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Supporting business ideas to make Lucca and Pisa better cities for all

Join the IN-HABIT Lucca Incubation Program either as an entrepreneur or volunteer mentor and become part of the creation of inclusive health and wellbeing in Lucca and Pisa.

Apply to join the program

What is the IN-HABIT Lucca Incubation Program?

IN-HABIT is an EU Horizon 2020 project that aims to foster inclusive health and wellbeing in four small and medium-sized cities such as Lucca and Pisa, as well as Córdoba (Spain), Riga (Latvia), and Nitra (Slovakia).

IN-HABIT Lucca will foster the human-animal relationships, making it the first Hum-An smart city in Europe. The project will improve the quality of urban life by better mobilising existing animal resources towards a social innovation process, based on transition management methods and intergenerational open participation of citizens.  Animal Lines (animal paths such as cyclepaths) will be accessible to all in order to reconnect the historic center, the Ancient Walls and the surrounding green areas.

To do so, we are looking for 8 early-stage innovative business ideas that can add value to this vision and that can benefit from our 4-month online incubation program. These social entrepreneurs will further develop the viability of their idea, following a clear structure and getting weekly support from a volunteer mentor and incubation team who will guide them in the process.

All entrepreneurs will be paired with volunteer mentors to get the support they need in creating sustainable businesses that generate a positive impact in Lucca and Pisa. After the completion of the program, you will be able to download an executive summary of your business plan and use it to present it to potential investors or new co-founders.

Why should you participate?

As an entrepreneur
As a mentor
Proven methodology

You will learn by doing with an approach inspired by MIT's Disciplined Entrepreneurship. More than 2900 entrepreneurs from 120+ countries have already gone through our methodology! 

Mentorship guidance

You will work closely with a mentor who will guide you throughout the length of the program. Have weekly video sessions where you will review their work, get feedback, and resolve any questions.

Global Network

You will connect with the rest of the program participants, a community of peer entrepreneurs working in your city towards the same goals as you. Connect with them throughout the different program sessions to share resources and tackle challenges together.

Your own executive summary

Founders will work on their business step by step while generating a validated business plan and executive summary. You will be able to download a PDF version to later present it in front of investors, other co-founders, etc.

Anytime, Anywhere

Collaborate from anywhere at any time through our online platform; no barriers, limits, or excuses; just an internet connection!

Exclusive perks

Access to expert masterclasses + more than 30K in discounts on HubSpot, Amazon WS, Google Suite, MailJet, IBM…

Pitch your business

At the end of the program, you will join our pitch competition during the final Demo Day with relevant stakeholders from the ecosystem.

Do you have a business idea?

Check the requirements for entrepreneurs

  • Your business is operating/will operate in the region of Lucca or Pisa and you are interested in creating an impact on your community
  • You have a business idea to materialize, a recently launched product, or a running early-stage business
  • Your business has an impact in the following sectors: Animals, Human-animal smart cities, Animal lines, Recreational spaces, Cultural activities and pet-friendly tourism, Human-animal tourism, Wellness, Health, Nature conservation, Behavioural medicine , Animal welfare
, Greenery of existing infrastructures, nature-based solutionis to increase climate change resilience and address air pollution, interactive renewable art lightning solutions
  • You are a founder with passion and willing to dedicate 8 hours/week for 4 months
  • You have access to a computer or tablet and a reliable and stable internet connection (the whole program will be online)

Please note that people with protected characteristics under the Equality Act (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage, and domestic partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation) will be given priority.

Do you think your business fits in this call but is not listed here? Apply and let us know why.

Apply as an entrepreneur

Do you want to support entrepreneurs?

Check the requirements for mentors

  • You have a minimum 3 to 5 years of professional experience
  • You are fluent in Italian (English will be a plus too!)
  • You have personal experience as a manager, entrepreneur, mentor, coach, business professional or in any of the targeted business areas for this program
  • You are motivated to support early-stage entrepreneurs that are looking to secure a sustainable business in Lucca and Pisa
  • You are committed to dedicate 1h30/week to the program during 4 months and have a reliable internet connection (all the program will be online)
  • You are interested in working with Diversity, Inclusion and Equality and demonstrate empathy, tolerance and dedication
  • Have local ecosystem knowledge (not mandatory)
Apply as a mentor

Apply before the date!

Days
Hours
Minutes

Sunday, February 19th 2023​

Join the program now!

You can learn more about the program by attending our info sessions on

January 4th, 5-6.30 pm
January 10th 5-6.30 pm
January 26th, 5-6.30 pm

Timeline

01
01

Apply to the program

Until February 19th, 2023

Tell us more about you and your business idea (for entrepreneurs) or your professional experience (for mentors) by applying below. Our team will assess all applications and select the profiles of entrepreneurs and mentors that have the best fit with the program.

Apply now >

02
02

Announcement of selected candidates

Wednesday, February 22nd 2023

We will review all the applications and we will select the entrepreneurs and mentors to participate in the IN-HABIT Lucca Incubation Program.

03
03

Attend to the onboarding session

Late February, 2023

If selected, we will invite you to participate in an informative session to welcome you to the incubation program. In this session, we will cover the role of program participants, what the relationship between mentors and projects will be like, the use of the Bridge for Billions incubation platform, and much more!

04
04

Mentors and Entrepreneurs Matching

First weeks of march

Take part in our matching process! Entrepreneurs and mentors will have the possibility to meet in different virtual sessions of their choice. Once you have been able to meet different profiles, both will send their preferences to let us know who they want to work with and make the best teams.

05
05

Online Incubation Programme

From March to July 2023

Start the online incubation experience with mentoring sessions, work tools, and structured development.

  • Entrepreneurs and mentors will have 4 months to complete the incubation cycle and develop their validated business plan.
  • Entrepreneurs will cover the most important parts of their business (from refining the value proposition to generating a clear growth plan).
  • Mentors will meet weekly with their entrepreneurs in one-on-one sessions to go through the 8 business modules.
  • Ventures will finish the program by developing a business plan and executive summary ready to present to investors, for example.
  • After completing the program, finalist ventures will be invited to an in-person pitch session so they can present their projects on our final Demo Day (more details will be shared throughout the program).

Learn how you can be part of our program to support entrepreneurs in Lucca and join our online info session. Leave us your details and our Program manager will contact you.

What is IN-HABIT?

IN-HABIT is an EU Horizon 2020 project that aims to foster inclusive health and well-being (IHW) in four peripheral small and medium-sized cities (SMSCs): Córdoba (Spain), Riga (Latvia), Lucca (Italy), and Nitra (Slovakia).

In each city, the project will mobilize existing undervalued resources (culture, food, human-animal bonds, and environment) to increase IHW, with a focus on gender, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The integrated approach will combine technological, digital, nature-based, cultural, and social innovations in selected urban public spaces. These solutions will be co-designed, co-deployed, and co-managed with and by local stakeholders.

Know more about IN-HABIT

Project Coordinator

Partners

The best methodology

Our 4-month entrepreneurship program is divided into 8 business modules which allow entrepreneurs to go step-by-step from business idea to market in a short period of time, at the same time allow mentors to follow up on any advancement they make.

Far from theory, our pedagogy pushes participants to formulate their ideas and answer the tough questions. It invites them to “get out there”, talk to people, research, and validate their ideas. Mentor will be there for the participants every week, supporting, challenging assumptions, and offering a fresh perspective.

At the end of the program, you will not only have a business plan to present to potential investors or new co-founders and team, but you will have total peace of mind that you are building a business validated by your potential clients.

Questions about the programme?

For entrepreneurs

The more time you are able to dedicate, the better the results. We have structured the program so that you can complete all the activities in 6-8 hours a week, including a one-hour video call with your mentor and participation in the different sessions, this is your program.

Also, remember that you will have to commit to dedicating at least 6 hours a week for the duration of the program (4 months) and that there will also be online sessions where you will meet with the other program participants to share challenges and learning.

Any! This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 869227.

We recommend you have a laptop or desktop computer and preferably one of these browsers: Google Chrome, Safari, or Firefox. Even so, our platform also adapts to cell phones.

Also, we hope that you have a stable and reliable internet connection both for your weekly review on the platform and to participate in calls with your mentor by video call.

Your mentor will act as your guide throughout the program. Week after week, it will help you validate your strategy and design your growth plan. Mentors support you within the platform and meet with you once a week (usually via video calls) to validate your progress.

Of course! Our program is made to collaborate with your entire team. You can easily invite your teammates to join your project and seamlessly collaborate on its development.

You can work at the same time as a teammate, but please note, however, that our platform does not allow live collaboration like with Google Docs (you will only see a teammate’s edits after you refresh the page and you must have to be careful not to “override” the others’ entries.)

We hope our reputation speaks for itself on this topic! We treat your application and program data as confidential information. They are protected by our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, and your mentor will also sign a Mentor Agreement that includes a confidentiality clause.

For mentors

During the duration of the program, you will have to meet once a week with your entrepreneur to hold mentoring meetings for 1 hour. On top of that, we recommend always spending at least an extra 30 minutes reviewing and validating progress on the platform, and coming to meetings prepared.

You must be able to use a laptop or desktop computer (not a tablet or mobile phone) and preferably one of these browsers: Google Chrome, Safari, or Firefox. We hope that you have a powerful and reliable Internet connection both for your weekly review on the platform and to participate in calls with your entrepreneur via videoconference.

As a mentor, you will have a positive impact on someone’s life. You will meet and connect with students with innovative ideas and develop your mentoring skills, exposing yourself to the latest innovation and entrepreneurship methodologies while helping a start-up company grow.

Yes. However, we ask that you be realistic with your time commitment. We don’t want anyone to overcommit or set expectations that they won’t be able to meet due to lack of time.

To facilitate the process of matching between mentors and mentees, or as we call it “matching”, we have created the process of “organic matching”.

In this way, you will have the opportunity to meet the different participating projects, invite them to a «Virtual Coffee» to learn about the ideas in detail, and then both parties can decide if they want to work together or not. In this way, we ensure that we create solid and lasting mentoring relationships.

No, all mentors in this program are volunteers.

Your role as a mentor will be to guide your entrepreneurs throughout the process. Using the online tools as a guide, you will help your entrepreneurs validate their strategies throughout the program and support them throughout the meeting online once a week. 

At the end of the program, you will receive a certificate of participation.

Read more FAQ

Can’t find your question here?

Contact Bianca Breveglieri, Incubation Manager of the IN-HABIT Incubation Program, if you have any questions.

Send her an email

This program has been built by

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 869227

For more information, please visit our website
Apply to join the program
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