About the Program
A comprehensive 18-week pre-acceleration journey by Startup House Riga to help aspiring founders build the mindset, skills, and support network needed to launch a scalable startup.
Why Apply?
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18 weeks of structured startup training
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Build the mindset and skills to launch a scalable startup
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1-on-1 mentorship from founders and industry experts
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Real-world validation and pitch practice
Program Overview
The 18-week (split into 2 parts) pre-acceleration program by Startup House Riga is designed to equip aspiring founders with the skills, mindset, and support to launch a scalable startup. Structured in two parts, the program combines online learning with in-person bootcamps and networking events, offering hands-on training, expert mentorship, and real-world validation.
Your Commitment
Participants are expected to commit a minimum of 20 hours per week, working independently and within their teams to develop, test, and pitch their startup ideas.
May 7 - June 14,
This first phase is about discovery. You’ll explore tech trends, shape your idea, and connect with potential co-founders. By the end, you'll form a team and be ready to apply for Part 2.
Who is this for?
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Working solo or forming a team
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Curious about startups and entrepreneurship
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Looking to validate an idea
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Open to joining or creating an innovative team
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September 18 - December 3
In the following 12 weeks, you'll reapply with your formed team for idea pre-acceleration.You’ll develop your MVP, work directly with mentors, test your market, and prepare to pitch at Demo Day.
What You’ll Do:
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Validate and develop your concept into an investable business model.
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Match with experienced startup and industry mentors
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Learn legal, marketing, and fundraising essentials
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Pitch at Demo Day in front of investors & the startup community
Who is this for?
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Teams with at least two co-founders
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Working on a real, meaningful problem
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Begun validating the solution or built an early prototype
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Ambitious to scale and eager to grow through mentorship
Applications will open on August 5
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Key Dates
August 5
Applications opens
August 26
Online Q&A session
September 2
Application deadline
September 18
Second Part Kick-off
September 19
Mentor Matchmaking (Onsite)
October 8-11
Product Development Sprint (partly onsite)
December 3
Demo Day
Team
Viesturs Sosārs
Program Director
Elīza ŠNEIDERE
Program Manager
Lecturers & Mentors
Viesturs Sosārs
TechHub Riga
Julia Gifford
Truesix
Lauma Gailīte
Startup House Riga
Mārtiņš Viļums
Abillio
Egita Poļanska
Startup House Riga
Līva Pērkone
Helve
Emil Syundyukov
Longenesis
Kaspars Kalnišs
xelo-fenders.com
Sigvards Krongorns
Verge HealthTech Fund
Ēvalds Urtāns
asya.ai
Anna Andersone
Riga TechGirls & StartSchool
Jonathan Howard
Windfire
Startup House Riga Pre-accelerator was the missing piece of a puzzle to take my startup idea to the next level. The program was a great opportunity to test each other's ambitions, skills, and work-ethic and now we continue to work together to bring Hospilly to the market.
Laura Lokmane, Founder of Hospilly
Pre-Accelerator Program is brought to you by the Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia.
FAQ about the Pre-accelerator Program 2025
The pre-accelerator program is a hybrid of online and in-person activities.
Our previous experience shows that the better connected you are with your teammates, the more likely you’ll succeed in the program and in building your business. Therefore, we offer several in-person activities for participants to meet each other and work together.
This question doesn't have a 'one size fits all' answer. It depends.
For Part 1 (May - June) you need to have Latvian personal code in order to apply as this program is publicaly funded
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For Part 2 (September-December) the registered Team Lead has to have a Latvian personal code (personas kods) for us to register your de minimis support, teammates don't have this requirement as de minimis is calculated per team.
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If you have the personal code but aren't based in Latvia, we encourage you to travel here for the in-person bootcamps as you'll be missing out on some of the core activities;
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The Part 1 of the program was individual application-based and focused on getting participants 'on the same page' by sharing some startup-related content and fostering team building.
For Part 2 we will evaluate the team, ambition of the idea and scalability of the business model.
No fees, participation is free of charge. The program is delivered with the support of the Ministry of Economics of Latvia. It means that we can sign the contract with individuals with a valid personal code (personas kods) of Latvia. Participants can't have tax debt and will have to comply with de minimis support rules.
Homework would only include tasks that you need to do for your business, no 'fake homeworks'.. As in - if you need to make e.g. a customer journey or stakeholder map, then you need to make it for your startup, not for the program.
Most of the content and live activities are planned outside 'work hours'- 18:00-20:00 EEST on weekdays and occasional Saturdays.
20h is an estimate including any team work during that time. All teammates don’t ‘have to’ participate everywhere and all lectures will be recorded. But we strongly suggest that as many teammates as possible join mentor meetings, otherwise it takes a big toll on the team lead to convey all the messages and get everyone on the same page after each meeting. We ask 75% attendance but it’s not a kindergarten and it’s us providing you support system to develop your company.. If you need it, you take it, if you don’t, you don’t. Everyone is expected to be an adult in the room and to assess the needs and possibilities. We’re here to help.
- Team: what competencies do you have within the team and what you've done together so far?
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Opportunity: how big is the size of the problem/ need, any fair assumptions or even evidence that your potential solution is needed and will be paid for?
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Program fit: what have you accomplished so far and what's the current stage of your project?
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2-3 people teams are on average more likely to succeed than a team with just 1 or more than 3 founders. But everything depends on the people and there are good and bad examples for all situations. It is statistically harder to fundraise as a solo founder even if there are paid employees. Plus having funds to pay salary from day 1 also isn't optimal;
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But for technicalities - program requirement for the Part 2 is that teams need to have at least 2 people;
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If you have any questions please refer to the Pre-accelerator Wiki page , contact us at preaccelerator@startuphouse.lv
