First Deliverable
Segments:
Question Real Estate Agencies Private Clinics (dentists,
aesthetic, physio, etc.)
What do they fear? Losing potential buyers because Losing patients after the first
agents fail to convince or follow consultation because staff doesn’t
up properly. transmit trust or value.
What frustrates them? Not knowing why top agents Having many inquiries but few
succeed while others don’t; confirmed appointments or
training feels like guessing. accepted treatments.
What are they bored of? Repeating coaching sessions Repeating explanations to the
without seeing measurable team without knowing which
improvement. communication style works best.
What discourages them? Seeing only a few agents close Seeing competitors with similar
deals despite the same leads and prices and services attract more
opportunities. patients.
What is burdening them? Managing many agents and calls Having limited time to train
with no time to review or analyze receptionists and advisors in
conversations manually. persuasive communication.
What do they love? When data shows exactly what When staff convert calls into
makes an agent successful, appointments and understand
faster onboarding and more what messaging builds trust.
sales.
Ideation Brainstorming
Value proposal:
WHY
Because small words make a big difference.
Most real estate agencies lose deals not because of prices or listings, but because agents
handle client conversations differently.
We believe every agent deserves to learn from the best ( using real data, not intuition) so
directors can build high-performing teams that close more deals consistently.
HOW
By analyzing real conversations with Artificial Intelligence.
Our platform records and transcribes sales calls, detects client objections, and compares
how top performers respond in specific situations.
It turns every conversation into insight, showing patterns, behaviors, and words that lead to
successful closings.
Managers get clear, actionable coaching tips and automatic summaries of what works (and
what doesn’t).
WHAT
A lightweight AI-powered sales coach for real estate teams.
Records and analyzes every client call (phone, Zoom, WhatsApp) and also every meeting.
Highlights what makes top agents successful.
Delivers ready-to-use training snippets from real interactions.
Simple dashboards, no integrations, no tech setup.
100% GDPR-compliant and built for Spanish/Catalan-speaking markets.
Value proposal:
Our platform is a lightweight AI-powered sales coach that helps real estate agencies
understand what truly drives their success. By analyzing real conversations across calls and
meetings, it identifies the words, behaviors, and patterns that make top agents close more
deals. With automatic insights, clear coaching tips, and ready-to-use training snippets, all in
simple, GDPR-compliant dashboards, we empower directors to train smarter, scale faster,
and turn every conversation into a winning opportunity.
TASK (quality not quantity)
Value proposition: explain our idea and what we do
Validation process: explain what did we do, answers and conclusions
Initial competitors research: develop an initial research
Validation:
What do we want to discover? We wanted to discover whether real estate agencies really
struggle with understanding why some team members communicate more effectively than
others, and if they would value an AI-based tool that analyzes conversations to improve
performance and training.
Design the format:
- Empathize: We interviewed real estate agency directors and to understand their main
challenges. They shared frustration about not knowing why some agents or staff
convert better than others, wasting time on training without results, and lacking data
to measure communication performance.
- Define: We identified the core problem → managers in communication-
based businesses lack data-driven insights to improve how their teams
interact with clients. This causes lost sales, inconsistent performance, and
inefficient coaching.
- Ideate: We brainstormed solutions and chose to create an AI-powered platform that
records and analyzes real conversations, identifies what makes top performers
successful, and provides actionable coaching tips through a simple.
- Prototype: We would design a basic prototype showing call transcription, success
pattern detection, and training recommendations. It would aim to demonstrate how
managers could visualize and improve communication easily.
- Test: We would share the prototype with potential users through short interviews and
surveys. Feedback should confirm the interest and need for the solution, highlighting
privacy as a key aspect to address. The tests validated that our idea is useful,
relevant, and ready for further development.
With this mixed validation format we could confirm that most participants face the problem
daily. They lose opportunities because of inconsistent communication, and current training
methods don’t provide measurable improvement. Around 80% showed strong interest in
using a simple, GDPR-compliant AI tool to analyze real interactions and receive practical
coaching tips.
From the collected data, we confirmed that:
- The problem is real, shared, and urgent.
- Simplicity and privacy are key success factors.
- Managers want clear, actionable insights, not complex analytics.
- The solution should focus on conversation patterns and coaching support.
Interview questions:
Risks
User risks:
- Privacy Concerns: Users may feel uncomfortable being recorded or analyzed,
especially in environments where conversations are sensitive.
- Employee Resistance: Some team members might perceive the tool as surveillance
rather than support, reducing adoption.
- Low Engagement: Managers may not consistently use the platform if it’s not easy to
understand or directly linked to measurable results.
- Trust and Transparency: If data handling and GDPR compliance are not clearly
communicated, users could lose confidence in the product.
Technology risks:
- Speech Recognition Accuracy: AI models might struggle with accents, background
noise, or mixed languages (Spanish/Catalan), affecting result quality.
- Data Security: Storing and processing real conversations requires strict protection
against leaks or unauthorized access.
- Scalability Issues: As usage grows, the system must handle more recordings and
analyses without losing performance.
- Integration Limitations: Difficulties connecting with diverse communication platforms
(WhatsApp, Zoom, phone systems) could limit usability.
We validate our idea to avoid wasting time developing a product that doesn’t solve a real
problem. By talking directly with potential users, we empathize with their needs and
frustrations, understanding what truly matters to them. This process helps us redefine our
concept, adjusting features and priorities to create a more valuable solution. Finally,
validation allows us to discover new insights, unexpected information, behaviors, or
opportunities that guide us toward building a stronger, more relevant product.
Inicial competitor research
To summarize the research, we simplified the analysis of each competitor in four categories:
Strengths, weaknesses, borrow and avoid.
Strengths: What they do well
Weaknesses: What they do wrong
Borrow: What can we copy
Avoid: What can we learn and should not do
Direct competitors
Gong
- Strengths: Tracks all sales chats/calls/emails. Strong analytics. Real-time popups
during calls. Works with many CRMs.
- Weaknesses: Expensive and complex. Transcriptions are weaker outside English.
No free trial. Difficult to learn.
- Borrow: Real-time objection/competitor prompts and huge data collection.
- Avoid: Hard and difficult to set up.
Modjo
- Strengths: Simple UI, helpful support, works in FR/EN/ES/DE, basic sales metrics.
- Weaknesses: Some small transcript/UX issues. Few integrations. No public pricing.
No live coaching.
- Borrow: Simple and user friendly tool; support multiple languages.
- Avoid: Narrow scope (not useful in all situations) and missing real-time help.
Empower by Ringover
- Strengths: Live, in-call coaching (sentiment, keywords, talk ratios). Easy to use.
EN/FR/ES.
- Weaknesses: Very new (it might not have all the advanced features). It's meant for
Ringover users.
- Borrow: Live tips and alerts; smooth phone/CRM links.
- Avoid: Make the tool too dependent on a platform.
[Link]
- Strengths: Joins most meeting apps. Live captions. Fast summaries. Easy and
affordable.
- Weaknesses: Not sales-specific. Limited live coaching. Some diarization errors.
(may not transcript well)
- Borrow: Easy start and wide platform support.
- Avoid: Shallow sales coaching. (the tool gives only surface-level advice instead of
deep, practical coaching. )
Zoom IQ (Zoom Revenue Accelerator)
- Strengths: Native to Zoom; engagement/sentiment/filler metrics; ties to CRM; instant
post-call insights.
- Weaknesses: Zoom-only, mostly post-call, basic analytics, accuracy/bias questions.
- Borrow: The tool records and analyzes calls automatically inside the platform people
already use.
- Avoid: Single-platform, simplistic metrics.
Clari Copilot (Wingman)
- Strengths: Real-time “battle cards” (during the call) and talk-too-much alerts. Ties
calls to deals. Historically cheaper/easier.
- Weaknesses: Narrower than full revenue suites. Mostly English. Pricing super clear.
- Borrow: Triggered cue cards and soft-skill tips in real time.
- Avoid: Staying only in call coaching and not giving reports
Indirect competitors
[Link]
- Strengths: Solid post-call notes/summaries; records calls; helpful for training.
- Weaknesses: Mix-ups and transcript errors (according to users). Some bugs.
Confusing setup. Not real-time help.
- Borrow: Auto note-taking & instant post-call summaries.
- Avoid: Accuracy issues and tricky onboarding (difficult for new users).
Upbe
- Strengths: Spanish-specialized. Clear ROI claims. Good for trainings.
- Weaknesses: No real-time help yet. Phone/call-center focus.
- Borrow: Language focus and ROI proof.
- Avoid: Only post-call analysis.
Analyticalls
- Strengths: Automatic speech recognition technology. Real-time alerts for
supervisors. Auto call quality scores.
- Weaknesses: Newer, fewer integrations, unclear video support, no public pricing.
- Borrow: Live supervisor alerts and call scoring.
- Avoid: Does not give insights.
Zaion
- Strengths: Real-time summaries, emotion/intent detection, auto QA (Quesntion and
answers), coaching.
- Weaknesses: Heavy/complex and likely expensive. Broad CX focus, not just sales.
- Borrow: Emotion cues, auto QA (Question and answers), instant end-of-call
summaries.
- Avoid: Complex platform, hard deployments for small teams.
Databay Solutions
- Strengths: Can custom-build exactly what you want.
- Weaknesses: Slower and costlier than buying a product, not ready to use tools.
- Borrow: A simple, drag-and-drop dashboard where clients can define their own
KPIs, filters, or call metrics.
- Avoid: A product should cover common needs so clients don’t feel they must build
custom.
Potential competitors
Salesforce
- Strengths: Massive customer base, trusted enterprise brand, and deep CRM
infrastructure.
- Weaknesses: Lacks built-in real-time conversational analysis or live call coaching.
- Borrow: Its data depth and CRM integration.
- Avoid: Slow over change
HubSpot
- Strengths: Widely used by small and medium businesses, simple interface, strong
sales/marketing link.
- Weaknesses: Doesn’t yet offer true live call analysis or real-time AI feedback.
- Borrow: Its easy use and ``plug and play´´ onboarding
- Avoid: Staying too surface-level or limiting customization as customers grow.
Microsoft Viva Sales (and Teams AI)
- Strengths: Deeply focused in Teams and Outlook, great access to meeting data.
- Weaknesses: Still lacks deep real-time coaching and advanced conversational
intelligence.
- Borrow: Its tight integration with existing workflows
- Avoid: Over relying on one platform (Microsoft)
What to build?
Based on the previous analysis, we found that the best qualities for the software must be:
Live help: Real-time transcription, triggers, cue cards for objections/competitors, “you’re
monologuing” alerts, instant summary + action items at call end.
Works everywhere: Zoom/Teams/Meet + phone capture; “invite the bot” onboarding; broad
CRM integrations.
Manager tools: Live alerts + back-channel coaching, strong search/tagging, compliance
checks, call quality score, best-call library.
Language and accuracy: Great diarization; strong Spanish (and more) accuracy.
Trust and price: Clear pricing, easy setup, data controls (redaction, on-prem/VPC).
Go beyond the call: Link insights to deal risk, next steps, and forecast signals; show ROI
clearly.
Second deliverable
Brand
Name: Sales Speak Metrics
Slogan: Where conversations turn into conversions.
Logo:
Brand technical analysis
Availability:
Social networks (Instagram, tiktok)
Domain: [Link]
Brand register (trademarks and tradenames)
Buyer persona
TAM SAM SOM
Spanish Real Estate Market: Key Data
Number of agencies: 25.000 to 30.000 active real estate agencies in Spain (employing
+130.000 sales agents) with a residential sector valued at approximately €1.6 trillion
Sources: [Link], [Link], [Link]
Agents and structure: On average, 3 agents per agency. Most are small-scale local
businesses. The market is highly fragmented, dominated by thousands of independent
agencies with few employees.
There is no single player with a large market share (example: the largest franchise
(sooprema) has 670 offices, the rest of the networks are much smaller).
TAM: 30.000 agencies (the entire Spanish real estate sector) equal to 90,000 potential users
(agents and staff).
This represents 100% of the potential market for the solution in Spain.
SAM: 20.000 small and medium-sized agencies (80% of the total, focused on residential).
Equivalent to 60.000 agents in small and medium real estate agencies. The core segment
targeted by the product.
Large corporations and national franchises are excluded from this focus.
SOM: 5.000 target users in the medium term (approx. 8% of all agents).
This is the realistic portion of the market the company aims to capture initially, based on its
operational and marketing capacity.
MVP design
Design on Figma: [Link]
Call-Analysis-App?fullscreen=1
MVP development
This would be the step-by-step plan to build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of the Sales
peal metrics application. The MVP's goal is to deliver the core, high-value features: live call
transcription, sentiment analysis, and instant agent assistance.
The Development Plan (Step-by-Step)
We will build the app in four clear phases, focusing on delivering a functional product
efficiently.
Phase 1: The Blueprint (2-3 Weeks)
● Goal: Finalize the user experience and create the technical plan.
● What we do:
○ Our UI/UX designer will simplify the Figma design into the essential "must-
have" screens for the MVP (the live call screen, the call summary).
○ Our technical team will choose the exact technologies (like cloud services for
transcription) that are most cost-effective and powerful.
● Outcome: A final, clickable prototype and a clear technical roadmap.
Phase 2: Building the "Brain" (6-8 Weeks)
● Goal: Create the core engine that listens, understands, and analyzes.
● What we do:
○ This is the most critical part. We build the "pipeline" that can:
1. Receive a live audio stream from the agent's microphone.
2. Instantly send this audio to an AI service (like Google's) to be
transcribed into text.
3. Take that text and send it to another AI service to understand
sentiment (is the customer happy/angry?) and identify key topics (e.g.,
"cancellation," "pricing").
● Outcome: A functional "engine" that takes in audio and outputs analysis, all in less
than a second.
Phase 3: Building the "Face" (4-6 Weeks)
● Goal: Create the screen the agent will use every day.
● What we do:
○ We build the agent's web-based dashboard. This screen will connect to the
"Brain" (from Phase 2).
○ It will display the live conversation as it happens, like subtitles in a movie.
○ It will show the live sentiment (e.g., a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down") and the
list of keywords as they are spoken.
● Outcome: A working application where an agent can make a call and see the live
transcription and analysis on their screen.
Phase 4: The "Magic" Features & Launch (3-4 Weeks)
● Goal: Add the high-value "Agent Assist" and go live.
● What we do:
○ Agent Assist: We build the "pop-up" suggestions. For the MVP, this will be
simple and effective: if the "Brain" hears "cancellation," we will instantly show
a "Retention Offer" card to the agent.
○ Post-Call Summary: We create the page that shows the full transcript,
keywords, and call summary after the call ends.
○ Testing & Deployment: We test the system thoroughly and deploy it for a
small group of "beta tester" agents.
● Outcome: A market-ready MVP, ready for its first users.
Project: Team, Timeline & Budget (Estimates for Spain)
Here is a practical estimate to build the MVP described above.
1. Estimated Timeline
● Total Project Length: 4 Months
○ This timeline is ambitious and relies on a focused, senior team.
2. Required Team (Lean MVP)
● 1x Senior Backend Developer (Full-time): Builds the "Brain" and server-side logic.
€5,000/month x 4 months = €20,000
● 1x Senior Frontend Developer (Full-time): Builds the "Face" (the agent's
dashboard). €5,000/month x 4 months = €20,000
● 1x UI/UX Designer (Part-time, 50%): Ensures the app is simple and intuitive (heavy
in Phase 1, then part-time).
€4,583/month x 50% x 4 months = €9,166 (rounded to €9,200)
● 1x Project Manager (Part-time, 50%): Keeps the project on time, on budget, and
aligned with business goals
€5,000/month x 50% x 4 months = €10,000
Subtotal (Staff Costs): €59,200
2. Operational Costs (Tools & Services)
These are the running costs for the AI services and hosting during the 4-month development
and testing phase.
● AI Services (Google Speech-to-Text & NLP)
○ Explanation: This is a variable cost. We estimate high-volume testing for 5
beta users.
○ Calculation: €700 / month x 4 months = €2,800
● Cloud Hosting & Database (e.g., Firebase, Google Cloud)
○ Explanation: Server and database costs for the application.
○ Calculation: €100 / month x 4 months = €400
Subtotal (Operational Costs): €3,200
3. Final Budget Calculation
This combines staff, operations, and a crucial contingency fund.
● Base Cost (Staff + Operations)
○ Calculation: €59,200 + €3,200 = €62,400
● Contingency Fund (15%)
○ Explanation: This is essential for any software project, especially one with
complex AI integration, to cover unexpected challenges or delays.
○ Calculation: €62,400 x 0.15 = €9,360
● GRAND TOTAL
○ Calculation: €62,400 (Base) + €9,360 (Contingency) = €71,760
Third Deliverable
Revenue model
Tiered Plans
Sales Speak Metrics uses a 3 tier plan structure, each adding layers of functionality.
1. Basic (Free / Starter Tier)
Designed to lower friction and encourage adoption.
Pricing: Free forever, with limits.
Features:
● Post-call analysis: call recording, transcription, summaries.
● Basic analytics (limited dashboards).
● Monthly limits on transcription minutes.
● Searchable transcripts.
Limitations:
● No real-time assistance.
● No advanced integrations.
● Usage caps that eventually push users toward paid plans.
Purpose:
Acts as a lead generator — once teams see value in AI-based insights, they naturally move
to paid plans.
2. Professional (€30/user/month)
The core paid tier targeting SMB teams.
Features include everything in Basic PLUS:
● Real-time transcription (live captions).
● Live sentiment analysis (e.g., stress or hesitation indicators).
● Instant AI prompts ("battle cards," suggested responses, objection handling).
● Enhanced post-call analytics:
○ talk/listen ratio
○ trend detection
○ best-call libraries for training
● CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Ringover, etc.):
automatic logging of transcripts and notes.
● Team-level dashboards.
Positioning:
Competitive with mid-market tools — offering functionality similar to Fireflies, Ringover, or
Modjo, but at an SMB-friendly price point.
3. Enterprise (Custom / High-End Tier)
Built for large organizations with advanced needs.
Pricing: Custom plans, often with:
● List price around €50/user/month
● Negotiated discounts
● Optional platform access fee (similar to Gong, which uses platform fees from $5K to
$50K).
Features include everything in Professional PLUS:
● Advanced analytics: predictive insights, benchmarking, ROI modeling.
● AI customization: training on company-specific scripts, compliance phrases, or
workflows.
● Stronger privacy/security features (GDPR advanced settings, HIPAA for medical
clients).
● Supervisor dashboards for monitoring live calls.
● Full API access and custom integrations.
● SSO, dedicated support, optional on-premise deployment.
Target:
Large real estate groups, hospital networks, or multi-office enterprises needing complete
control and custom workflows.
Freemium Strategy & Conversion Path
● The free tier is the main entry point for cautious SMBs.
● Users naturally upgrade when they need more minutes, CRM integrations, or real-
time coaching.
● No time-limited free trials: instead, a free plan with permanent limited functionality.
● Mirrors proven models like [Link]’s freemium strategy.
The approach aims for high adoption with clear upgrade incentives.
Additional Revenue Streams
Beyond subscription tiers, the platform offers several monetization paths:
1. Premium Analytics Module
A paid add-on with deeper insights and industry benchmarking, attractive for data-driven
clients.
2. Custom Integrations & API Access
● One-time fees for special integrations with proprietary systems.
● Metered API access for lower tiers (Enterprise gets it included).
3. Language Packs
Additional languages can be sold as add-ons, especially for bilingual call centers or
international teams.
4. Professional Services
Training sessions, onboarding workshops, and consulting using the client’s own call data.
These add-ons increase revenue and deepen client dependence on the platform.
Geographic Expansion Strategy
Initial Market: Spain
Includes support for Spanish and Catalan, with features and pricing tailored to local needs.
Expansion to LATAM
● Spanish support makes regional expansion cost-effective.
● Pricing may be adjusted to match regional purchasing power.
● Freemium strategy is particularly effective in emerging markets.
Expansion to Europe
Requires multilingual support (English, French, German, Italian, etc.).
● Higher pricing may be acceptable in markets with larger budgets.
● It is important to compete with European players like Modjo.
Competitor Pricing Benchmarks
● Gong: $250/user/month + $5K–$50K platform fee. Enterprise-only, too expensive for
SMBs.
Our strategy: Offer similar real-time coaching at a much lower price.
● [Link]: Free tier + $10–$39/user/month paid plans. Very affordable but not
sales-focused.
Our strategy: Use similar accessible pricing (€25–€30) but with deeper sales
coaching features.
● Modjo: €90/user/month, no free plan. Aimed at mid-market and enterprise.
Our strategy: Offer a free tier and significantly lower mid-tier pricing to attract small
teams.
● Ringover Empower: €69/user/month, real-time coaching tied to their phone system.
Our strategy: Undercut pricing (€30) and stay phone-system agnostic.
SMART Metrics for Key Success Factors
To ensure measurable progress and validate the effectiveness of Sales Speak Metrics, the
following SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) indicators are
defined:
1. Product Adoption & Usage
● Achieve a 65% activation rate (users completing at least one call analysis) within the
first 7 days after signup by Month 3 post-launch.
● Reach 50% weekly active users among all registered agents by Month 6.
● Convert at least 7% of free-tier users into paid plans within their first 90 days of
usage during Year 1.
2. Accuracy & Reliability
● Maintain ≥ 88% transcription accuracy in Spanish and Catalan during the
first 6 months of the MVP.
● Achieve 80% accuracy in objection and keyword detection across 1,000 analyzed
calls by Month 4.
● Ensure live transcription latency stays under 1.5 seconds for 95% of calls within the
first 3 months of deployment.
3. Training & Performance Impact
● Reduce agent communication errors by 15% within 90 days of platform adoption for
each new team.
● Improve alignment with top-performer talk/listen ratios by 20% within 60 days for
active users.
● Increase appointment-to-close conversion ratios by 12% in teams consistently using
real-time assist for at least 8 weeks.
4. Business Efficiency
● Save managers an average of 3 hours per week through automated post-call
summaries by Month 4.
● Automatically classify 90% of calls into correct categories by Month 3 post-launch.
● Reduce cost per analyzed conversation to €0.10 or less once the platform reaches
20,000 calls per month by Month 9.
5. Privacy & Trust
● Maintain a 90% opt-in rate for call recording and analysis during the first 12 months.
● Maintain zero GDPR-related incidents each quarter, monitored continuously.
Fundraising strategy
Phase 1 (Months 0–6): Foundation, Bootstrapping & Early Grants
Founding & Initial Capital
Incorporate the company and inject at least €20k of founder equity, which:
● Shows commitment
● Meets minimum capital for later grants like NEOTEC
● Provides early runway without dilution
Bootstrapping
● Use founder savings, consulting, small pilot projects, or early customer income (if
possible) to reduce initial burn.
● Bootstrapping strengthens later applications for grants and loans by demonstrating
traction and discipline.
Non-Dilutive Regional Grant (Catalonia – ACCIÓ Startup Capital)
● Grant of up to €99k, covering 75% of early R&D expenses.
● For startups less than 18 months old with less than €250k previously raised.
● Requires a solid 2-year R&D plan (more than €135k costs).
● Goal: reach MVP and TRL 3–4 without giving up equity.
Banking Setup
● Establish the company’s first bank account, credit card, and possibly a small working-
capital credit line.
● Banks typically offer limited credit early on, but having banking history helps for
Phase 2.
Phase 2 (Months 6–12): ENISA, Bank Loans & First Angel Round
ENISA Participative Loan
● Non-collateral loan
● Suitable once the MVP is ready and the business plan is clear.
● Requires co-financing: equity = loan amount.
● Typical amounts: €50k–€300k.
● Long repayment terms (up to 7 years, 5-year grace).
Bank Financing
As the startup becomes less risky (post-MVP), banks become more willing to participate:
● Bank Loans or ICO-backed Loans: Banks may offer ICO-guaranteed loans for
innovation or early growth. Interest is low/moderate, guarantees may be required
unless backed by ICO.
● Credit Lines: Provide working capital for hiring, suppliers, or gap financing before
grants disburse. Useful to stabilize cash flow before revenue begins.
● Factoring / Confirming: If early customers exist, receivables can be used to finance
operations without equity or collateral.
These instruments complement ENISA and reduce reliance on equity.
Angel Investment (Pre-Seed)
● Raise €100k–€200k once MVP exists ( around month 9).
● Typical dilution: 10–20%.
● Public funding secured (ACCIÓ + ENISA) reduces perceived risk and helps negotiate
better valuations.
Result by month 12: working prototype, early validation, strong non-dilutive foundation, and
moderate dilution (10–15%).
Phase 3 (Months 12–24): Major Grants, Seed Round & Blended
Finance
NEOTEC
● Spain’s top grant for tech startups.
● €250k (70%) or €325k (85% if hiring a PhD).
● Requires a 6 month old to a less than 3 year old tech company, more than €20k
share capital, and budget with more than €175k.
● Strengthened by prior grants, traction, and private investment.
Seed Round (€0.5M–€1M)
● Raise a larger round during or after NEOTEC implementation.
● Higher valuation justified because a large portion of development is subsidized.
ACCIÓ Co-Investment Loan
● €75k–€250k mixed loan (20% grant + 80% low-interest loan).
● Requires more than €75k of private investment recently raised.
Bank Support Expansion
With NEOTEC awarded and revenues approaching (or at least strong milestones):
● Banks may extend larger credit lines, leasing, or innovation loans with better terms.
● Banks treat NEOTEC as a signal of solvency and credibility.
Goal: reach TRL 5–6, solidify product, and prepare market entry with limited dilution.
Phase 4 (Months 24+): European Funding, Scaling & Series A
EIC Accelerator (EU – Horizon Europe)
● For validated tech with TRL 6+.
● Offers: Up to €2.5M grant, and optional €10–15M equity through the EIC Fund.
● Extremely competitive, prior grants (NEOTEC, ACCIÓ) enhance chances.
Series A (24–36 months)
● Raise a major VC round for commercial expansion.
● Aim for founders to retain more than 50% equity at entry into Series A.
● CDTI Innvierte can co-invest alongside VCs to increase the round without additional
negotiation.
Post-Series A Non-Dilutive Funding
● CDTI R&D loans and mixed instruments (up to 85% coverage, sometimes 30% non-
repayable).
● Must avoid double funding for the same project.
Bank Financing at Scale
With revenue and strong public backing, banks can provide:
● Large credit lines
● Working capital loans
● Asset financing (leasing)
● Venture debt (in some cases).
These help scale operations with zero dilution.
Overall Strategic Logic
1. Start with bootstrapping + grants: avoid giving up equity early.
2. Add ENISA + small angel round: accelerate development with minimal dilution.
3. Win NEOTEC and regional co-investment: fund R&D heavily with non-dilutive
money.
4. Layer in bank credit during and after traction: smooth cash flow, reduce need for
equity.
5. Apply for EIC Accelerator: huge non-dilutive push for EU-scale growth.
6. Raise Series A only after maximum de-risking: much better valuation, founders
retain control.