BootUp

BootUp is where most founders start. It is an online bootcamp built to answer one question honestly — is there a market — and to turn the answer into a business plan. Founders learn by doing: weekly interactive coaching with PadUp's Chief Mentor, then group and individual sessions with its business mentors, each built around a weekly task. There are live sessions with working founders and innovators along the way. It ends on a Demo Day, where founders present a finished plan to Friends of PadUp angel investors.

What you get

• Weekly coaching with the Chief Mentor and mentoring from PadUp's business mentors
• A structured validation process using customer-centric, lean startup methods
• Weekly tasks that add up to a business plan
• Live sessions with innovators and entrepreneurs
• Two to three weeks of mock pitch sessions before Demo Day
• A Demo Day pitch in front of angel investors

Who can apply

• Early-stage technology founders and teams, at idea or prototype stage
• No incorporation requirement, geography restriction or category gate is published
• The application form covers sectors from AI and health tech to agritech and clean tech

How selection works: PadUp says only that its selection process is rigorous; it does not publish its criteria or its stages.

How to apply: fill in the application form on the PadUp site. It is open all year with no deadline, and PadUp says its team reviews applications and comes back within 48 hours.