GoBeyond Lab 2026 - Program Regulation

INTRODUCTION

GoBeyond Lab (hereinafter the “Program”) is a pre-acceleration initiative promoted by Sisal S.p.A.,
part of Flutter Southern Europe and Africa (Flutter SEA), in collaboration with Founder Institute.
The Program is part of the GoBeyond platform and aims to support aspiring founders and early-
stage innovators in progressing from idea to prototype (MVP) and toward company incorporation,
contributing to a structured innovation pipeline across Italy, Türkiye, and Morocco.

1. RECIPIENTS

The Program is open exclusively to individual applicants, or teams not yet incorporated as a legal
entity. Teams of 2–3 members with complementary skills are strongly encouraged, as team-based
applications typically demonstrate higher completion rates and broader execution capacity. The
organizers do not provide team-matching services; applicants are expected to form their own
teams before submission.

Applicants must:

• be at least 18 years old

• have at least one team member resident in Italy, Türkiye, or Morocco

• be able to participate in English.

The following are not eligible: incorporated companies/startups with an existing legal entity;
employees, collaborators, and consultants of Sisal, Flutter Group companies, and Program
partners.

2. ELIGIBILITY OF PROJECTS

Projects must:

• present an innovative idea or solution

• address a clearly identifiable problem

• demonstrate potential for scalability

• be developed in compliance with intellectual property laws.

Applications should be aligned with at least one of the following innovation themes:

• AI-Native B2B Products: AI for enterprise solutions, predictive analytics, customer

experience, regulated industries
• GreenTech and Circular Economy: sustainability solutions, energy management, carbon
accounting, circular business models
• Gaming and Fan Experiences: gaming technologies, fan engagement platforms,
interactive content, sports entertainment.

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3. APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Applications must be submitted through the Founder Institute platform

([Link] within May 31st 2026.

Applicants are required to:

• complete the application form

• complete Founder Institute’s DNA Assessment1, a scientifically validated psychometric tool

developed by Founder Institute over 15 years of research, refined across tens of thousands
of founder applications worldwide.

Both steps are mandatory: incomplete applications will not be processed.

4. PROGRAM STRUCTURE AND TIMELINE

4.1 Program phases & Timeline

Phase Timing What Happens

Application period 6 May – 31 May Rolling applications, founder assessment

Selection 1 June – 5 June Evaluation + shortlist

Pre-acceleration 8 June – 31 July 8-week program: workshops, coaching, mentorship

program
Demo Day Mid-September Live final event with jury and pitch presentations

4.2 Program Delivery

The 8-week Pre-acceleration Program follows a structured progression from problem validation to
MVP and pitch. It is delivered through a blended model combining:

• weekly live online workshops (approx. 90 minutes each) led by Founder Institute experts
• team coaching sessions with a dedicated Innovation Coach;
• structured office hours with the GoBeyond Mentor network;
• practical weekly assignments and milestone-based evaluation through a gamified point
system.

1 The Assessment evaluates traits associated with founder performance including drive, resilience,
adaptability, openness, and fluid intelligence. The Assessment is not used to identify a single "ideal" founder
profile, rather it is used as a baseline measurement and development tool: it helps identify each applicant's
individual strengths and areas for growth, informing the coaching and personalized support provided during
the Program. Each applicant will receive a confidential personal report, shared exclusively with the applicant
and used only for the purposes of the Program's selection, coaching and development support.

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4.3 Program Content

The Program follows an 8-week structured learning path based on the Founder Institute Ideation
Bootcamp.

Core modules include:

• (Week 1) Onboarding & Ideation: overview of the program learning tools and rapid
ideation
• (Week 2) Market Opportunity (part 1): problem statement development and customer
archetype
• (Week 3) Market Opportunity (part 2): market sizing (TAM/SAM/SOM), competitive
analysis, and business model design
• (Week 4) Customer Validation (part 1): structured customer interviews, validation cycles,
and refinement of assumptions
• (Week 5) Customer Validation (part 2): interviews analysis and problem/customer/product
refinement based on insights
• (Week 6) Business Model & MVP Scope: business model development, revenue streams
and unit economics
• Validation Pitch: problem statement, one-sentence pitch, GTM for the first 100 customers
• Startup Idea Feedback + Demo Day Prep: preparation of an investor-ready pitch and
presentation skills.

In addition, participants will be supported throughout the Program by an international team of

coaches and mentors with proven experience in startup acceleration, corporate innovation and
ecosystem development.

The Program will conclude with an in-person Demo Day, where selected teams will present their
projects to a jury of experts. The Demo Day will take place in Milan during the week of 14
September 2026. In case of significant visa or logistical constraints affecting a majority of selected
finalists, Flutter SEA reserves the right to relocate the event to an alternative city (Istanbul or
Casablanca). The final venue and date will be communicated at least 30 days in advance.

4.4 Participation Requirements

Expected participant commitment:

• approximately 6–8 hours per week, including workshops, coaching, assignments, and self-
directed work
• minimum attendance 75%.

Participants falling below this threshold, or failing to submit weekly assignments without justified
reason, will be excluded from the program and from the Demo Day selection.

5. SELECTION PROCESS

The selection process includes application screening and the Founder Institute DNA assessment.

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5.1 Phase 1: pre-acceleration program

The Program aims to onboard at least 10 teams into the pre-acceleration phase. To account for
natural attrition during the program, up to 12 teams may be selected at the outset, with the
objective of ensuring a minimum of 10 teams reaching the Demo Day.
The total number of participants is capped at 30, with a maximum of 3 members per team. Teams
are therefore typically composed of 2–3 members; solo applicants are admitted within the overall
participant cap.
Selection criteria for the pre-acceleration program include:
• Founder potential (from DNA Assessment)
• Team quality & complementarity
• Innovation
• Feasibility
• Commitment & availability
Each criterion will be evaluated from 1 to 10.
In the event of team withdrawals reducing the cohort below 10 teams during the Program, the
organisers may, at their discretion, invite additional teams from the reserve list to join the cohort.

5.2 Phase 2: demo-day

Access to the Demo Day is granted to all teams that successfully complete the Program by:
attending at least 75% of Program sessions and completing all required assignments and
milestones.

5.3 Phase 3: winners

Up to a maximum of 5 teams may be awarded a grant, based on the jury’s evaluation of the
projects presented during the Demo Day. The jury evaluation will be based on a separate Demo-
Day scorecard, focused on:

• quality and completeness of the prototype/MVP

• evidence of validation and early traction
• pitch clarity, effectiveness and persuasiveness.

Each criterion will be evaluated from 1 to 10.

6. AWARD AND BENEFITS

At the end of the Program, the finalist teams will present their projects at the Demo Day, where a
jury will evaluate pitches and prototypes.

Up to 5 winning teams will receive a grant to support incorporation-related expenses (e.g. legal
fees, company formation, domain and brand registration). A total grant budget of up to €5,000 will
be allocated to selected teams. The number of winning teams and the allocation of the grant
budget will be determined at the sole discretion of the jury, based on the quality of the projects and
evaluation results at the Demo Day. Individual grants may vary in amount.

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The grants are non-equity (Flutter SEA acquires no ownership or economic rights in the resulting
entity), will be disbursed within 6 months following the Demo Day, and may require the selected
teams to provide evidence of how the grant has been utilized.

Additional benefits for finalist teams include:

• access to GoBeyond ecosystem

• access to pilot/PoC opportunities with Flutter SEA

• priority access to apply to the subsequent GoBeyond Call for Startups

• official “GoBeyond Lab 2026 Graduate” status and certification, recognizing successful
completion of the Program

• continued access to the GoBeyond mentor network for up to 3 months after Program
completion, through scheduled Office Hours sessions.

7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & CONFIDENTIALITY

All intellectual property developed during the Program remains the exclusive property of the
participants.

Participants grant Founder Institute and Sisal S.p.A. the right to mention their participation in the
Program and to use their team/company name, logo, pitch summary, and photos/videos of public
Program moments (e.g. Demo Day) for communication, reporting and marketing purposes, during
and after the Program. Any use of material considered confidential by the participants requires
prior specific consent.

Participants are expected to treat in strict confidence any information, idea, or material shared by
other participants, mentors, coaches, or Program staff during Program activities (workshops,
coaching sessions, office hours, peer reviews). Specific confidentiality obligations are formalised in
the NDA signed prior to enrolment.

Curriculum materials, workshop content, templates and frameworks provided by Founder Institute
during the Program are proprietary and shared with participants for personal use within the
Program only. Redistribution, publication or sharing of such materials with third parties is not
permitted.

Prior to enrolment in the Program, selected participants will be required to sign a Non-Disclosure
Agreement (NDA) with Founder Institute, covering confidentiality obligations toward other
participants, mentors, coaches, administrators, and Founder Institute proprietary materials.
Acceptance of the NDA is a condition for participation.

Participants acknowledge that the NDA signed with Founder Institute is governed by the laws of
the State of California.

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8. PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION

Personal data provided by applicants through the Founder Institute platform (FounderGen) is
collected and processed for the purposes of Program recruitment, selection, delivery, and post-
Program reporting.

Founder Institute and Sisal S.p.A. act as independent data controllers for their respective
processing activities under a Data Sharing Agreement. Data is processed in compliance with the
EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable local data protection laws in Italy,
Türkiye and Morocco.

Applicants' data will not be shared with third parties outside the Program partners named in the
Privacy Notice without prior, specific consent, except where required by law.

A detailed Privacy Notice, including information on the categories of data collected, purposes, legal
basis, retention periods, cross-border transfers, and data subject rights, is made available at the
point of registration on the FounderGen platform.

Program sessions will not be recorded without participants' prior consent. Pitch presentations and
materials shared during coaching, mentorship, and workshops will not be publicly disclosed without
the relevant team's prior consent, except for the Demo Day, where pitches are presented before a
jury and may be documented for program reporting purposes.

9. WITHDRAWAL AND EXCLUSION

Participants selected for the final cohort commit to the full duration of the Program. Withdrawal
after confirmation of participation is expected only in case of serious and justified reasons (force
majeure) and must be promptly communicated to the GoBeyond team.

The organizers reserve the right to exclude participants in case of: violation of this regulation;
submission of false or misleading information; failure to meet minimum attendance or milestone
requirements.

10. CHANGES TO THE PROGRAM

GoBeyond reserves the right to make operational adjustments to the Program (e.g. workshop
scheduling, speaker line-up, Demo Day logistics) for reasons beyond its control. Any material
change affecting the overall timeline, selection criteria, or award structure will be communicated to
applicants and participants in writing and in a timely manner. The essential terms of this regulation,
including eligibility and award commitments, shall not be modified after the opening of the
application period, except where strictly required.

For any information regarding the program please write to [Link]@[Link]

Milan,

May 6 2026
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