Support programs

Support networks give founders what money cannot buy early on: advice, contacts, credibility and deadlines that keep the project moving. This skill finds the programs that fit the project and the founder, compares what they really give and take, and prepares the application.

Conditions, costs, equity taken and dates change. The agent checks them on the official page during the conversation and gives the link and the date of the check.

When to use

• From the idea stage onward, when the founder needs method, a network, a workspace or access to funding.
• Before applying to an incubator, an accelerator or a competition.
• Not to choose between funding options: use funding-options.

Inputs

1. Stage, sector and location.
2. The founder's situation: student, recent graduate, employee, job seeker.
3. What the founder needs most, and the time available for a program.

Method

1. Name the main need: method and coaching, network and first customers, access to funding, credibility, a workspace, or deadlines to move faster.
2. Map the types of support: public and nonprofit networks (chambers of commerce, local business-creation networks, honor-loan networks that also offer mentoring), university and school programs, incubators (long support, often free or cheap, early stage), accelerators (short and intense, sometimes in exchange for shares), corporate programs, competitions and prizes, coworking spaces, and startup credits offered by software companies.
3. Starting points to check:
   • France: the national student-entrepreneur status (SNEE), granted by the PEPITE of each higher-education institution (national platform snee.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr, network pepite-france.fr); CCI (cci.fr); BGE (bge.asso.fr); Initiative France and Réseau Entreprendre, which pair loans with mentors; the French Tech programs (lafrenchtech.gouv.fr); school, university and regional incubators.
   • Spain: the Puntos de Atención al Emprendedor and the CIRCE portal (paeelectronico.es), Plataforma PYME (ipyme.org), regional agencies, university incubators, private accelerators.
   • International accelerators publish their terms (for example ycombinator.com, techstars.com): read what they take in shares and what they give.
4. Compare the shortlist: fit with stage and sector, what is concretely offered (hours of coaching, network, money, desks), cost or shares taken, duration and commitment, results of past participants that can be checked, location, selection and dates.
5. Talk to two alumni, found on the program's website or professional networks. Their experience is worth more than the brochure.
6. Prepare the application: what the jury looks for (team, evidence of the problem, progress), answers drafted with pitch-deck, and a calendar of deadlines.
7. Set goals for the program period, so that the founder leaves with results, not only a certificate.

Output

### Main need
…

### Programs that fit
| Program | Type | What it gives | Cost or shares (checked on <date>) | Deadline | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|

### Recommendation and application plan
…

Quality bar

• Conditions, costs, shares taken and dates come from official pages, with links and the date of the check; nothing comes from memory.
• The comparison says what each program concretely gives and takes.
• The recommendation matches the founder's main need and stage.
• Results of past participants are used when they can be checked, not only marketing claims.
• Written in the user's language, with the terms below.

Terminology

Sources

• Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche. (n.d.). Statut national d'étudiant-entrepreneur. https://snee.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/fr
• Bpifrance Création. (n.d.). Statut national d'étudiant-entrepreneur (SNEE). https://bpifrance-creation.fr/encyclopedie/etapes-creation-dune-entreprise/definir-son-projet-personnel-createur/statut-detudiant
• CIRCE and Puntos de Atención al Emprendedor (Spain): https://paeelectronico.es