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A few weeks ago, something we’ve been building for a long time finally became real.

The first Vest Ventures cohort is officially live. After going through close to 100 applications, we selected 9 startups to join a 14-week acceleration program designed to help them move faster, think bigger and get ready for investment. 

Over the course of the program, we get to know each team up close, how they build, how they make decisions and how they handle growth, which helps us shape potential investment decisions.

The accelerator is part of a broader €16.5M fund aimed at supporting early-stage founders with more than just capital.

This cohort brings together a genuinely diverse group of founders. Some come from deep technical backgrounds, others have reinvented themselves mid-career and many have simply learned by building, failing and trying again.

Behind each startup is a different life story. You’ll find people with PhDs, people who changed paths completely to follow something new and people who’ve carried a vision with them since they were kids, like a former chess world champion, who learned early what focus and discipline really mean.

There’s no single profile that defines a founder here. Just curiosity, drive and the courage to start.

Meet the 9 startups

The cohort covers a pretty wide spectrum, from medtech and deep tech to logistics and enterprise software. Each team is solving a real problem, with a clear path to scale:

Revelio Medical – A preventive health app leveraging lifestyle data and gamification to drive behavioral change
Ixaria – Helping European furniture manufacturers increase online sales through trust-driven digital experiences
Data Sweep – Automating data cleaning and organization for companies handling large datasets
Elvo – A B2B platform for managing electric vehicle charging networks (CPMS)
Fiora5 – A deep tech company building energy-efficient CPU architectures for IoT, automotive, and defense
Caut Curier – Developing Europe’s first “elastic” same-day delivery infrastructure, including SafeDrop secure delivery
WakeZ – A medtech startup using sleep as a biomarker for depression, combining wearables, AI, and haptic stimuli
Harmonia Technologies – Develops and markets innovative fertilization solutions, offering efficient fertilizers to support plant growth and health.
Outpost Chess – A platform merging chess education with advanced game analysis

​​Different industries, different approaches, but one thing in common: they’re all built with scale in mind.

Learning from people who’ve done it before

One of the biggest advantages founders get in the program is access to people who’ve already been through this journey, and not just once.

Mentors like Cristobal Alonso ( known as El Patron, one of Europe’s most active early-stage investors), Gilles De Clerck (known for scaling B2B SaaS companies), Karina Lapina (working closely with early-stage founders across Europe), Zane Bojare (helping startups refine positioning and traction), Stoyan Yankov (working with founders and high-performing teams), Petra Wolkenstein (with decades of experience in innovation programs), and Dan Renwick (business and pitch coach, helping people communicate clearly, concisely and charismatically, whether they’re pitching a startup, leading a room, or building a sustainable career in the performing arts) are working directly with the teams.

They bring with them experience from scaling companies, supporting founders hands-on and being involved in hundreds of early-stage investment decisions.

14 weeks that move fast

The program is intense by design.

Workshops, 1:1 sessions, sprints, constant feedback loops. Everything is built to help founders make progress week by week and not just accumulate information.

We kicked things off in Timișoara with our next stop in Tallinn, where the teams will be part of Latitude59, one of the most relevant tech conferences in the region. 

It’s a great context to meet investors, connect with other founders and start opening doors internationally.

We’ll wrap everything up on July 3rd, back in Timișoara, with a Demo Day where each team will present what they’ve built and where they’re heading next. 

What we’re building, step by step

This is just the first cohort. We’re planning four cohorts over the next two years, and we’re playing the long game here: helping shape a strong pipeline of startups coming out of the region and connecting them to the right people, capital, and opportunities. 

The energy so far has been exactly what we hoped for: focused, honest and driven. And did we mention ambitious?

Thinking about applying?

If you’re building something and it feels like you’re ready to move faster, we’re always open to meeting new founders.
Applications are open on a rolling basis, and we’re happy to start conversations early, even if you’re still figuring things out.

You can reach out to us anytime about the next cohort at hello@vestventures.vc
We’ll take it from there.