1.FC KÖLN HYPE SPIN® Accelerator
Pave the road to championship!
1.FC Koln opens up its ecosystem and network to help entrepreneurs to shape the future of our sports industry
ABOUT 1.FC KOLN
With more than 101,000 members 1. FC Köln is the fourth largest football club in Germany. Shortly after its founding in 1948, 1. FC Köln became known for being a pioneer in the professionalization of football. First club president Franz Kremer was one of the instrumental figures in the inception of the Bundesliga.
To this day, innovation is a core value of the three-time German Champion and four-time German Cup Champion. The club has regularly been one of the first football clubs to adopt new technologies, for instance VR or digital payments, and its sophisticated use of social media has been award-winning.
SCHEDULE
17/6/2019
Applications Open
Submit your application
30/8/2019
Applications Close
24-26/9/2019
Bootcamp
Up to 25 startups will participate in a 3 day Bootcamp, where they pitch in front of the selection committee
1/10/2019
Program Kickoff
Up to 12 startups will be selected to take part in the SPIN Accelerator
12-13/12/2019
Mid-program onsite event
29-30/1/2020
Demo Day
Pitch your startup before a crowd of global sports brands, clubs and investors
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
3-month intensive program
Pitch to top industry figures
Speak to global sports brands
Gain valuable mentorship
Virtual Coffee with top execs
Expo at pertinent events
Research infrastructure access
Boost your credibility
Access the HYPE Alumni Program
1.FC Köln Mentors
Alexander Wehrle
Philipp Liesenfeld
Bernd Wahler
Tim Schumacher
Oliver Thylmann
Thomas Grota
Ruth Cremer
Prof. Dr. Sascha L. Schmidt
Philipp Klotz
Peter Rost
Kai Bühler
Jörg Binnenbrücker
Alexander Müller
Christoph Berger
FAQ
Didn’t find the answer you were looking for?
Email us at zvika@hypesportinnovation.com
and we’ll get back to you shortly!
Absolutely. Applications are welcome from outside the hosting region and country. If you see yourself as high potential company in the areas of sports-innovation, do apply. Some of our programs may offer travel and support assistance as well.
We are looking for sports innovation companies with the highest potential for growth and return on investment. Selected startups cover a wide range of sectors, product stages and sizes. Whilst significant revenue is a strong validation of your business model, we still value other metrics to assess your growth potential.
We are excited about working with founders who are really passionate about solving a big problem and have taken the first steps to building something that customers find valuable. While we have found that teams with multiple co-founders are able to dramatically improve their positioning and offering following the program, we do occasionally invest in single founders. Typically a single founder has a product with customer traction and is actively seeking a co-founder, which is something we can also help you with.
We are looking to identify great founders who are proposing products that solve real problems or create meaningful innovations. We rate applications mainly according to your market segment and potentials, quality of founders and teams, revenue model and a technical assessment.
The duration of the accelerator program is 3 month, including the Bootcamp period. In some of our programs, after this period, few teams may be invited to stay in the accelerator premises and will enjoy our facilities and networking for an extended duration.
While SPIN Accelerator is a major commitment, we do not require that you be primarily based onsite during the entire program. The program is made up of components of onsite and virtual support. In most programs, we expect up to 4 onsite visits will be required for the Bootcamp, Program kickoff, mid-program reality checks and the Demo Day. All other activities, seminars and mentoring will be supported virtually.
In most programs, co-working space for the program duration (within certain team size constraints) will be available.
We typically don’t directly provide accommodation as part of the program. However, we do provide in-depth support to help you find accommodation so the moving process as painless as possible.
Didn’t find the answer you were looking for?
Email us at zvika@hypesportinnovation.com
and we’ll get back to you shortly!
Apply Here
This process might take a few minutes. You will be asked to upload your pitch deck so please prepare it in advance.
In order for us to be able to properly evaluate your eligibility to the HYPE SPIN® Accelerator program, we kindly ask that you complete all of the following questions as accurately as possible.
