Key Questions
What are the minimum requisites for applying?
Have a business idea that you would like to develop and implement.
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This idea can be an early-stage one that you would like to transform into a real business, or a newly founded venture. As long as you are living/working in the netherlands, and are an aspiring/early-stage entrepreneur, IdeaBoosterLab is the right place for you!
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How does the Application Process work?
1- Apply directly using the short form at the bottom of this page.
2- Complete the application that you have received in your mailbox. Did you not receive the application link? Please contact us through the button above.
3- You will be asked to prepare a short description of your idea (a pitch) and send it to us.
4- One of our staff members will call you to ask some questions about your business or idea.
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That's it! Once you have completed these steps, you will be eligible for our program!
What topics will be addressed in the course?
The following topics will be covered throughout the course:
1- Creating a Business Canvas Model
2- Designing Efficient Tests
3- Evaluating Test Results & Creating MVPs
4- Solution Validation through A/B Testing
5- Customer Identification
6- Pricing Strategies
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And many more!
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Is this a general business course?
No.
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Although the program addresses some basic business concepts and teaches you how to use some useful business tools, the main goal is to help you develop and evaluate an innovative idea that you have!
Who Can Apply?
How many people per company/startup can join the programme?
Every member of the founding team can join IdeaBoosterLab, though, only the main decision maker has to apply, the rest are free to join them throughout the course of the program.
I do not have a team or a company, can I apply?
Definitely!
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The program is meant to help you develop an idea that you have, so whether it is with a team or alone, with or without a company, as long as you have an innovative concept, IdeaBoosterLab is the place for you!
Costs
Is it really free of charge?
Yes!
The course is completely free of charge, without any extra admission fees or hidden costs. The only thing we ask from you is to actively participate and complete a number of interviews and questionnaires to assist us with our research. Additionally, we will also ask for feedback to help improve your learning experience and understand your development process throughout the program.
Who is funding the project?
This project is primarily funded by an European Research Council (ERC) Grant, with additional funding from research grants from the Erasmus University Rotterdam and Bocconi University.
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Training Program Details
Where is the training taking place?
The IdeaBoosterLab NL training will take place in Rotterdam, at the Woudestein campus of Erasmus University.
To know more about the location, click here.
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If you are not based in the Netherlands, click here to discover other locations where the IdeaBoosterLab program will be run.
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When is the training taking place? And how long is it?
The training will start 28th January 2022, and will last around three months, occurring once every other Friday, for 6 sessions. Each training session lasts around 4 hours and will be set either in the morning (9-13) or in the afternoon (14-18).
You will be assigned to a slot in the beginning, and cannot switch to another slot afterwards. After the first 6 core sessions, participants will be invited to exclusive events focused on specific topics.
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What about COVID-19? Will the training be held in presence?
Unless further rules and regulations come out, the training will be held in-presence. As of today, no hybrid or online modes are available. We follow the Dutch Government and Erasmus University of Rotterdam regulations, to ensure that all the safety measures to avoid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic are respected.
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Is it compulsory to attend all sessions?
Participation to all sessions is strongly encouraged for making the most out of the programme. However, participants are allowed to skip 1 session out of the 6 core sessions. A higher number of absences will not allow the participant to continue with the programme. This will imply that it will not be possible to access course materials, receive the final certificate of participation as well as taking part in the (by invitation-only) exclusive events.
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What is the class size?
To ensure a high-quality learning experience and allow you to participants will be divided into small classes of 15-20 firms/entrepreneurs.In this way each participant will have the opportunity to interact with everyone, learn from others’ experience and get individual feedback from the instructor.
Special events will be organized into larger groups, instead, to give attendees the opportunity to network more broadly
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Who will be my instructor?
All instructors have substantial expertise in business training and coaching, especially with start-ups and SMEs. Most of them have proven entrepreneurial or managerial experience and are seasoned mentors. All of them have a dynamic and interactive approach to teaching. All instructors come from the Netherlands and have a large expertise in both academia and entrepreneurship.
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Who developed the training material?
The training material has been developed jointly by academics from Bocconi University and Erasmus University Rotterdam, who are international experts in the field of management, entrepreneurship and strategy.
What is the structure of each session?
In each session, the instructor will deliver valuable tools that will support strategic and operational decision making in many areas, especially when it comes to strategic and innovative plans. The same tools can be used to start the development of a start-up.
Importantly, plenty of time in each session will be devoted to interactive discussions of small cases and the application of ideas to your business, following participant-centered learning methodology.
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Where is the practice in this course?
The course is designed to have a strong practical orientation. Between each of the six core sessions participants will be asked to apply the tools and knowledge learned in class to their own business or idea, and to present their results to the instructor and the other participants.
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All the knowledge and tools you will learn during the sessions can be immediately applied outside the classroom, and we encourage participants to do so in order to get immediate feedback from both the instructor and their peers.
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Do I get any certificate for participation?
Yes!
You will get an official certificate of participation if you attend at least 5 out of 6 core sessions. At the end of the exclusive events series, you will get a further certificate of attendance.
What are the "Monthly Events"?
At the end of the training period, we will organize a series of monthly events that include webinairs, workshops, in-person seminars and networking sessions to help you grow your business and professional network.
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We will cover topics of interest to entrepreneurs and managers, featuring international speakers from both academia and international firms.
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Data and Privacy
Will I be asked to share confidentially information with other participants?
No. Each participant will decide autonomously on the extent to which they wish to participate in the class discussion and whether they want to keep a more active or passive role. Each participant will decide which information he/she wants to share with the class.
We encourage you NOT to share any confidential information with your peers, which is certainly something NOT required in order to participate and make the most out of the business programme.
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Why do I need to provide data?
We are asking you to provide data about your business and yourself for two main reasons.
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First, by having a better understanding of your business background, we will be able to better tailor the content of the programme to your specific needs and provide a better learning experience.
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Second, IdeaBoosterLab is made possible by a larger research project. This means that the academic partners (Bocconi University, Erasmus University Rotterdam) will use this data (in aggregated and anonymized form only) to conduct some general research. The aim of the research is to understand how entrepreneurship and innovation training can help firms grow and achieve their business goals. By providing your consent to the use of these data, you will be helping the team improve this programme and support even more firms.
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We understand that filling in questionnaires or participating to interviews might be time consuming, but this information is essential to provide you with a free and high-quality programme, and we very much hope that the programme will be a good return for your time.
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How will my data be used?
All data collected in the context of this project will be used exclusively in anonymized and aggregate form, and solely for academic research purposes and in the public interest.
None of your data will be shared with other parties except the academic ones directly involved in the project and in the full research project.
Data will be encrypted and stored on our (restricted-access) IT infrastructure.
The academic institutions involved in this project adopt the highest research ethics standards for managing and protecting data, which is a core part of their regular activities. Their outstanding reputation in the research domain speaks for their commitment to ensure that data will only be used to gather general insights on the quality of the programme delivered for academic research purposes and in compliance with European GDPR regulations (one of the strictest data regulation frameworks worldwide) and for no other purpose.
We would be very happy to provide more detail on our research and the use of data, should you find it useful. You can also check the Privacy Policy posted on this website.
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