Tech Incubator
Your idea is ready for execution?
Let's find paying customers, build a team & collect funding.
In our incubation program, we push you to talk to customers and do your homework to get ready for investment.
Apply by 31 July 2026
No program fee
No equity taken
Who is it for?
boOst Incubator is built for pre-seed teams ready to go all in.
- Founded teams looking to dive deep into their market
- EXIST & M3 Masterclass teams preparing for their first funding round
- Committed teams with an MVP or research background
- Startups building their core team and searching for their first investor
Focus industries
🔬Optics & Photonics
- laser tech, imaging & optical systems
- access to optical labs & technical mentoring
- leverage the region’s photonics expertise
🧬BioTech / Life Sciences
- from research to market-ready product
- access to lab infrastructure & biotech mentoring
- connect with life science investors
🔧Hardware, Semicon, Sensors & Robotics
- microelectronics
- mentoring from semicon professionals
- expand your professional network
💻Software, AI / ML
- get access to AI infrastructure
- expand your professional network
🧪New Materials
- work on material properties & manufacturing
- push research projects into products
- use laboratory facilities
- expand your professional network
About
Once you have identified a business idea, let’s focus on product-market fit. Put aside pizza & beer and let’s get serious.
Our 3 month incubator helps you to focus on revenue, find paying customers to build your product and understand your target market.
Together with partners from the industry and entrepreneurs, we provide a high paced environment for feedback, constant coaching and iteration.
Learn what it means to be a founder, understand how to build an investable business, become part of the network and get ready to pitch on stage.
What you can expect
- Clear structure and weekly progress
- Expert input on market, customers, product, IP, and funding
- 1:1 coaching by experienced founders
- Work on real tasks, not just theory
- Pitches with feedback (“Q, no A”)
- Access to network partners in Saxony & Thuringia and VC contacts
But beware: You will pivot. Sometimes twice. Your team might change. And that’s fine. You will raise money. Because why not?
Good to know: The Tech Incubator is free of charge and boOst does not take equity. Applications are open until 31 July 2026.
Participating teams will go through startup training, have mastered methods of agile management, user-centered development and prototyping and are accompanied by experienced coaches.
Every Friday, participants present their progress in front of peers working from all locations. The programm ends with a Demo Day inviting industry experts and early stage investors to facilitate pre-seed funding.
From
business idea
to investor readyness
Timeline
Application deadline: 31 July 2026
| 1 | 28. – 30. Aug | Erfurt | Kick-Off Camp |
| 2 | 4. Sep | Leipzig | How to talk to and interview Customers |
| 3 | 11. Sep | Leipzig | What Fundraising do I need? |
| 4 | 18. Sep | Dresden | Deep Law & IP |
| 5 | 25. Sep | Leipzig | Finance 101 / Business Strategy / Ops |
| 6 | 2. Oct | Leipzig | Pitch-Storytelling |
| 7 | 9. Oct | Chemnitz | Mid-Program Pitch |
| 8 | 23. Oct | Jena | Go-To-Market |
| 9 | 30. Oct | Dresden | Team, Hiring & Execution |
| 10 | 6. Nov | Dresden | OKR-Review & What comes after the Incubator? |
| 11 | 13. Nov | Dresden | Qualification Pitch |
| 12 | 27. Nov | Dresden | Demo Day – Ecosystem Day |
The first step: knowing where you want to go
At the Kick-Off, every team defines their own goals for the program — milestones that will be revisited throughout the 12 weeks, in sessions, workshops and with their accompanying coaches. These goals don’t just guide the journey through the incubator, but lay the foundation for the startup’s direction long after the program ends.
More Information
If you have any further questions, please contact:
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