- 12 modules with founders, investors and operators from the startup ecosystem
- A method to shape your idea and test it with real customers
- A business case you can defend
OPEN NOW · Pre-accelerator program, Fall 2026 edition: applications close on 18 October 2026. Apply
ABOUT THE CENTER
Where ideas become startups.
The Entrepreneurship & Startup Center is the H-FARM College hub for students who want to build something of their own. It sits on the H-FARM Campus, where startups have been backed, accelerated and funded for more than 15 years.
We give you the skills, the method and the people you need to turn an idea into a company, alongside your studies. With the Student-Founder Program you move step by step from a first business case to a company with H-FARM in the cap table.
WHY HERE
A campus that builds startups.
You study in the place where some of Italy’s best-known startup stories began.
Depop was born here.
UNICORN
Founded at H-FARM in 2011 in a small house in the Seed Village, the same houses where our Student-Founder teams work today. Acquired by Etsy in 2021 for $1.625 billion.
House 03, Seed Village
50+ H-ACK editions.
HACKATHONS
Two days, a team you may have met that morning and something built from scratch. Many founding teams meet here before they apply.
H-ACK at Ca’ Tron
Italy’s first startup law started here.
POLICY
In September 2012 the government task force presented Restart, Italia! at Ca’ Tron. H-FARM’s founder was one of its twelve authors, and the report shaped Italy’s first law on innovative startups.
Restart, Italia!, 13 September 2012
€ 0M+
invested in startups
0+
startups supported
# 0
startup hub in Italy, Financial Times
# 0
in Europe for mentoring services, Financial Times
STUDENT FOUNDERS
Built by students like you.
These companies were started by H-FARM College students during their studies. They began exactly where you are now.
Rosso
The Italian app to book blood and plasma donations in more than 1,500 centres. Chiara created it during her Bachelor’s in Digital Management, and in 2024 she was named one of Forbes Italia’s Under 30.
Chiara Schettino and Filippo Toni, co-founders
€3M round raised in 2026
Etrash
MIDA is an AI smart bin that recognises each item and sorts it into the right compartment. Winner of Red Bull Basement Italy 2021, tested by IKEA in Padua and, since January 2026, installed at H-FARM College.
Filippo Casellato, Sebastiano Felicetti and Umberto Bolzoni, co-founders
96% sorting accuracy
Emerals
Europe’s largest GTA V roleplay community: a network of multiplayer servers, from roleplay to competitive PvP, that grew into a company registered on the H-FARM Campus.
Michele and Pier Paolo Mangiacotti, co-founders
420k+ people in its Discord community
Scout IP
AI prior-art search: describe your invention in plain words and find out how new it really is, before you pay a patent attorney.
Anna Kazazaeva, founder
164M+ patents searched by meaning
Razor Padel
A padel brand by players, for players: rackets, apparel and limited-edition drops, designed in Italy and tested on court every day.
Aurora Tasca, founder
3,500+ players in 6 countries
Timeless Club
A platform that connects brands and content creators, turning products, events and experiences into collaborations you can track and measure. Clients include Technogym and BMW.
Roberto Oliva and Luciano Burattin, founders
10,000+ collaborations managed
Not an H-FARM College student? The Student-Founder Program is reserved for our students. If you’re working on an idea, pitch it at Storming Pizza: five startups every month, open to everyone. Write to stormingpizza@h-farm.com.
BEFORE YOU APPLY
Start with a team and an idea.
To apply to the Pre-accelerator program you need two things: a team, which you’ll find at hackathons and Company Challenges, and a starting idea, which you develop in your own time.
HACKATHONS & COMPANY CHALLENGES
Find your team
Learn to work on a real problem, fast
Work in a team and see who you work best with
Build a portfolio of projects you’ve actually made
Not the place to find your startup idea
What you build there belongs to H-FARM College or to the partner company, as stated in the agreement you sign when you join. Keep challenge projects out of the Student-Founder Program.
YOUR FREE TIME
Find your idea
List the problems you care about
Rank them with the Problem Discovery Tool
Choose one with your team
Apply to the Pre-accelerator program
The Problem Discovery Tool is free and guides you, step by step, to a problem worth working on.
THE STUDENT-FOUNDER PROGRAM
Three phases, from idea to company.
Every phase is by selection: completing one gives you the right to apply to the next, not a place in it.
PHASE 01
Pre-accelerator program
3 months · Free
Three months to shape your idea, test it with real customers and build a business case you can defend. No equity, nothing to sign.
What you get
Who can apply
- H-FARM College students, on their own or in a team of up to 4
- In a team, at least one member must be an H-FARM College student
- Up to 10 teams per edition, with priority for third-year students
What happens next
- In three months you may find out that a startup isn’t for you. That’s a good outcome too
- If you want to keep going, you can apply to Phase 02
Next, once you’ve completed the Pre-accelerator program ↓
PHASE 02
Backing
6 months · Equity only if you incorporate
Six months on campus with desks, mentoring and the H-FARM name next to yours, to find out whether your project can become a company.
What you get
- Up to 4 desks in the Seed Village, free for 6 months
- Up to 12 mentoring sessions with the Startup Center, whenever you need them
- A meeting with H-FARM’s leadership
- First-line legal guidance and introductions across the H-FARM ecosystem
- The right to say you were “selected for the H-FARM Student-Founder Program”
What we ask
- If you incorporate a company on the same project within 18 months of the end of Phase 02, H-FARM can choose to take a minority stake at incorporation, as set out in the agreement
- If you never incorporate, you owe nothing
- A short written update every month, and at least two days a week on campus for each person with a desk
Who can apply
- Your team lead has completed the Pre-accelerator program, in any edition and with any idea
- Your team lead is an H-FARM College student, and everyone on the team is 18 or older
How to apply
- Download the agreement and fill in Annex A (your project) and Annex B (your team)
- Sign it with your whole team and email it to the Startup Center during an application window
- It only takes effect if you’re admitted. If you’re not, you owe nothing
Then, while you’re in Phase 02, if you ask for it ↓
PHASE 03
Investment & Incorporation
+6 months
An investment sized to what your company needs, six more months on campus and support to incorporate.
What you get
- An investment from H-FARM, in cash and/or services, sized to what your company needs
- 6 more months of desks on campus
- Help preparing your incorporation documents
- Introductions to H-FARM’s lawyer, notary and accountant
- The option to register your company’s legal address at H-FARM
What we ask
- An additional minority stake for H-FARM at incorporation, as set out in the agreement
- The stake doesn’t change with the size of the investment
How you get there
- Ask by the end of month 5 of Phase 02. There’s no public form: the Startup Center sends it to you during Phase 02
- H-FARM’s Investment Committee replies by the end of month 6
- If it’s a yes, you receive a written proposal that you can accept or decline
KEY DATES
Mark your dates.
Each phase opens on set dates. Applications sent outside these windows won’t be reviewed.
Updated 13 October 2026
Phase 01 · Pre-accelerator program
Two editions a year, up to 10 teams each.
- Edition
- Applications
- Program
- Status
- Fall 2026
- 21 September – 18 October 2026
- 10 November 2026 – 16 February 2027
- Open
- Spring 2027
- 10 December 2026 – 1 February 2027
- 23 February – 4 May 2027
- Upcoming
Phase 02 · Backing
Windows open in the first two weeks of January, April, July and October. We review all applications from the same window together, not first come first served, and everyone admitted starts on the same day.
- Applications
- Answer by
- Your cohort starts
- 1 – 14 October 2026 (open)
- 11 November 2026
- 1 December 2026
- 1 – 14 January 2027
- 11 February 2027
- 1 March 2027
- 1 – 14 April 2027
- 12 May 2027
- 1 June 2027
- 1 – 14 July 2027
- 11 August 2027
- 1 September 2027
Phase 03 · Investment & Incorporation
No public window: you ask for it during Phase 02, and deadlines count from the day your cohort starts.
- 1
- 2
- 3
End of month 5
You ask for Phase 03. If you don’t, you keep your desks until the end of month 6.
End of month 6
H-FARM replies. If it’s a yes, you receive a written proposal.
If you accept
Your desks continue for another 6 months while you incorporate.
GOOD TO KNOW
Four rules, no surprises.
1
The Pre-accelerator program is free.
Phase 01 costs nothing, takes no equity and asks you to sign nothing. Equity only comes up from Phase 02, and only if you incorporate.
2
Equity only if a company is born.
If you stop earlier, you owe nothing: desks, mentoring and support are on us. If you incorporate, H-FARM’s option applies to the same project for 18 months, even if H-FARM decides not to invest.
3
Every phase is by selection.
Completing a phase gives you the right to apply to the next, never a guaranteed place. Each decision is final and outcomes aren’t explained. The Pre-accelerator program is the only way in.
4
One official contact.
For the program, and for building a startup with H-FARM, the only official channel is startupcenter@h-farm.com. Professors can support you along the way, but decisions and commitments go through the Startup Center.
FAQ
Still have a question?
I don’t have an idea yet. Where do I start?
Join a hackathon or a Company Challenge to find people you want to build with. Then, in your own time, use the Problem Discovery Tool to choose a problem worth solving. Once you have a team and a problem, apply to the Pre-accelerator program.
Can I use an idea from a hackathon or a Company Challenge?
No. What you build in hackathons and Company Challenges belongs to H-FARM College or to the partner company. The project you bring into the program has to be your own.
Can people from outside H-FARM College join my team?
Yes. At least one team member must be an H-FARM College student: that person is the team lead and our only point of contact. To sign the Phase 02 agreement, everyone on the team must be 18 or older.
Does the Pre-accelerator program cost anything or take equity?
No. It’s free, you sign nothing and H-FARM takes no equity.
I did the Pre-accelerator program last year with a different idea. Can I apply to Phase 02?
Yes. Completing the Pre-accelerator program doesn’t expire and isn’t tied to the project you worked on. What counts is that your team lead has completed it.
How do we apply to Phase 02?
Download the agreement, fill in Annex A (your project) and Annex B (your team), sign it with your whole team and email it to startupcenter@h-farm.com during an application window. There’s no online form for Phase 02.
Why do we sign the agreement when we apply, not when we’re admitted?
So that everything is clear before you start, including the terms of Phase 03. The agreement only takes effect once H-FARM countersigns it, which happens when you’re admitted. If you’re not admitted, it has no effect and you owe nothing.
When do we hear back on Phase 02, and when do we start?
Within 20 working days of the window closing. If you’re in, you start on the first day of the month after our answer, together with everyone admitted from the same window. Apply in the first two weeks of October and you start on 1 December. You’ll find all the dates in the table above.
How often do we have to be on campus?
Everyone with a desk is expected on campus at least two days a week, and the team sends a short written update to the Startup Center once a month. Desks are assigned by name.
What happens to our desks if we stop, or if Phase 03 is a no?
The desks are yours until the end of month 6 either way. If you asked for Phase 03 and the answer is no, you get 30 more days at no cost. After that you can keep the space at H-FARM’s standard rates with a 10% discount, or leave.
What exactly does H-FARM’s option on equity mean?
If, within 18 months of the end of Phase 02, you incorporate a company on the same project described in Annex A, H-FARM can choose to take a minority stake in it, as set out in the agreement. You let us know before you incorporate, and we tell you whether H-FARM will use the option. If you don’t incorporate, or you start something outside that project, there’s nothing to give.
Will you keep our idea confidential?
Yes. Everything you send is treated as confidential from the moment your application arrives, whether or not you’re admitted. Being turned down gives H-FARM no rights over your project.
How much does H-FARM invest in Phase 03?
It depends on what your company needs: capital, or services and introductions. H-FARM decides case by case and sets it out in a written proposal that you can accept or decline. What H-FARM asks in return is set out in the agreement and doesn’t change with the size of the investment.
Who pays to incorporate the company?
The company does: notary and incorporation costs, and the accountant afterwards. We introduce you to the professionals H-FARM works with and help you prepare the documents.
Can we say H-FARM is backing us?
From the start of Phase 02 you can say you were “selected for the H-FARM Student-Founder Program”. You can’t say H-FARM funds or invests in you until H-FARM is actually a shareholder, and you can’t use H-FARM logos without written permission.
We weren’t selected. Can we apply again?
Yes. A no in one window doesn’t close the door: you can apply again in a later window. We always review the applications from a window together, not first come first served.
My idea came out of a course or my thesis. Is it still mine?
Yes. Projects developed in H-FARM College courses, theses or labs remain yours. Your professor can stay on as a supervisor if they wish, but your contact for the program is always the Startup Center.
READY TO START?
Your idea starts here.
Applying to the Pre-accelerator program takes just a few minutes. For Phase 02 and Phase 03, write to startupcenter@h-farm.com.
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