Venture building program

Venture Leavening

Pre‑incubation for early teams (TRL 2–4). Leavening runs from February/March and ends with the May Demo Day. The curriculum focuses on Public Speaking, Pitching, Pretotyping & market signals, and Business model. Hours can flex by module — the goal is measurable progress.

Apply now Deadline: 16 February 2026, 12pm CET Read call
📍 Pisa, Italy – hybrid cohorts 🎯 Ends in May (Demo Day) 🤝 Mentors, labs, and ecosystem access
Outcome-driven: by May you’ll have a validated signal pack, a first business model draft, and a pitch narrative ready for Demo Day.
Venture Leavening
Experimentation Customer discovery Pre‑seed
Promoted by

A strong ecosystem around your team

Start Attractor is promoted by the University of Pisa together with Sofidel SPA, Todisco Group and Banco Fiorentino, and supported by key organizations in the Tuscany innovation ecosystem.

Venture Leavening

Pre‑incubation (TRL 2–4)

A short, structured sprint to sharpen your story, test real market signals, and shape a first business model. Each module is mainly based on personalized, hands-on labs.

What you will do
Key outcomes & deliverables

A practical set of assets you can reuse beyond this cohort.

  • Public Speaking: storytelling, presence, and clear messaging
  • Pitching: narrative, deck structure, and rehearsals
  • Pretotyping & market signals: lightweight experiments to validate assumptions
  • Business model: ICP, value proposition, and a first model draft

Note: terms, timing and selection criteria are defined per cohort. See Terms & open calls.

Who it’s for
Ideal participants

Teams pre-seed who want measurable progress by May.

Ideal for:

Research spin-outs Early technical founders Teams pre-seed
Why join

What you get (by May)

A focused pre-incubation pathway to turn ideas into measurable evidence, a first business model, and a pitch-ready story for Demo Day.

Evidence
Signal pack from real experiments

Run lightweight tests to validate the riskiest assumptions and capture usable market signals.

Experiments Market signals Evidence
Model
First business model draft

Define ICP, value proposition, assumptions, and a first model you can iterate with real feedback.

ICP Value prop Model v0
Pitch
Demo Day readiness

Build a clear narrative, improve delivery, and leave with a pitch structure you can reuse for investors and partners.

Story Deck structure Rehearsal
Apply now Read call (PDF) See curriculum
Curriculum

Venture Leavening (ends in May)

Leavening is a short pre‑incubation journey focused on: Public Speaking, Pitching, Pretotyping & market signals, and Business model. Modules can flex in hours — the goal is measurable progress.

Monthly plan
Monthly focus May Demo Day

Venture Leavening timeline

Modules + labs → May Demo Day.

Venture Leavening timeline March to May, including hours, modules, outputs, culminating in May Demo Day. March 4h online 4h in-person Pretotyping & market signals Output: signal evidence April 4h online 4h in-person Business model Output: model draft May 4h online 4h in-person Public speaking Output: 60–90s intro May 4h online 4h in-person · Demo Day Pitching Demo Day Output: deck + rehearsal
  • Note: Ends with May Demo Day. Hours can flex by module.
Application

Apply to Venture Leavening

Deadline: 16 February 2026, 12pm CET. Apply early — we review on a rolling basis.

Start here

Submit your application

A short form (≈ 5–10 minutes). Tell us who you are, what you’re building, and the key assumptions you want to validate.

Hybrid · Pisa + online Ends in May Demo Day
What happens next
  1. We check fit (TRL 2–4 + commitment)
  2. Short follow-up if needed
  3. Cohort confirmation + onboarding
Before you apply

Make it easy to say “yes”

  • Who it’s for: early teams (TRL 2–4), pre-seed
  • What we look for: a clear hypothesis + willingness to run experiments
  • Time commitment: ~8 hours per month (online + in-person)
  • Outcome: signal evidence, model draft, pitch readiness
Tip: Include your current traction (even if small) and the 1–2 biggest assumptions you want to validate by May.
Deadline: 16 Feb 2026 · 12pm CET Form ≈ 5–10 min
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