AceON Accelerator

We’re happy to announce that we’ve been nominated in the category ACCELERATOR/INCUBATOR PROGRAM for the regional round of the Global Startup Awards Edition 11! ???? #aceon #aceonaccelerator #GSA #CESA #globalstartupawards #gsanominee #startupaccelerator

Supporting the start-up community is at the heart of what we do! ?? Last week, our AceON Accelerator team was proud to take part in two incredible events, empowering budding founders and young people eager for growth. At the finale of #PodnikavaGeneracia (organized by Centrum vedecko-technickych informácií SR (CVTI SR) and Ministerstvo ?kolstva, vyskumu, vyvoja a mláde?e Slovenskej republiky), Petra Konarikova and Ján Búza joined the jury to evaluate student start-ups. What were the jurors' most common questions? ?? How are you making money? ?? How do/will you acquire customers? Being ready to answer these is crucial for any founder, anytime and anywhere. What made this event even more exciting? ?? One of the winners of the business trip to Silicon Valley and Georgia Tech Institute was Upfan, an AceON alumnus from 2023! We couldn’t be prouder - congratulations to Andrej Nagy & the team! ?? The second event, Match-up Vol. 4 by Campus Innovations, brought together young people for speed-dating with mentors and workshop on how to prepare for an interview at a start-up. Our team, Pa?ek Peter, Petra Konarikova, and Martina Mandáková, couldn’t miss the chance to support these ambitious innovators. We hope our mentorship and insights will help them take the next steps in their journey. ?? #aceon #aceonaccelerator #community #support #startup #startupaccelerator

18 Startups. 10 weeks. 1 Unforgettable AceON Accelerator. ?? As one of the 18 startups selected to participate in the AceON Accelerator program, I'm thrilled to share our journey and the incredible progress we've made at straitPay Over the past few months, our team has: ? Improved our pitch to perfection? ? Refined our core strategy and value proposition ? Forged invaluable connections within the AceON network All of this was made possible by the unwavering support and expert guidance of the AceON team (special thanks to Martina Mandáková , Petra Konarikova, & Pa?ek Peter). Their commitment to fostering a dynamic, collaborative environment has been instrumental in accelerating our growth. I'm also incredibly grateful to our fellow founders in the cohort. It's been an honor to learn alongside such a talented group. We are on a mission to simplify how the world connects with Africa through Fintech... ?? Investors, if you're looking to back a high-potential fintech startup transforming the African market, I invite you to connect with us at straitPay. The future of African innovation is bright, and we're poised to lead the charge. #Fintech #AfricanInnovation #StraitPay #Investors #Aceonaccelerator #Demoday

Dear unicorns???, welcome to this month's edition of our newsletter, where we’re all about empowering early-stage start-ups to turn bold ideas into impactful businesses. ?? In this 29th issue we′ve covered: ?? Ján Kasper′s reflection on the DeepSeek situation,??? key lessons on expanding from Phi Long Bui, co-CEO of Swayze, who relocated from Poland to New York, ?? spotlight on ARtttify, start-up from our latest batch by ITKeyMedia, ?? events worth attending soon as a founder, ????Vocabulary: Dead equity, ????tip on a book to elevate your GTM strategy. Enjoy the read, and we hope you find inspiration and valuable insights. ?? #aceon #aceonaccelerator #newsletter #unicornchronicles

Looking for a mentor or start-up advice? Don’t miss the next Match-up event by Campus Innovations and Accace Slovakia on February 20. ?? You will meet some members of the AceON team at the event: ?? Pa?ek Peter, Co-founder of AceON Accelerator, Managing Director & Partner at Accace Slovakia – speaking at the event ?? Petra Konarikova, Lead at AceON Accelerator, Brand Manager at Accace Slovakia – mentoring at the speed-dating session A great opportunity to connect and network with us and the community! We look forward to seeing you there. ?? Mentoring available in Slovak and English. #aceon #aceonaccelerator #matchup #mentoring

Congratulations to Ján Kasper, PhD., MBA, PhD., Co-founder of AceON Accelerator and Co-founder & Managing Partner at ZAKA VC, for being featured on the cover of Forbes Slovensko! ?? ?? Catch the highlights from this spectacular interview - link in the comments. #aceon #aceonaccelerator #forbescover #interview

“It’s been an intense process, but it’s also been exciting. Balancing the needs of two markets - Poland and the US - while setting up a completely new operation has been a challenge, but it’s one we’ve embraced with a lot of energy and optimism.” shared with us Phi Long Bui, co-founder of Swayze. We’re incredibly proud of Swayze, the People’s Choice Award winner from our Spring Accelerator 2024 program, for taking the next big step - expanding from Poland to the US! ???? In our latest blog, Phi Long shares his firsthand experience of this transformative move, including: ? What is behind Swayze′s growth ? Why the team chose the US market ? Key lessons learned along the way ? The challenges & opportunities in the European vs. US start-up ecosystems ? His advice for founders preparing for international growth ? The future of influencer marketing ?? Read the full story - link in the comment. Great job, Swayze team! ?? Kuba Henriksen, Kevin Heins, Wiktoria Weronika W., Viet Hoang Nguyen, Aleksandra Pawlik #aceon #aceonaccelerator #swayze #influncermarketing #startup #expansion #startup #newonblog #startupaccelerator

?? Big Wins, Bigger Vision! What an incredible milestone: ARtttify | Quality Leads Unlocked for B2C has been featured by ZAKA VC and recognized as one of the top startups at the AceON Accelerator Demo Day, securing €40,000 in funding! ?? Our journey began with a clear mission: to redefine lead generation for B2C brands. Let’s face it—brands deserve more than just clicks and views. They need real engagement, active participation, and higher conversions. Traditional tools weren’t solving the problem—not for us, and not for the 20K+ brands we’ve worked with before. So we took action and introduced ARtttify: a platform designed to help Brands create Gamified Promotions and AR contests in minutes, turning audiences from passive ad viewers into active campaign participants. And it worked! ?? In just 2 months of Beta, ARtttify helped brands achieve a 6x improvement in conversions! This is only the beginning. With the endless support of our incredible investors and our amazing community, we’re ready to keep pushing boundaries. ?? To every brand and marketer out there: the game is changing. Are you ready to play? ?? Check out the full article by Kostiantyn Tupikov — link in the first comment! #ARtttify #LeadGeneration #Gamification #ITKeyMedia #AceONAccelerator #ZAKAVC #MarketingInnovation #Martech

Hello unicorns! ?? We wish all the start-ups in our community a successful and innovative year 2025! May new year bring you fresh opportunities, trends in your favor, customers eager to buy, investors recognizing your potential, and the growth you've worked hard for.? We’re excited to share our first issue of 2025, packed with these topics we’ve cracked for you: ???predictions for 2025, ?? the ideal number of founders, ???why vesting is important (this is also the topic for this month’s vocabulary), ?? the year of a start-up: Upfan, and our ?? event tip for founders in February by The Doers Company. #aceon #aceonaccelerator #unicornchronicles #newsletter #startups

Pa?ek Peter, co-founder of AceON Accelerator and Managing Director & Partner at Accace Slovakia, will host an insightful webinar on how to prepare for a start-up interview. ?? Whether you're a future employee or a contractor, asking questions is crucial. Early employees of start-ups take a significant career risk by accepting a job offer, as they often join a company that has yet to achieve "product-market fit." This can metaphorically feel like "wasted time." What are the right questions to ask to avoid this situation? ?? Peter will cover most of them in the free webinar, including these: ?? INVESTMENT HISTORY AND VALUATION: It’s definitely important to gather information, if possible, about whether the company has already completed an investment round and what its post-money valuation was. It’s also valuable, if such data is available, to know the current exit price required to cover all the liquidation preferences of existing investors, as founders and employees only receive their share after these obligations are met. This may seem trivial, but many exits aren’t successful for everyone involved, and often only a few stakeholders on the cap table receive cash from an exit - these may not include the founders or employees. ?? TIMING OF FUNDING ROUNDS: It’s also worth finding out when the last investment round occurred, whether another one is planned, and if the company has undergone any bridge financing. Why? Because, for example, recent statistics show that only around 10% of start-ups that raised a seed round ever made it to Series A. This is another key piece of information for employees to consider in their decision-making process. ?? DIVERSITY: Similarly, though it’s not a pleasant topic, the structure of the founding team and the CEO’s gender can statistically influence a start-up’s likelihood of securing VC funding. For instance, in the U.S. in 2024, 76% of start-ups that received VC funding had all-male founding teams, while only 3.7% had all-female founding teams. These are sad numbers, but as a potential employee, you should be aware of them. Find out more in Peter′s free webinar (the event will be in Slovak). ?? #aceon #aceonaccelerator #startupemployee #webinar