Ready to Start is UtrechtInc’s free, four-week online evening program for PhD candidates, postdocs, and researchers affiliated with Utrecht knowledge institutions, including Utrecht University, UMC Utrecht, Wilhelmina Kinderziekenhuis, Prinses Máxima Centrum, Hubrecht Institute, and Hogeschool Utrecht. The program offers a low-commitment way for researchers to explore whether their research has startup potential without interrupting their academic work. No prior business experience, business plan, co-founder, or existing startup idea is required.
Program Details
• Cost: Free
• Format: 100% online
• Duration: 4 weeks
• Schedule: Required expert-led sessions on Monday evenings from 20:00 to 21:00, with optional Wednesday Q&A/progress sessions.
• Language: English
Program Structure
• Week 1 – What is a startup?: Understand the difference between a research project and a scalable company and learn what the journey from intellectual property to a market-ready product can involve.
• Week 2 – Can my research become a company?: Explore whether your research or idea may have commercial potential and what steps are needed to test and validate that potential.
• Week 3 – Is entrepreneurship right for me?: Learn what founders actually do and consider how entrepreneurship can, and sometimes cannot, coexist with an academic career.
• Week 4 – What’s my next step?: Develop a clearer picture of the entrepreneurial path ahead and learn about opportunities to continue into UtrechtInc’s validation programs.
Key Benefits
• Understand the Startup Path: Learn what can make research commercially viable and understand the typical journey from intellectual property to a scalable product or company.
• Meet the Incubator: Gain direct access to UtrechtInc’s team, mentors, and network and learn how the incubator can support researchers interested in entrepreneurship.
• Decide with Clarity: Assess whether entrepreneurship fits your goals, research, and academic career before making a larger commitment.
Ideal Candidates
• Affiliation: The program welcomes employees of Utrecht knowledge institutions, including Utrecht University, UMC Utrecht, Wilhelmina Kinderziekenhuis, Prinses Máxima Centrum, Hubrecht Institute, and Hogeschool Utrecht.
• Researcher Stage: Ready to Start is designed for researchers across career stages, including PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, senior researchers, professors, and other research professionals interested in exploring entrepreneurship.
• Prerequisites: No business experience, business plan, startup idea, or co-founder is required. Participants can join even if they are beginning with curiosity about whether entrepreneurship could be relevant to their research.
Application Information
• Application Deadline: November 2, 2026
• Fall Cohort Start Date: November 9, 2026
• Graduation Date: December 2, 2026
• Program Frequency: Approximately four cohorts per year.
Program Cost and Equity
• Fees: Ready to Start is completely free of charge.
• Equity: UtrechtInc does not take equity or ownership in participants’ startups or ideas.
• Financial Commitment: There are no participation fees or other financial commitments required. UtrechtInc is a non-profit incubator and provides support through programs, coaching, mentorship, and access to its network rather than through direct investment.
Post-Program Opportunities
• Next Steps: Participants who complete Ready to Start can continue into UtrechtInc’s validation programs, including Science Validation, Life Science Validation, Tech Validation, and Student Validation where applicable. These programs support founders in validating their ideas in the market, gathering customer feedback, and building evidence of commercial viability.
Ready to Start provides an accessible introduction to science-based entrepreneurship for researchers who want to explore the commercial potential of their work. By the end of the program, participants should have a clearer understanding of the startup journey, whether entrepreneurship fits their goals, and which next steps they can take without having to pause their academic careers.