Speed Mi Up, a Two Year Journey Can Start for 15 New Startups

The new Speed Mi Up tender for wannabe and new entrepreneurs opens today and will close on 26 November. Up to 15 selected startups will be admitted into the incubator promoted by Università Bocconi, Municipality and Chamber of Commerce of Milan and will spend a period of incubation and acceleration that can last up to two years.

The selected entrepreneurs will enter Speed MI Up on 1 February, 2016 and will thus gain access to numerous value-added services: training and mentoring by the Bocconi faculty and Formaper instructors, one-to-one and collective networking initiatives to meet investors, and finally a place where to work. Unlike other incubators, Speed MI Up does not enter the capital of the startups, thus preserving their value and entrepreneurial freedom. Many services are offered by Speed MI Up's partners: PwC (advice on tax and legal issues), Armando Testa (communication and media planning), Aruba (cloud computing), Innovhub (innovation services) and SiamoSoci (a platform matching innovative startups and resources).

The selection committee will rate the startups based on an elevator pitch (a video of 3 minutes maximum), a business plan, participants' resumes and, in some cases, an interview. Startuppers can find in the Speed Mi Up website a 12-hour videocourse teaching how to draw up a business plan and directions about the making of the elevator pitch.

Selection is open to wannabe entrepreneurs (at least one of the members of the entrepreneurial team must have a university degree) and to micro, small or medium enterprises incorporated in the last 20 months. Selection criteria include the entrepreneurial team quality, the business idea feasibility, its scalability and its potential in terms of new employment.

Speed Mi Up currently hosts 25 startups in two sites: via Gobbi, inside the Bocconi University campus, and via Achille Papa, inside the World Join Center.