Startup Stairs

Choosing the right programme

• Idea or prototype stage, want structure and investor preparation: the Idea to Funding Accelerator. It is paid, runs for 30 days and accepts applications for the next cohort.
• Need to test an idea fast before building more: the Startup Validation Sprint. It is paid and runs for 3 days in person.
• Already selling and want a growth partner: the Growth Partner Programme. Two of its tiers take equity, so read the terms before you apply.
• Fundraising-ready and want investor exposure: Startup League. Check the current cohort status first, because its pages disagree.
• Working on a deployable drone product: DroneThon 2026, run by Drone Tech Multi-State Cooperative Society, with support from Startup Stairs for selected startups.

How to apply

• Each programme has its own page on the Startup Stairs site with an apply button. There is no single application for all programmes.
• Startup League asks for a pitch deck and a logo, and asks whether you are bootstrapped and whether you have existing investors. You can apply as a startup, or as an investor, incubator or other party.
• For the accelerator, you fill in a short online application and Startup Stairs reviews it for stage fit. Shortlisted applicants may get a brief programme-fit discussion.
• Applications for DroneThon 2026 open from 2 October to 15 November 2026, and the grand finale is on 26 January 2027.

Before you pay or commit

• The accelerator and the sprint charge a fee, and the refund policy says purchases are final and non-refundable.
• The accelerator page says taking part does not guarantee investment or investor meetings. Do not join expecting funding.
• The Growth Partner Programme takes equity. Ask for the full terms in writing before you apply.
• Startup League advertises a pooled funding opportunity but does not say who funds it or on what terms. Ask before you assume it is a grant.

What fits best

• The homepage names drones, EVs, AI, PCBs and defence as its core sectors, so founders in those areas have the closest fit.
• The accelerator and Startup League pages say other sectors can apply too.

Startup Stairs (Startup Stairs Private Limited) is an incubator and seed-stage accelerator based in Gurugram, Haryana. It says it is DPIIT-recognised and an NSDC International investee, and that it supports startups from idea to scale. Its homepage names five core sectors: drones, electric vehicles, AI, PCBs and defence.

How its programmes work

Startup Stairs runs several separate offers, and they ask different things of a founder. The Idea to Funding Accelerator is a 30-day programme for early founders. The Startup Validation Sprint is a 3-day, in-person programme. Both charge a programme fee, and its refund policy says all purchases on the platform are final and non-refundable. The Growth Partner Programme is a partnership in which Startup Stairs takes equity in two of its three tiers and works for a fixed retainer in the third. Startup League is a startup discovery, evaluation and investor-pitch platform that runs in cohorts.

The only offer that takes equity is the Growth Partner Programme. The accelerator and the sprint do not mention equity on their pages.

Startup League

Startup League is its best-known programme. It describes itself as a platform that connects startups with investors, mentors, incubators and corporates. Cohort 1 finalised 30 startups. Cohort 2 is a hybrid event, held in Haryana and online, with a three-stage evaluation by domain experts and investors, a pitch day and a demo day. The page gives the pitch day as 24 September 2026 and the demo day as 1 October 2026, both of which have now passed, yet it still says applications are open. Another page on the same site gives a different start date and submission deadline for Cohort 2. Treat the status of Cohort 2 as unclear and check with Startup Stairs before relying on it. A third cohort is listed as upcoming, with dates to be announced.

The page says Startup League is backed by Startup Haryana and DPIIT and advertises a pooled funding opportunity for qualifying startups. It does not say who provides that funding or on what terms. The site also describes the League two ways: one page calls it sector agnostic, covering deep tech and AI, fintech, consumer tech, health, climate, edtech, logistics and agritech, while another calls it a deep tech platform focused on AI, EVs, drones, defence and PCBs.

Idea to Funding Accelerator

This is a 30-day programme with 10 expert sessions, 4 one-to-one mentor reviews, 2 masterclasses and an investor demo day. It is built around investor-readiness and execution work, and the page says it is not an online course. It is for idea-stage, prototype, first-customer and early-revenue founders, including working professionals building a startup. Applicants are reviewed for stage fit, and shortlisted applicants may be invited to a short programme-fit discussion. The page states that taking part does not guarantee investment or investor meetings, and it lists people who should not apply, such as those who are joining only because they expect guaranteed funding.

Startup Validation Sprint

The sprint is a 3-day, offline programme that combines mentoring and tasks and ends in a validated roadmap. It is aimed at idea-stage and early-stage founders, including first-time founders, technical and non-technical founders and small co-founder teams. The venue is not stated.

Growth Partner Programme

The Hybrid Partner tier is for early-stage startups building an MVP and going to market, and it takes 1 to 2 percent equity. The Anchor Partner tier is for scaling startups, takes 5 to 10 percent equity and is limited to 10 startups a year. The Retainership tier is a fixed retainer fee with no equity. The site is inconsistent about whether the Hybrid tier is open: one page marks it as coming soon, and another describes it as an active model.

Partners and support

The homepage lists AVPL International, Drone Tech Multi-State Co-operative Society Ltd., Drone City Haryana, Drone Planet and NSDC among its partners. It says these partnerships give selected startups access to technology expertise, AI support, prototyping, testing, manufacturing guidance, industry networks, field deployment and market access. It does not say which partner provides which support.

Startup Stairs also supports selected startups that come through DroneThon 2026, a national drone product competition. DroneThon is run by Drone Tech Multi-State Cooperative Society, not by Startup Stairs.

Rural entrepreneurship work

Startup Stairs acted as the execution and activation partner for Yuva Udyami Yatra, a rural entrepreneurship mobilisation drive aimed at bank-linked micro-enterprises at panchayat level. Its Uttar Pradesh cycle ran from 20 March to 30 June 2026. This is work with rural micro-entrepreneurs rather than a startup programme, so it is not a route for most founders reading this page.

Who runs it

The homepage names Deep Sihag Sisai and Dr. Preet Sandhu as co-founders and promoters.

Location

The site footer gives the address as Plot no. 251, Ground Floor, Phase 4, Udyog Vihar, Sector 18, Gurugram, Haryana 122015. Its terms of use give a different registered office at Unit No. 840-42, Tower B3, Spaze IT Park, Sector 49, Sohna Road, Gurugram, Haryana 122018. We have not found any statement of when the company was founded on its own pages.