Riga TechGirls pre-acceleration program SPRING UP - your journey to become investable starts here!

applications closed

SPRING UP has been designed to empower early-stage startups led by diverse teams with at least one female founder.

By fostering a supportive environment, building community, and providing tailored mentorship, expert guidance, and resources,
we aim to help you develop your products and gain the know-how, insights, and skills that are needed to make your startup investable.

The need for more diversity within the startup ecosystem has been a persistent issue. Just 25% of startups in Latvia have at least one female shareholder and only 6.3% of them have an all-female founding team, globally this number is a bit higher, but not high – 15%. Also, just 10% of all VC capital in Europe is raised by mixed teams and only 1.8% – by all-female-led ventures.

Underrepresented founders, especially those with female leadership, face numerous barriers that hinder their access to mentorship, resources, and investment opportunities. This program addresses the need for an equitable and supportive platform that empowers these founders to turn their startup ideas into successful ventures.

The program is free of charge and equity-free, consists of 3 phases, and will happen in a hybrid format from November 5, 2024 until June 19, 2025.

CURRICULUM: practical and hands-on 6-week-long hybrid module where founders will gain insights into critical startup topics through workshops, seminars, and educational sessions led by industry experts and investors.

MENTORSHIP: individual one-on-one 6-month-long guidance from experienced mentors who understand the challenges faced by early-stage founders.

PROTOTYPING: Hands-on 6-month-long prototyping and development phase where startups bring their ideas to life with expert guidance and an option to collaborate with Riga TechGirls Mentorship programs’ mentees.

Applications open

25.09. – 13.10.

Evaluation and
Interviews

14.10. – 20.10.

Program
Kick-off

05.11.

Curriculum phase:
Workshops, Seminars,
Practical tasks

nov – dec 2024

Mentorship Program and
developing
your Prototype

jan – jun 2025

Women in Tech
hackathon 2025

28.02. – 02.03.

Graduation of the program and Demo Day

19.06.2025

Tailored curriculum and practical, skill-building workshops

Through hands-on learning, we’ll share practical tips and methodologies to tackle key challenges for any early-stage startup founder.

Networking and comprehensive mentorship

We bring together a community of local startup ecosystem representatives, venture capitalists, and experienced startup founders to connect and empower founders. Participating startups will be enrolled in Riga TechGirls Mentorship Program and paired with mentors whose expertise aligns with their specific needs and challenges. Through regular one-on-one sessions, founders will receive personalized guidance and insights to fuel their growth.

Access to Investors

Throughout the program, startups will have opportunities to connect with a wide range of investors, including angel investors, venture capitalists, and impact investors. We facilitate networking events, pitch sessions, and investor meetups to bridge the gap between startups and potential backers.

Peer-to-Peer Learning

We believe that collaboration is essential for startup success. Our acceleration program fosters a collaborative learning environment where founders can exchange ideas, share experiences, and learn from each other’s journeys. Regular group sessions and peer-to-peer support create a strong sense of community within the cohort.

Team up with tech enthusiasts

As a part of the prototype building phase, we provide startups with an opportunity to onboard Riga TechGirls Mentorship program’s “Tech Mentor” mentees for mutually beneficial collaboration – founders can get technical support while building the prototype, and mentees can gain real-life practical experience.

Demo Days

During the program’s journey, participating startups will showcase their progress and growth during internal presentation events and the final Demo Day in March. These events will provide a platform for founders to pitch their products to a curated audience of investors, industry experts, and potential partners.

The program is looking for early-stage startups, fulfilling the following criteria:

Latvia-based startup with at least one woman founder;
Building an innovative and scalable tech product or service;
Have a validated idea, developed prototype and a strong understanding of the needed MVP;
Fully committed to the entire duration of the program (minimum of 8 hours per week);
Business English knowledge (the program will be conducted fully in English);
Demonstrating traction in terms of users and/or revenue, is not mandatory but will be considered a plus!

applications closed

▸ Applications are open until October 13, 2024
▸ Evaluation of applications from October 14 until October 20, 2024.
▸ Selected applicants will be invited for an interview with the Evaluation committee.
▸ All applicants will receive the Evaluation committee decision by October 22, 2024.

Previous experience of Batch #1 '23/24:

teams enrolled in more than 15 verticals

of participants feel more confident about their business idea than when they started the program

0 %

Testimonials from participants

“Helping to move project, oportunity to check in with peers, see our own and others progress, also presentation days have been very valuable for us”

“The whole learning process is super valuable. I really am getting everything I wanted to learn about building startups and attracting funding.”

“Knowledge, meeting investors, networking with professionals in different fields, Our team, and their vision that complements the development of the startup”

Alise gurenko

Alise is co-creator and Startup Program Director at Riga TechGirls. She’s an experienced Manager with a demonstrated history of working with Startups, Culture, Events and Marketing projects since 2010. Skilled in planning, communication, partnerships, and community building.
Leading the Female Founder Lunch initiative and supporting future founders programs.
Alise holds a degree in Communication and M.A. focusing on Business, Culture, and Creative Industries management.

Elvīra Zaltāne

Elvīra is a COO and Project Director at Riga TechGirls with a startup founder background, having experience in business development and international expansion. Forbes 30 under 30. She has founded Legally, helping over 150+ clients in the Baltics, worked with start-ups such as Hugo.legal (EE) and Deepopinion.ai (AU, Sequoia top 10 leader). She is also a co-founder of Legal Hackers Riga and Affire, a cybersecurity B2B SaaS startup focused on MSPs. Elvīra holds both an LLM and LLB in Diplomacy & EU, as well as International Law.

Anna Andersone

Anna is the CEO, mentor, and program creator at Riga TechGirls. Anna has been actively involved in the development of the Latvian start-up ecosystem for more than 10 years, co-founding design technology start-ups berta.me and FROONT, actively working on the board of TechHub Riga, and creating THE MILL, a co-creation space for programmers and designers. She is also an active advocate for women’s empowerment and gender equality.

This program is created
with the support of
Riga City Council