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Call for Applications: Aalto Creatives pre-incubator programme starts in September

Join the Aalto Creatives afterwork and info session on 27.8.2025 to find out more about the open call and meet the Aalto Creatives team. At this event, alums from the pre-incubator will talk about their entrepreneurial journeys and share their experiences from participating in the AC programme.
Aalto Creatives Call for Applications image autumn 2025
Visual identity: Janne Kuisma

Are you the next creative industry founder? Aalto Creatives pre-incubator programme helps creative industry startups flourish from idea stage to a company. 
 
Aalto Creatives is a 12-week pre-incubator programme tailored for early-stage creative industry startups. Applications are accepted from individuals or teams, and applicants don't need previous business experience.

The programme is coordinated by Aalto Startup Center and Aalto Studios. This collaboration enables a unique approach to supporting creatives on their journey to becoming startup founders through blending business advisory services with creative industry expertise.

In the programme, participants develop their business ideas, connect with potential industry partners, iterate their business plans, identify potential customers, and strategize on how to attract them. 

Special emphasis is placed on refining pitching skills to prepare for successful investor presentations. Each pre-incubator round ends in a Demo Day event where participants take the stage to introduce their companies.

The programme is aimed at students, researchers or practitioners with a relevant creative industry background. The selection criteria focuses on the business idea’s potential for further development, the solution it provides, and how it shapes a sustainable future.
 
The business idea can be in one of the following fields (but not limited to):

  • Architecture
  • AR/VR
  • Arts
  • Design
  • Fashion
  • Film and television
  • Gaming
  • Media
  • Music

The programme is free of charge and doesn’t take any equity. Aalto Creatives is part of City of Helsinki’s Campus Incubators programme. The programme is run by Aalto Startup Center and Aalto Studios.

Please note, applicants must be residents of the Helsinki capital region. The programme is not available in remote or hybrid mode and applicants are required to participate in weekly workshops taking place on Aalto University campus in Otaniemi, Espoo, Finland.
 
Application period is currently open until 8.9.2025, the next pre-incubator starts on 29.9.2025

Link to application formWe welcome everyone to join us at the Aalto Creatives afterwork and info session on 27.8.2025 at 15.00. 

Sign up for the afterwork and info session

Link to Aalto Creatives website

More from Aalto Creatives

Image from remote site: www.aalto.fi

Aalto Creatives afterwork and info session | autumn 2025 (external link)

Aalto Creatives afterwork event on 27.8.2025 focuses on Aalto Creatives alumni stories and introducing the Aalto Creatives pre-incubator programme.

Events
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Aalto Creatives launches Art & Tech Open Call '25 development grant for creative industry projects

The Art & Tech Open Call seeks applications from artists and creatives who are passionate about pushing the boundaries of what is possible with technology.

News
Audience at Creative Demo Day event

Aalto Creatives Mailing List (external link)

Join Aalto Creatives mailing list and be the first to receive information about open calls and events!

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