In a recent seed funding round, EWOR successfully secured €3.2 million with the goal to establish a European parallel to Y-Combinator (YC). The initiative aims to offer fair terms and valuations, easy access to a network of successful founders, and a practical entrepreneurship education led by serial entrepreneurs.
The accelerator programme is steered by accomplished founders Daniel Dippold, Alexander Grots, and Florian Huber, under the ethos “for founders, by founders”. EWOR aim to provide unparalleled support to Europe’s brightest talents, empowering them to build companies that address real-world challenges. This is achieved through a comprehensive 6- to 10-month educational programme, bolstered by an associated investment vehicle. EWOR’s approach is poised to significantly strengthen the European startup ecosystem.
The financial backing for EWOR is provided by accomplished serial entrepreneurs and recognized figures within the startup landscape, including Paul Müller ($1 billion exit with Adjust), Jens Wasel (KW Commerce, SellerX), Xavier Sarras (with his Impact VC 4P Capital), David Rowan (Founding Editor-in-Chief at WIRED UK), Mirjam Pütz (CEO at Boersenzeitung / WM Group), Felix Haas (Bits & Pretzels, IDNow, 10X Group) and Robert Wuttke (10X Group, Me2).
Daniel Dippold, EWOR’s CEO, stated: “There is no YC in Europe. Many European counterparts have a reputation for tough terms and low valuations for founders, lack authenticity as they’re not run by founders with a track record in building relevant tech companies, and are bureaucratic. If we’re serious about seeing tech companies being created in Europe that can hold their own against those in the US and China, we need to offer terms, authenticity, and flexibility that truly appeal to top-tier entrepreneurial talent.“
EWOR offers a 6- and 10-month Fellowship program for entrepreneurial talents from all over Europe, who receive a practical and intensive education in entrepreneurship, become part of the EWOR community, and can also receive startup funding of up to €150,000. The motto is “Entrepreneurship is like a craft” and not an academic subject and therefore has to involve lots of “learning by doing“. It is “futile to teach entrepreneurship academically”, says their Chief Investment Officer, Florian Huber.
Moreover, EWOR Fellows have access to an extensive network of experienced mentors, advisors, and investors, including many unicorn founders. As part of their acceptance to EWOR, Fellows gain direct access to the calendar Links that allow to book one-on-one consultations with these successful entrepreneurs, eliminating the need for any intermediary. This provides EWOR participants an unparalleled opportunity to engage directly with industry leaders. The content focus of EWOR is on founders in Greentech, Deeptech, AI & Machine Learning, Robotics, Healthtech, and Edtech.
EWOR is looking for builders and sellers: Software developers, scientists, and engineers with an innate ability to build tech products, as well as talents from business and social sciences who show particularly great initiative and visionary charisma.
EWOR’s vision is to empower exceptional entrepreneurial talents to tackle the greatest global challenges in fields such as climate change, energy, artificial intelligence, health, and education with the help of new technologies, with the long-term goal of becoming the most successful European talent investor.
Recent admissions from the last three months include:
Thaleron: An underwater flywheel developed by a team of Oxford graduates and a former NASA engineer, which has the potential to revolutionize the entire energy market.
Finval: An AI developed by a Mathematics professor (PhD Cambridge) that has the potential to completely automate and revolutionize the market for financial evaluations.
Nest Egg: A former finance expert and hedge fund manager who has developed a solution that allows older people to monetize their own property without having to move out of their house or apartment.
Remarkably, some of these startups have already received eight-figure valuations from investors just three to four months after joining the program.
