The Startup Executive Academy (SEA) is a three-month Go-to-Market programme for executives and founders of early-stage (seed, A or B phase) technology startups that has been taking place annually since 2017.
The SEA20 Online is organized by Silicon Castles, an Austrian strategic business accelerator for technology businesses. The aim of the academy is to enable startups to accelerate their business by providing highly relevant and practical input delivered by a world-class faculty from academia and business, led by Prof. Baba Shiv from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Andreas Spechtler, CEO of Silicon Castles.
You want to know if the SEA20 Online is for you? Check out what some of the former participants have to say!
Gerhard Sigl, COO at Commend International (Salzburg, Austria), SEA19 Participant
“My favorite SEA session was Maciej Kraus’ lesson on pricing for startups. The profound understanding on the many aspects of pricing power and resulting options on pricing strategies really impressed me. Pricing is obviously fundamental for a firm’s success, but still underestimated by many – that’s why everybody holding a responsible position in a company should have profound knowledge or at least awareness about it!
The SEA served also served as reminder of the big picture of being an entrepreneur and the many aspects and disciplines you have to master. You are responsible for everything you do, there’s no safety net.
The SEA 2019 was perfect timing for us and the lessons on the BMC, telling your story and investor relations really helped us to become more professional.
The practical approach and the immediate application of the learnings to your business really sets the SEA apart from other executive education programs. Building an international network and even friendships made it a long-lasting memory.”
Zeynep Demirbilek, CEO at Service Club (Barcelona, Spain), SEA18 Participant
“From marketing to fundraising, everything that matters is covered at the SEA by people who have done it a thousand times in some of the biggest companies in the world.
I’ve mostly benefited from Baba Shiv’s (Professor at the Stanford GSB) business model creation class as well as Pascal Levensohn’s (Senior MD Dolby Family Ventures, MD Levensohn Venture Partners) fundraising class. These are not things they teach you at ordinary schools!
As an entrepreneur, it’s not enough to be good at one thing. The SEA gets you closer to the goal of being an “all-rounder” but covering everything that matters to your business.!
All the first-hand knowledge I received and the faculty’s and my peers’ support after the SEA made all the difference. It has been 2 years since I attended the course and we are more connected than ever. You automatically become a part of an exclusive community, the SEA CIRCLE where the flow of information and support continues. In the aggressive world of startups where “dog-eat-dog” applies, having your own highly intelligent and connected tribe has been a privilege!”
Nuno Job, CEO at YLD (London, UK) SEA18 Participant
“My favorite SEA lesson was on how entrepreneurship is competitive while you can shape the rules of the game. The exercise we did was really interesting and helped me rethink how I sometimes take day-to-day challenges.
The participants were quite different from what I’m used to in Exec Ed classes. It was mostly entrepreneurs looking for what they could never learn in school. It was a really fun class!”
Jovana Music, Managing Director at HUB387 (Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina), SEA18 Participant
“The energy at the SEA was amazing – great mix of skilled lecturers and participants that are actual entrepreneurs – also I loved how everybody was open to sharing their knowledge and experience.”
Curious? Check out the SEA20 Online website for more information on the schedule, tuition fees and the faculty. Applications are open until August 31, 2020.
