1.
www.startup.si
Initiative Start:up Slovenia -
creating a vibrant Slovenian start-up community
Under the management of Venture Factory from Maribor and Technology Park Ljubljana, the Initiative Start:up Slovenia
implements national programmes for encouraging entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity within three
target groups: entrepreneurial teams in the phase of designing their entrepreneurial idea, start-up companies, and companies
undergoing fast global growth.
These national programmes go back several years, are recognised as established national brands, but most
importantly they link to and complement each other content-wise, which provides assistance and support to companies
in all growth phases - from designing the idea to presence on international markets.

2.
www.startup.si
FINANCING
namely grants, equity and debt financing from public,
private and “mixed” sources. Each start-up company can
acquire up to approximately 320,000 EUR of public funds
for its growth and development, provided by
the Slovene Enterprise Fund.
SUBSTANTIVE SUPPORT AND MENTORING
in the form of educational programmes, mentoring, consulting
and administrative support, entrepreneurial training and
networking. Research shows that such support significantly
increases the likelihood of companies succeeding.
The network of mentors includes over 100 reputable
entrepreneurs, businesspersons and managers,
who advise and mentor companies.
UNIFIED PROMOTION OF
PROGRAMMES AND COMPANIES
including attracting talent to Slovenia, which includes
transparently and publicly selecting programme
participants, monitoring and promoting them, and thus
effectively monitoring the spending of public funds.
A SUITABLE INFRASTRUCTURE
(business premises) in the form of co-working facilities,
incubators and technology parks, the primary purpose
of which is to establish a community and environment
with the appropriate values encouraging talent,
technology, tolerance and transparency.
Our several years’ of experience with implementing the programmes allows us to constantly develop and upgrade the
programmes in light of global development best practices, as well as to implement them in different circles, ensuring
excellent national coverage.
This comprehensive and systematic support to start-ups is developed and implemented in a partnership with various
organisations from the support and business environment. It encompasses the following elements:
The Initiative Start:up Slovenia works according to the strategy listed in the
Start:up Manifesto, which can be accessed at the following website:
www.startup.si/startupmanifest

3.
www.startup.si
Maribor
Ljubljana
Nova Gorica
Murska Sobota
Zagorje
Celje
Velenje
Ptuj
Novo
mesto
AUSTRIA
ITALY
CROATIA
BOSNIA
& HERZEGOVINA
HUNGARY
SERBIA
SWITZERLAND
ROMANIA
BULGARIA
SLOVAKIA
CZECH REPUBLIC
POLAND
GERMANY
KOSOVO
MACEDONIA
ALBANIA
MONTE
NEGRO
SLO
Tel Aviv
Kuala Lumpur
Shanghai
Moscow
A regional and international entrepreneurial
network
AlthoughtheInitiativeStart:upSloveniaismanagedbythestrategically-alignedVentureFactoryfromMariborandTechnology
Park Ljubljana, it is an open platform that welcomes various organisations and individuals who wish to co-contribute to the
vision of a dynamic entrepreneurial talent-friendly country and region.
San Francisco New York
Berlin
London
Paris
Barcelona
A list of all partner individuals and organisations can be found at the following website: www.startup.si.
The website lists all the reputable partners and members of the Initiative Start:up Slovenia. Why not join us?

4.
www.startup.si
The following are the key stakeholders and partners of the Initiative Start:up Slovenia:
a) LeadingorganisationsoftheSloveniansupportenvironment at various locations (Technology Park Ljubljana, Venture
Factory from Maribor, Primorska Technology Park from Nova Gorica, Technology Park of Pomurje from Murska Sobota,
Regional development centre Zasavje from Zagorje ob Savi, the Savinja region incubator from Celje) and associate members
of the innovation support environment (SAŠA incubator from Velenje, Entrepreneurship incubator of Spodnje Podravje from
Ptuj, Club of young entrepreneurs from Novo Mesto, etc.).
b) Start:up entrepreneurs, whereby the leading innovative environment organisations bring together more than 400
successful companies with the potential for fast global growth. In addition, over 9,000 potential entrepreneurs annually
participate in the events organised by members of the Initiative.
c) Start:up mentors, who mentor, advise and share their contacts to help new start-ups achieve global breakthrough. Our
network brings together more than 100 top mentors.
d) Private investors, be it business angels or venture capital funds, who invest together with public funds of the Slovene
Enterprise Fund and not only finance but also mentor their target companies (“smart money”).
e) Large successful companies, which increase their innovation activities by actively collaborating with start-up companies
and joining the innovation ecosystem. Both local companies and global multinationals are constantly joining the Initiative.
f) Private organisations for encouraging entrepreneurship, such as start-up media platforms, private accelerators both in
Slovenia and abroad, entrepreneurial training institutions and others.
g) The Ministry of Economic Development and Technology together with the Slovene Enterprise Fund and the SPIRIT
public agency.
h) Other stakeholders, primarily knowledge institutions such as universities, public research institutions, private schools,
as well as student societies, creative centres, co-working facilities and everyone else who believes in an innovative and
entrepreneurial Slovenia and region.
i) International partners, whose number has now exceeded 50, from all continents and who primarily represent various
global start-up hubs and help us help companies achieve global growth and pursue their global agendas.

5.
www.startup.si
The Initiative Start:up Slovenia in figures
Every year, the results of the Initiative Start:up Slovenia are more and more impressive, primarily because of national,
regional, cross-border and global cooperation. This mainly refers to the cooperation in realising global trends of the smart
specialisation of organizations and designing systematically-linked excellent services for relevant target groups.
Key milestones in 2014:
More detailed statistics can be found at the following website: www.startup.si/infographics.
JointheInitiativeStart:upSlovenia–together,wecancontributetoanevenmoreentrepreneurialSloveniaandAlpe-Adriaregion,as
wellastoabetterandmoredynamicstart-upecosystem.Wecanjoinforcestobuildnewinternationalconnectionsandcontribute
to Slovenia and region assuming its place as a global business and entrepreneurial hub.
More than
320 events
organised all over
Slovenia
More than
9.000 potential
entrepreneurs,
participated in the
events
9.000
More than 400 members
(start-ups with high
potential) we regularly and
actively collaborate
400
More than 500
entrepreneurial
consulting sessions
provided to companies
and entrepreneurial
teams
500
Over 70 people
using the co-working
facilities of the
initiative partners
70
More than 600 people from
more than 10 countries
participated at the regional
international PODIM
conference
10
320

6.
www.startup.si
Key national programmes
Start:up cities, which aim to activate talent in various parts of Slovenia and bring together the local key stakeholders, are an
important part of the main national entrepreneurial development programme of the Initiative Start:up Slovenia. They directly
ensure smart specialisation in line with local characteristics as well as guarantee intense collaboration at a local level.
Start:up Roadshows are also organised in all Start:up cities to present solutions for encouraging entrepreneurship,
improving general motivation and promoting an entrepreneurial mind-set. Based on Start:up cities, the Initiative Start:up
Slovenia and its partners organise three accelerator programmes, one for each company growth phase (addressing the
different challenges of development and growth in each phase):
Development phase Financing Programme
Problem - solution fit
Product - market fit
Getting ready for global growth
SPS P2 EUR 54,000 grant
SPS SK75 EUR 75.000 convertible loan
SPS SK200 + VC EUR 200.000 equity investment
Start:up School Plus
Start:up Geek House
Go:Global Slovenia
Successful entrepreneurial environments are becoming more globally connected and integrated. To this end, as
part of the Start:up Alpe-Adria project, the Initiative Start:up Slovenia is closely linked to Slovenia’s neighbouring countries,
while the international PODIM conference and our membership in associations such as the IASP (International Association of
Science Parks and Areas of Innovation) allows us to enter partnerships with other global entrepreneurial hubs.
We already work with over 50 reputable partners, all of which are listed on the following websites: www.startup.si and
www.podim.org.

7.
www.startup.si
Start:up cities
Entrepreneurial potential can be found in urban locations that offer state-of-the-art infrastructure and educational centres
as well as have a diverse cultural, scientific, art and sports offer. Slovenia boasts with many towns with well educated and
daring talent, as well as rich historic and cultural offerings.
That said, talented and entrepreneurial individuals are more and more demanding and are seeking a top offer comparable to
that provided by other bigger cities all over the world. Start:up cities thus bring together the key local stakeholders who
together design and transparently present top high-quality programmes in their local environments. The Start:up
cities project is based on this philosophy and aims to awaken and involve entrepreneurial talent in national programmes. The
project is already active at the following locations, with new locations joining on a regular basis:
• Start:up Ljubljana - www.startupljubljana.si
• Start:up Maribor - www.startupmaribor.si
• Start:up Ptuj - www.startupptuj.si
• Start:up Velenje - www.startupvelenje.si
• Start:up Nova Gorica - coming soon
• Start:up Murska sobota - coming soon
• Start:up Celje - coming soon
• Start:up Novo Mesto - coming soon
Start:upCelje
Start:upNovaGorica Start:upMurskaSobota
Start:upNovoMesto
Start:upPtuj
Start:upLjubljana Start:upMaribor
Start:upVelenje

8.
www.startup.si
Start:up of the Year and Start:up Schools
Competition Start:up of the Year is a multidimensional national project for encouraging entrepreneurship. First and foremost it
acts as the national competition Start:up of the Year, which is part of a broader national Start:up Slovenia campaign.
The aim of the competition is to motivate talented individuals to launch companies. Every year, the competition recognises
the best entrepreneurial teams, business models and start-ups in Slovenia, gives them professional support, connects them to
investors and promotes them to the general public.
Competition Start:up of the Year with the pre-selection process is also an accelerator for the earliest stages of looking for
the problem-solution fit and works closely with the tender for the start-up grant P2 of the Slovene Enterprise Fund..
This strategic partnership began as early as in 2011 at the initiative of the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology.
In addition, Start:up Schools and Start:up Plus Schools are organised as part of the project, giving participants the opportunity
to gain basic entrepreneurial skills and become a part of the national entrepreneurial community.
For more information on the programme, see the following website: www.startup.si

9.
www.geekhouse.si
The Start:up Geek House – start-up accelerator
The Start:up Geek House accelerator (SGH accelerator) offers access to “smart” capital and state-of-the-art entrepreneurial
(lean start-up) skills to all individuals with innovative ideas and global ambitions. The SGH accelerator offers the following
to companies looking for their “product-market fit”: A convertible loan in the amount of 75,000 EUR through the
SK75 tender of the Slovene Enterprise Fund, participation in SGH Bootcamp (an extensive 3-month educational
programme for acquiring the latest entrepreneurial skills for building lean and agile companies), working with
and learning from top start-up mentors, use of “co-working” facilities, administrative and professional support, media
recognition and promotion both in Slovenia and abroad, and assistance in searching for potential partners and customers
internationally.
In addition to its start-up accelerator, Start:up Geek House also offers “co-working” facilities in Start:up cities all over
Slovenia. Start:up Geek House is a co-working space primarily intended for ambitious, daring, innovative and entrepreneurial
talents with high value added skills who are working on a new venture. Anyone working on their prototype, minimum viable
product (MVP), strategic plan, searching for their first customers or who has even begun operations but does not yet need
their own office, can rent a desk at the Start:up Geek House. The Start:up Geek House is also an ideal solution for freelancers.
See the following website for more information on the SGH accelerator: www.geekhouse.si.
SK75 - 75,000 EUR
SGH Bootcamp
Start:up mentor
Co-working
space

10.
www.goglobal.si
The Go:Global Slovenia start-up accelerator
Most companies encounter difficulties when they come to the stage of global growth. The Go:Global Slovenia start-up
accelerator (GG accelerator) can provide answers to all key challenges posed by the fast growth of start-up companies. This
accelerator provides start-ups that have already found their product-market fit everything necessary for successful
fast global growth. The Go:Global Slovenia start-up accelerator offers everything any company needs to begin its fast
international expansion – from capital to skills and international connections.
The Go:Global Slovenia entrepreneurial accelerator offers 200,000 EUR of public equity investment of the Slovene
Enterprise Fund, an investment preparation programme aimed at attracting global investors as well as a vast
and systematic accompanying educational programme (Go:Global for Growth), where experienced entrepreneurs
from Slovenia and abroad as well as personal start-up mentors help recipients of public funds professionally organise their
companies.
The project includes comprehensive administrative assistance, access to infrastructure all across Slovenia, access to a network
of Slovenian and international investors, and active promotion both in Slovenia and abroad, together with access to various
international global hubs.
Inadditiontoitsentrepreneurialaccelerator,theGo:GlobalSloveniaprogrammealsoorganisesone-on-oneentrepreneurial
mentoring and consultations, as well as meetings and advice concerning joining the best foreign accelerators such
as Seedcamp, Y Combinator, Techstars and Wayra. For more information about the programme, see the following website:
www.goglobal.si
SK200 - 200,000 EUR
Go:GlobalforGrowth
Start:up mentor
Global
connections

11.
www.podim.org
The international PODIM Conference
The international PODIM Conference is one of the largest conferences in the Alpe-Adria region and the leading
Slovenian conference on entrepreneurship, which annually brings together all key stakeholders of the regional start-up
entrepreneurial ecosystem. It is a two-day extensive educational experience which will take place for the 35th time in 2015. In
2014, the conference was attended by over 600 participants from more than 10 countries. At the conference, reputable
foreign and Slovenian guests host a series of roundtables, lectures and workshops, presenting the knowledge for building
new start-up companies from both the scientific as well as practical point of view.
For more information on the conference, see the following website: www.podim.org

12.
www.podim.org
Alastair Teare
Deloitte Central
Europe
Andrea Spiegel
Forbes
Ash Maurya
Running Lean
Cecile Baird
Firestartr in Product
Design Guild
Ciara Byrne
tehnološka novinarka
Gregory Bernarda
Business Model
Generation Team
Jan Habermann
Credo Ventures
Jeff Skinner
London Business
School
Laszo Czirjak
iEurope Capital
Mark Johnson
Zite
Max Gurvits
Teres Capital
Pekka Santeri
Maki
3TS Capital
Oliver Holle
SpeedInvest
Oren Michels
Mashery
Paddy Cosgrave
F.ounders
& Web Summit
Raphael H Cohen
HEC
Rob Fitzpatrick
Founder Centric
Shira Abel
Hunter & Bard
Some of past PODIM Conference speakers
- international entrepreneurial stars

13.
www.startupalpeadria.eu
Start:up Alpe Adria and international collaboration
The Start:up Alpe Adria programme combines the Slovenian entrepreneurial hub with our neighbouring countries,
from the mighty Alps to the warm and cosy Adriatic sea. Exchanging know-how, experience, entering foreign markets,
and forming international teams are all goals of the Start:up Alpe Adria project, which is led by Slovenian as well by Austrian
and Italian key organisations for encouraging entrepreneurship. The main activities of the Start:up Alpe Adria project include
regional start-up weekends, a single promotional platform, common conferences and events and promoting the
region as a global entrepreneurial hub.
In addition to regional connections, the Initiative Start:up Slovenia is also actively involved in forging global connections
with popular entrepreneurial hubs on all continents. Such links allow Slovenian companies to more easily and quickly
enter markets abroad, as well as to attract international talent to Slovenia. Active international collaboration is the key and the
main goal of the future activity and upgrading of the Slovenian start-up ecosystem.
For more information, see www.startupalpeadria.eu

14.
www.startup.si
We are bringing the best together and building
a modern business environment
All educational programmes have one common thread: state-of-the-art entrepreneurial practices under the umbrella
of “lean and agile entrepreneurship” methodologies. Another partner of the Initiative Start:up Slovenia is the initiative
“Delaj Vitko” (Running Lean), which had prepared the Slovenian translation of the global bestseller Running Lean, written
by Ash Maurya, who had also been the keynote speaker at the PODIM2014 conference. The book can be downloaded free
on the following website: www.delajvitko.si. Thus the selection, assessment and training of start-ups takes place in
accordance with the global best practices of Running Lean. In addition, the Hekovnik Institute, CEED, the Startaj.si media
web portal, 30Lean and many other providers of entrepreneurial ecosystem services, are all partners of the Initiative.
These theoretical bases and the lean framework are supplemented by consulting and mentoring provided by over 100
successful Slovenian and international entrepreneurs.
Some of the mentors of the Initiative Start:up Slovenia Programmes

15.
www.startup.si
Become a partner of the Initiative Start:up
Slovenia
Every year, the initiative Start:up Slovenia brings together more and more individuals and organisations that believe
in an entrepreneurial Slovenia and Alpe-Adria region that strongly support talented individuals, technological
development, tolerance and transparency. You are also kindly invited to join us and thus:
Contribute to the improvement and development of Slovenian, regional and global start-up environment
Have access to more than 400 start-up highly promising companies from Slovenia as potential business
partners
Make your name stand out in front of more than 10,000 proactive and ambitious individuals from Slovenia
and the region
Become a partner of one of the largest conferences in the Alpe-Adria region and access new international
connections
Enjoy the ability to co-create the programme and participate at events organised by the Start:up Slovenia
Initiative
Work and create in the midst of entrepreneurial and pervasive people, and much, much more.

16.
www.startup.si
Matej Rus
Venture factory
matej.rus@irp.si
Blaž Kos
Iniciativa Start:up Slovenia
blaz.kos@geekhouse.si
Iztok Lesjak Technology
park Ljubljana
iztok.lesjak@tp-lj.si
More information about the programmes and
contact details
Start:up cities
• Start:up Ljubljana - www.startupljubljana.si
• Start:up Maribor - www.startupmaribor.si
• Start:up Ptuj - www.startupptuj.si
• Start:up Velenje - www.startupvelenje.si
• Start:up Nova Gorica - coming soon
• Start:up Murska sobota - coming soon
• Start:up Celje - coming soon
• Start:up Novo Mesto - coming soon
National programmes
• Start:up Slovenia with the Start:up School - www.startup.si
• The Start:up Geek House accelerator - www.geekhouse.si
• The Go:Global Slovenia accelerator - www.goglobal.si
• The international PODIM conference - www.podim.org
• Start:up Alpe Adria and forging international connections - www.startupalpeadria.eu
Contact details
We are happy to provide additional information, answer your questions or listen to your comments at any time:
The programmes of the leading organisations of the innovative environment are co-financed, connected and promoted by: