The Starburst – Hub71 Accelerator is leading the startup revolution by redefining and accelerating the future. Our mission is to identify, support, and scale leading early-stage technology companies in order to successfully participate with the Global Aerospace, Aviation and Defense Industry.
Participating companies will be:
- • Trained and mentored by world class business executives, entrepreneurs, and investors
- • Networked into the Global Space, Aerospace, and Defense Innovation Ecosystem
- • Tested to enable a business model and plan which will be immediately successful in the Industry
- • Funded with $120k for a negotiated equity return, and prepared and networked for successful seed/series A round
- • Given access to the highly advantageous economic environment in Abu Dhabi
Hub71 is a global ecosystem located in the heart of Abu Dhabi offering an interconnected network to enable innovation and growth opportunities for transformational tech companies and startups, creating an environment where entrepreneurs can thrive. It is a flagship initiative of the ‘Ghadan 21’ program working to accelerate Abu Dhabi’s economy. Alongside strategic partners Microsoft, SoftBank Vision Fund, Abu Dhabi Global Market and Mubadala, Hub71’s mission is to create an optimal environment for outstanding innovation making economic and social impact. Supported by world-leading technology companies, accelerators, venture capitalists, and exceptional talent, Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 offers a community of world-class innovators and enables start-ups and entrepreneurs to develop, scale and build transformational businesses.
Applications Open |
NOW! |
Application Deadline |
Aug 25, 2019 |
Soft Start |
Sept 24, 2019 |
Start of the Program |
Sept 29, 2019 |
Completion |
Dec 19, 2019 |
Location: Hub71, Abu Dhabi Global Market Square, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates



×FRANCOIS CHOPARD
François has over 20 years of experience in strategy consulting, entrepreneurship and business development.
He has founded Starburst Accelerator, the 1st incubator/accelerator dedicated to aerospace start-ups.
François specializes in the Aviation Aerospace and Defense industries featuring high stakes technology and has developed a wide experience of innovation-related issues.
This has led him to speak about innovation at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
He works now on topics like future trends, product strategy, open innovation for companies mainly from the aerospace industry as well as investment funds.
Previously to joining Impulse Partners, François was a Paris-based partner at Oliver Wyman. He was also founder and CEO of Arendi Consulting.
François received his MS in Electrical Engineering from the Ecole Supérieur d’Electricité (Supélec) in Paris, France. He has started his carreer as an Airbus Engineer and spent two years in a US Airforce research lab.
×JON GRUEN
Jon leverages more than twenty highly successful years in the defense and aerospace industry to provide innovative solutions for start-ups to the largest corporations for successful business growth. He is currently a General Partner at Starburst Ventures which is an Aviation, Aerospace, and Defense focused Venture Capital Fund that leverages access to the largest global industry stakeholders group to provide mentorship and growth funding to innovative start-ups. Previously Jon was a Corporate Business Development and Strategy lead for Lockheed Martin and SIMS Software, and is a Captain in the U.S. Navy SEAL Reserves.
×MATTHEW MICHELSEN
Matt has been investing and advising top technology companies and venture capital funds in Silicon Valley for
over 20 years. Matt is a global connector with an expansive network that includes, start-up founders, Fortune 500 CEOs, global sovereign wealth funds, and family offices. Matt is a trusted advisor and emissary to industry leaders and top tier fund managers across a variety of asset classes.
×ELODIE ROBIN-GUILLERM
Passionate about Industry, Elodie supported the business development of industry leaders for 15 years, mainly in Africa and Middle East.
She started her career in 2005 with Airbus Group, in charge of industrial cooperation projects for the UAE, Turkey and Romania. In 2008 she moved to the agrochemical leader Roullier Group as Business Development Director.
Back to the aerospace industry, she joined Thales, leader in designing and building electrical systems for the aerospace, defence, transportation and security markets. For 9 years, she covered several positions, from handling industrial partnerships for the Africa region, based in Morocco to head of partnerships and innovation for Middle East region, in Dubai.
Intrigued by digital transformation, she was interested to experience how industrial leaders can innovate and create additional value not only based on R&D and technical incumbency. She joined the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit, a joint initiative by the United Arab Emirates Government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) about the future of industry, as director for partnerships.
She joined Starburst in 2019 to support the Abu Dhabi accelerator program.
She owns a Master of Management from ESCP Europe business school in Paris and a Master of Business Administration from UCM in Madrid.
to be announced
Offer
Clear and detailed product description
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Robust business model
Innovation
Technology Readiness Level (TRL)
Competitive advantage and solution differentiators
Market
Attractiveness
Size
Accessibility
Existing customers or traction
Team
Team chemistry
Technology competency
Business competency
Willingness to establish a presence in Hub71/Abu Dhabi
Financial
Funding strategy
Business model assumptions
Risk analysis
Comments are closed.