The 2nd one is http://www.axelspringerplugandplay.com/ . Axel Springer is this huge publishing house (the largest in Europe), they have numerous big newspapers (Bild, for example). I'd spend 3 months in Berlin working in their office along with other startups. 25k EUR for 5% equity. Demo day. They recruited in Berlin and Krakow (application -> short pitching & Q&A), so I guess most of the participants will speak German. They started a year ago.
The third is http://startupsauna.com/ . Their recruitment process was much cooler, it involved a few hours of 1 on 1 coaching sessions with 6 mentors. It's 1 month, more business oriented (no time to work on a product) and no money/equity involved (they're a non-profit). They said there's a 10k EUR convertible note along with a 30k grant from Finnish govt. The program ends with a demo day they organise at the Slush conf. They started in 2012.
Both offer mentoring, workshops, all the good stuff. Same with a trip to the Valley for the most promising alumni.
My story: mobile app(s), quite a bit of traction (over 1M downloads), pretty solid plans for rapid and rather inexpensive growth. Enough revenue to support my family, but at least a few months away from that growth. Also need 2-3 people for that (have specific people in mind, Axel Springer's money would make it possible).
This is all I know. I don't have any tools at my disposal to evaluate those two programs. I can't compare mentors, alumni or investor pitching potential. * what's your general opinion based on what you just read? * what questions would you ask the before deciding? * if you know anything about either one of those, please share! * are there some websites that would make the comparison easier for me?
