With a special graduation ceremony titled “Beyond the Finish Line,” the ACE at the Athens University of Economics and Business celebrated the completion of “Compass Cycle 2025–2026,” an intensive 9-month business acceleration program that supported startups and innovative business and research teams on their path to growth and market entry.
During the program, 22 teams joined the acceleration cycle, with 19 successfully completing the program. Through a comprehensive support framework, participants had access to personalized mentoring, specialized consulting, workshops, and progress presentations, with a total of more than 90 mentoring sessions, 70 consulting sessions, 3 training bootcamps, and 6 progress presentations.
The results of the cycle reflect the significant progress made by the participating teams, which collectively surpassed 90,000 users and 660 customers, implemented more than 7 pilot applications, and executed 11 pivots, adapting their products, services, or business strategy based on market data. At the same time, their business maturity was strengthened, with the number of teams that obtained legal status increasing from 4 to 7 during the program.
Angeliki Karagiannaki, managing director of ACE, highlighted the following about the acceleration cycle: “The Compass Cycle 2025–2026 was yet another demonstration of the dynamism of the Greek innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Over the course of the program’s nine months, we saw teams develop their ideas, test new strategies, engage with customers and users, and turn their vision into tangible results. At ACE, we believe that entrepreneurship is a continuous journey of learning and growth, and we are particularly proud to support the teams at every step of this journey. Their graduation from the Compass Cycle does not mark the end of our relationship, but the beginning of a new chapter of collaboration and growth.”
The startup teams that successfully completed the Compass Cycle 2025-2026 are: 3Diorama Studios, CALT, CarDoctors, Cordia Health, Educoach, ERRiza, Flatpulse, Flockloop, Fluoverse, GIGPOSSIBLE, Matilda Edu, Modelsprint, ODYSSEE, Omnyo, PosAlgaFish (The InnovatioNauts), TalentDock, TrailAI, U-Pass, and VariateIQ.
Call for Expressions of Interest for Compass Cycle 2026-2027
ACE is already preparing the next cycle of the Compass Cycle 2026-2027 business acceleration program, which will begin in September, continuing to support startups and entrepreneurial teams seeking to develop their ideas and ventures.
Those interested in being the first to know about the start of the new cycle and the opening of applications can express their interest here.