The National Talent Center (NTK)‘s key goal and mission is to identify, grow, and provide multifaceted support to Hungarian talents, so that young people can turn their potential into social and economic value. The START program, implemented in partnership with Civitta Hungary (formerly Design Terminal), is one of NTK’s most important entrepreneurship-promoting initiatives. The program has two directions: the START Ideathon specifically targets 16-20-years-old, aiming to spark their entrepreneurial spirit and support them at the idea stage; and the incubation phase of the START program offers practical, comprehensive business development training for the 18-27 age group.
National Talent Center: START Program Family
Client
National Talent Center (NTK)
Client Overview:
The Challenge:
Our Approach:
Civitta Hungary created an interconnected, age-specific selection and development system built around two main pillars:
START Ideathon: an intensive innovation idea competition designed specifically to surface early-stage concepts from high-school-aged students. This platform provides an opportunity to mobilize creative energy, form teams, and give ideas their first structured professional validation and testing.
START program: teams advancing from the Ideathon, as well as more mature-stage teams arriving through open recruitment, were brought into a two-round incubation system. In the first stage of the program, participants took part in market, legal, financial, and technology workshops. In the second phase, finalists fine-tuned their projects with the support of dedicated key mentors, then presented their validated business concepts at a Demo Day in front of key players in the innovation ecosystem.
Results & Impact:
In recent years, the START program family has become one of the most stable and measurable platforms for entrepreneurship promotion in Hungary:
- 5 successful incubation seasons: The START incubation program has now concluded successfully for the fifth time.
- 3 START Ideathons: For the third year running, it has provided a structured platform for early-stage ideas from high-school-aged students.
- 804 applicant teams: Since its launch, national recruitment campaigns have resulted in a total of 804 formations submitting valid applications across the various program elements.
- 227 incubated projects: From raw idea to market entry, a total of 227 teams received comprehensive professional support, mentoring, and pitch preparation.
- HUF 131 million in grants awarded: Over the years, the most promising startups received a combined total of HUF 131 million in non-repayable seed funding and special prizes.
- Successful alumni network: This funding has helped successful teams now active on the market continue building their businesses, including Felm, Kapcsolj!, the Malom project, and Marokbaba.
