitted applicants will refine their project plan and financial requirements with the u:seed team. Only upon reaching a satisfactory agreement, will applicants be admitted to the programme. Admitted teams will sign a contract with the University.
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PREPARATION
29 August - 4 October
Participants will be asked to make some preparatory work before the start of the programme.
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kick-off
5 October, 1pm - 3pm
Introduction to the programme & networking with participating teams.
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WORKSHOPS
9 October: Value Proposition and Customer
23 October: Team Dynamics
13 November: Intellectual Property
23 November: Financial plan
15 February: Pitch Training
1 March: Legal deep dive
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Coaching sessions
12 October: check-in #1 Customer & Value Proposition
19 October: check-in #1 Business and Financial model
2 November: check-in #2 Customer & Value Proposition
9 November: check-in #2 Business and Financial model
16 November: check-in #3 Customer & Value Proposition + #3 Business and Financial model
24 November: check-in #4 Business and Financial model
27 November: check-in #1 Intellectual Property
30 November: check-in #4 Customer & Value Proposition
7 December: check-in #5 Business and Financial model
14 December: check-in #5 Customer & Value Proposition
11 January: check-in #6 Customer & Value Proposition + #5 Business and Financial model
18 January: check-in #6 Business and Financial model
22 January: check-in #2 Intellectual Property
25 January: check-in #7 Customer & Value Proposition
1 February: check-in #7 Business and Financial model
8 February: check-in #8 Customer & Value Proposition
22 February: check-in #9 Customer & Value Proposition + #8 Business and Financial model
5 March: check-in #9 Business and Financial model
8 March: check-in #10 Customer & Value Proposition
12 March: check-in #3 Intellectual Property -
SANDPIT SESSIONS
23 October: Sandpit Session (TBA)
13 November: Sandpit Session (TBA)
11 December: Sandpit Session (TBA)
15 January: Sandpit Session (Funding)
12 February: Sandpit Session (Legal) -
PEER SESSIONS
16 October: Peer jour-fixe
23 October: Peer sparring Session
6 November: Peer jour-fixe
20 November: Peer sparring Session
4 December: Peer jour-fixe
7 December: xmas lunch
11 December:Peer sparring Session
15 January: Peer jour-fixe
22 January: Peer sparring Session
5 February: Peer jour-fixe
19 February: Peer sparring Session
26 February: Peer jour-fixe -
demo day & award
18 March, Sky Lounge, 4:30pm - 9pm
Present your idea in front of investors and other stakeholders at our demo day.
additional information
Eligibility and Assessment criteria
- The team has made early validation of their innovative idea and is willing to work at least 10 hours a week in building their venture.
- Teams will be shortlisted based on the innovativeness and impact of their idea, clarity of the work plan & goals, and the feasibility of the project (taking into consideration the team, what has been achieved so far, and the financial need).
- Within the u:seed programme, teams can apply for a pre-seed financial support of maximum 10k€. Only in case of cost-intensive technology development, we would grant a higher financial support – this is decided on case-by-case basis and should be clearly motivated.
- Financial support will be provided in tranches that will be unlocked only upon the positive evaluation of the coaches and achievement of important milestones.
IP and license agreement
- The teams will sign an agreement at the beginning of the programme, clearly stating the terms and conditions of joining the programme.
- The University will own a 25% share of the IP generated during the programme duration in exchange for the support provided.
- In compliance with state-aid law, if and only if a company is founded based on this IP, it will enter in a license agreement with the university. Once 125% of the financial support is repaid, the IP will be fully transferred to the company.
Ready to apply?
Before applying, ensure you can commit to the full schedule and workload of the program. This guarantees you and your team achieve the best results and have a successful experience.
Applications will be assessed based on:
- innovativeness and impact of the idea;
- clarity and feasibility of the work plan;
- the team’s commitment to developing their venture.
contact
Join our Slack Community or write an e-mail to entrepreneurship@univie.ac.at.