Are you a start-up or an entrepreneurial team? Discover your path to market entry, validate your business model, win your first customers and secure your first investment through Compass Acceleration Cycle.
Let's help you navigate your way to entering the market, validating your business model, attracting customers, and securing investment.
With a complementary team
For the core team, for the whole acceleration cycle
Protecting your shares with ACE
Duration to prepare for market entry
with occasional in-person attendance
As a proper period to prepare and launch
Work on defining and refining your target market from October to the end of June.
Startup coaching is the best way to speed up your progress. Speed, not for the sake of just going faster, but to avoid wasting time on wrong decisions. Our dedicated coaches serve as trusted advisors. Through one-on-one coaching sessions and ongoing support, we empower you to create a go-to-market strategy, craft a solid marketing plan, develop your MVP, achieve profitability, hire the best talent, and build a motivated team.
We offer a curated network of more than 70 experienced mentors, industry specialists, and entrepreneurs, all eager to volunteer their time to support your business growth journey. By carefully matching your start-up with the most suitable experts, we ensure you receive top-tier structured mentoring and strategic guidance to help your business thrive.
Once every two months, you will present your progress, get unbiased feedback and pose any questions or requests for help. Teams will often pair up to help each other with issues and give each other feedback.
You will expand your knowledge of entrepreneurship techniques and frameworks via a seminar series, as well as guest talks by thought leaders on topics of interest such as service design, market research and competition analysis, innovation teams’ management, no code tools & prototype design, financials, sales and pricing strategies, ESG metrics, pitching and storytelling.
Our investor track record is impressive – with 10.6M investment raised since 2014. We have strong connections with local funds and angel investment groups, ensuring that you can make those all-important investor connections. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to apply to participate in our annual major investors showcase, Athenian Nexus - Investor Day.
We offer flexible office space and administrative support to ensure you have everything you need to focus on growing your business.
By joining the SFF Cooperative, you will be part of a forward-thinking network that offers plenty of opportunities and benefits such as access to an Open Incubator, the SFF platform and comprehensive education programs,
Program timeline
18th of August 2026
18th of September 2026
September 2026
28th of September 2026
17th & 18th of October 2026
Mandatory on-site participation at ACE premises (exact location TBC, Athens)
November 2026 – June 2027
23rd of January & 10th of April 2027
Mandatory on-site participation at ACE premises (exact location TBC, Athens)
December 2026, February 2027 & May 2027
June 2027
The venture should ideally have a mockup and/or a functional prototype that helps validate the concept and its feasibility.
