Risk is the deepest essence of any business. When developing an idea for a startup, we will never be able to know for sure whether it will work or not. Yes, we can conduct a thorough study of the market, consumers, and competitors, make changes at the planning stage, and even connect artificial intelligence so that the system evaluates the possible profitability of our enterprise. However, a 100% guarantee of success exists only in an ideal picture of the world – that is, it does not exist at all. The only way to relatively secure your business from failure is to enlist the support of investors, mentors, and also take advantage of specialized business funding programs. In this article, we’ll talk about one of these opportunities, namely the Erasmus+ business funding program.
What Is Erasmus+?
Erasmus + is a program for the development and financing of start-up entrepreneurs. Basically, projects supported by the program have educational, scientific and cultural value. Financing of these projects gives a chance to progressive European youth to start their own business within the European Union through investments, as well as the exchange of experience with successful entrepreneurs.
Who Has the Right to Apply
There is a rather delicate point here – each participant in the program acts through his representative, that is, through the organization that supports his project. The rules for financing startups when you can develop your idea on Kickstarter do not apply here. In this case, you work in one bundle in your organization, for example, a higher education institution, if this is a student project or the company that hired you as an intern.
Tips to Get Funding From Erasmus+
So, how do you get a chance for development under this program? In fact, everything is quite simple. By the way, here you can download a full guide.
Validate Your Idea
Of course, before your idea sees the world, you must make sure that it is viable. And here you have to apply real business approaches and analyze the market with mathematical precision. There are several economic approaches that allow you to validate the idea at the stage of its development. For example, these are PEST or SWOT analysis, The Five Forces Model, Design Thinking and others. And only after you have made sure that your business idea is promising, drew a thorough portrait of the target audience and thought out preliminary methods for launching and developing, you can proceed to the next stage.
Write a White Paper
A project that exists only in your head does not really exist. Therefore, you need to draw up a document that will describe the idea of your future business from start to finish. In the language of startups, this document is called white paper, and in this case, this is also what you need. This is the document that will form the first impression of your project and prove the need for its financing. You can check some of the white paper templates at Visme.
As a rule, white paper contains comprehensive information about the project – from the moment the idea was born to the preliminary business plan, taking into account all the risks, plus an assessment of the finances necessary for implementation.
Go Through the Registration on the Platform
Here is the place you need to register on. At this point, you should not run into difficulties – just be careful and follow the prompts.
Get a Participant Registration Code
After you have completed the Erasmus+ registration process, you will automatically receive a special code that will be valid until a final decision is made regarding your project and until the end of your participation in the program. This code serves as the main identifier for the program participant.
Submit Your Project
Now we move on to the most critical part – you need to submit an application. Please note that applications are accepted only through your personal member profile and only online. Be very careful when filling out the application, since each of your actions will be strictly limited by the deadline.
Get Feedback
Once you have submitted your application, it will be submitted for consideration. The evaluation procedure is complex because each factor will be taken into account – from the correctness of filling out the application form to the potential profitability of your idea. At this point, you should prepare yourself for the wait. In addition, be prepared for the fact that you will be asked to provide additional information regarding your Erasmus+ project – but only those data that do not change the original essence of your idea. And if after this stage you get consent, then we can only congratulate you on your success.
Make Improvements
However, it can also happen that you get additional comments and suggestions regarding your project. And then your task is to make the appropriate changes, listen to the expert opinion and try again.
2020 Funding – What Do You Need to Know
So, finally, we got to the most important issue – the issue of money. Of course, it is obvious that every euro you ask for should be reasoned by the real indicators of your business plan. And this means an additional need for very thorough research before starting the process of applying for the project funding.
As for the real numbers, in 2020, the maximum possible funding for Erasmus+ can not exceed 500,000 euros. In addition, if you downloaded the guide, then you can find all the subtleties and pitfalls regarding the financing of projects since the program provides for rather flexible conditions for investing and receiving payments in each individual case.
Conclusion
So, as you can see, not everything is so simple with the Erasmus + program. The idea of creating your own startup and seeking independent financing seems much more understandable and affordable. However, let’s not forget that the goal of the program is primarily the development of European business, and these requirements have never been clear of bureaucratic red tape. And in any case, the old rule that you need to knock in order for the door to open continues to operate in this case.
Author’s BIO: Gregory V Chapman
Gregory is passionate about researching new technologies in both mobile, web and WordPress. Also, he works on writing service review websites Online Writers Rating. He is in love with stories and facts, so he always tries to get the best of both worlds.
