Master Accelerator

The Master Accelerator program runs on a semi-annual basis. The batches (individual classes) start in April and October. 

During the six-month program, your startup can use the co-working space in the German Entrepreneurship Center in Munich for free. Every Tuesday, the Founder Day takes place in Munich for all participants. Various sessions and events are organized for the current batch and the teams can exchange their experiences. In addition, there are digital offerings as well.

So whether from Berlin, Hamburg or another city – you’re not required to have a company headquarters in Munich to participate in the program. 

1. First 6 months Master Accelerator 
   Collaborative work, program days, startup exchange sessions moderated by Andy Goldstein, and fireside chats with top alumni take place at the German Entrepreneurship Center in Munich. Expert workshops, coaching and mentoring are offered virtually to find the right partner in our entire ecosystem. Regular check-ins with program team and participating startups ensure continuous progress and allow for customization as needed. 

2. Then 18 months of further assistance
   After 6 months, the support in presence ends. But our assistance for you continues: Participants still have office access and can also book the conference rooms if needed. Furthermore, participating startups still benefit from contacts from our network to industry partners, investors and our experts for ad-hoc coaching on individual topics. Participants also still have access to networking and after-work events.  

The application phase begins approximately three months before the respective program start. After the application deadline, a selection of the applicants will be invited to a virtual pitch round, in which they have the chance to present their startup in five minutes and then answer questions from a jury. Based on standardized evaluation criteria, 10-15 startups are then selected for the program. 

For the application, we ask for a meaningful pitch deck about the startup (max. 15-20 slides) and optionally a short pitch video (max. 3 minutes).

The following informations about your company should be included: problem, solution, business model, unique selling point, competitor, market, status quo, financial planning, and outlook. In addition, we would like to learn more about the team behind your startup and why your startup should be included in the Master Accelerator. 

Tips on how to create a pitch deck can be found in our free Pitch Deck-Guide for startups. 

If you additionally want to submit a pitch video, please include a link to YouTube, or a similar platform, and make sure the video is accessible for us.

We do not have an industry focus. From AI to healthcare to tech – we support founders with scalable ideas from all industries. 

Our accelerator is aimed at early-stage startups with a team that has a clear idea of their scalable business model. It is not a must, but it is generally an advantage to present a prototype of your product or another form of early traction. A sophisticated business concept for the points mentioned above is sufficient for an application (see above: “Which documents are required for an application?”). 

Is your startup already one step ahead and thinking about expansion or internationalization? Then take a look at our other startup programs for founders. Or contact our scouting team to find the best program for you. 

Over a period of six months you learn from the best: there are regular expert workshops on relevant startup topics, individual coaching, mentor matchmaking, and master classes by founders of well-known companies such as Flixbus and Forto. During the accelerator, our partners also help you on important topics such as legal forms, financing methods, taxes, and other hands-on knowledge. We also connect you with various investors and experts from Germany and around the world. At our demo day in Munich and other ecosystem events, you have the opportunity to present your startup to a wide audience. 

Furthermore, in our Munich office on the “Campus of Ideas” in Balanstrasse, we offer all participating founders access to an appealing co-working space in an innovative environment. Alongside other startups, you will meet experts from German Entrepreneurship and be right in the middle instead of thereby. 

In the following 18 Months, we continue to support you in topics such as fundraising, growth or sales. Depending on your needs, we arrange professional coaching, contact with investors or potential clients. 

The Master Accelerator is essentially a German-language program, but some sessions are also held in English. 

Generally, no participation fee in the form of company equity is required for participation in the program. 

We only expect a fee for our program and support to reimburse costs if your startup is successful in fundraising. On a pay-if-you-play basis, we charge a 3% commission on funding rounds successfully completed within the period from program start and up to 18 months after the end of the program. This success fee is only applied to the first 5 million. This means that if you succeed and collect more money, we will not charge any additional fee.

If contracts or LOIs with investors already exist prior to program start, individual arrangements are possible.