It was December 2020 when we first wrote about Astra Incubator which would launch its operations in the first quarter of 2021 with its first batch that was born in partnership with Berkeley StEP, the incubation program of the University of Berkeley. Since its inception, the primary objective of the incubator has been to connect aspiring innovators, coming from the main Italian universities and with the most diverse backgrounds, with the aim of forming teams with complementary skills that can give life to successful startups.
The first three editions of Astra collected more than 800 applications from all over Italy, incubated 35 startups and involved more than 40 partners, mentors and speakers as well as organizing three in-person showcase days in Milan.
Among the startups that have stood out, starting from our incubation program, the following deserve a mention: Pickeat , an ordering app for stadiums and live events; DootBox, all the cars you want via subscription that won the Startup generation award, at the Automotive dealer day; Appcycled , a European marketplace for upcycle products related to fashion and lifestyle, Ad-hoc Atelier, a marketplace of handicrafts made in Italy that was recently acquired by Italian Artisan and Weply, a second-hand marketplace for sports equipment.
The Fourth Batch
Astra incubator is a fully remote program that is compatible with participants’ full-time commitments . Astra provides the selected teams with its own e-learning platform optimized for managing milestones, sharing material (20+ hours of videos and proprietary Astra content), monitoring progress, and connecting with potential candidates ready to join the team. For Batch IV, Astra incubator plans to launch its proprietary matching algorithm, which will allow individuals to apply without a specific business idea and be associated with startups that are looking for profiles compatible with their skills and verticals of interest.
Applications for the new batch will close on April 21, 2024. The program will take place from April 27, 2024 to June 29, 2024, the date on which the fourth showcase day will take place, the event reserved for participants during which all teams will have the opportunity to present in front of an audience of investors from the Italian innovative ecosystem. The goal is to select 10 startups and all of them will have access not only to the materials, but also to the dedicated coaching process for one hour a week, and to the pool of mentors.
Francesco Dipierro, founder and director of Astra incubator tells Startupbusiness: “From the beginning, the goal of Astra incubator has been to stimulate the birth of startups within universities, helping young people with great skills but not supported in any way in the process of customer discovery and validation by traditional incubation paths, often focused on startups that have already reached the very first stages of validation. In addition, Astra has never had any bias towards specific academic paths, welcoming among its ranks participants from the most disparate backgrounds, from economics and engineering to literature and law. Our ambition is to create the largest incubator of university startups in Italy, leveraging the participation of students and the main student organizations in the selection and management of the program, supporting not only aspiring entrepreneurs but also candidates interested in developing skills that can be used in specific professional areas such as, for example, venture capital”.
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