Yes. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t have a team yet. Many of our participants have entered the programme solo and built their teams during the programme.

The programme offers valuable insights on team building and networking. Therefore, even if you don’t progress to the stage of building a team during the programme, you can make use of that knowledge at a later stage.

You should pick one and focus on that in your application. The pre-incubator serves you the best if you focus on developing one specific idea into a business concept. 

With the rebranding of our programme we dropped the word 'digital' from our pre-incubator's name. Thus, to be eligible to apply, you no longer need to have a digital aspect in your business idea. We are happy to say that we support developing and launching business ideas across all sectors of the creative industries.

You need an idea in order to apply. The description of your idea and the idea’s solution potential are the most important content in your application.

Yes. You need to be a Finnish resident from the Helsinki capital region.

No. The program is not available in remote or hybrid mode. The workshops take place onsite in Otaniemi.

Aalto Creatives workshops take place approximately once a week. Usually on Tuesday afternoons. These workshops form the core of the programme.

On top of that, you will need to work on some assignments and materials outside the workshops. One-on-one coaching is available depending on each team’s specific needs.

Additionally, Aalto Startup Center hosts various events and workshops which are open to participants in all of their programmes. These events can be really useful, but it’s entirely up to you how many of them you choose to attend.

Yes. As long as you have a business idea you’d like to work on, you are eligible to apply.

If you are interested in entrepreneurial skills on a more general level and you don’t have a business idea, the programme is not the right fit. In that case you could look into other courses about entrepreneurship.

Yes. Some of our participants have worked as entrepreneurs previously and entered the programme to found a startup.

This varies depending on the stage of each participants business idea. If the team is ready to start a company with a business ID they may be eligible to apply into other programmes at the Aalto Startup Center such as the Business Generator Program.

No. You can apply even if you have no affiliation to Aalto University.

Yes. We welcome applications from staff members.