There are many great ideas in Kaunas: why do only a few of them become products?
Every year, dozens of technological ideas are born in Kaunas. They are presented at hackathons, developed in universities, and built by small teams. However, only a small portion of them reach the market. The biggest challenge lies not in the idea itself, but in the most critical stage – when it needs to be turned into a real, functioning product.
This was also confirmed by the hackathon “Tech_Champ 2026”, held in mid-March in Kaunas, which brought together nearly 40 teams – from students and researchers to already active technology projects. While the event became a starting point for many ideas, experience shows that some of them will not move forward.
It is precisely at this stage that Tech-Park Kaunas steps in, offering a structured pre-acceleration program for teams that have the ambition to move forward and turn technological ideas into market-ready products.
The greatest risk for startups arises at an early stage – when enthusiasm and creativity need to be transformed into clear decisions and real actions.
According to Tech-Park Kaunas CEO Paulius Nezabitauskas, teams most often lack not ideas, but clear direction:
“Startups usually stop not because of the idea itself, but because of its implementation – the creation of a solution that helps solve a customer’s problem: reduce financial and time costs or improve quality of life. If there is no proper solution or value delivered to the customer, there are no sales – that is the rule of business.”
According to the Tech-Park Kaunas team, the value of the pre-acceleration program is best reflected through real results.
One example is “BrainPredict”, which develops artificial intelligence solutions for early diagnosis of neurological diseases and is already operating in international markets.
According to co-founder Vytautas Petkus, at the early stage the most important thing is not the perfection of the idea, but the ability to start acting. “Startups do not begin with perfect ideas – they begin with the decision to try. The Tech-Park Kaunas program is the safest place to do that,” he says.
Another example is “BrachyDose”, which develops solutions for radiotherapy planning. According to the team, the program helped not only to gain knowledge but also to clearly structure the business fundamentals. “The pre-acceleration program helped us reassess financial planning and better understand how to present our product to the market,” says co-founder Neringa Šeperienė.
The goal of the pre-acceleration program is to help teams move forward with clarity and avoid the most common early-stage mistakes.
Over 10 weeks, participants work with experts in technology, business, and investment, validate their ideas in real market conditions, develop and test business models, and prepare to present their solutions to investors. At the end of the program, teams participate in a “Demo Day”, where they present their solutions to investors and ecosystem partners.
According to Tech-Park Kaunas project expert Neringa Žebrauskienė, the greatest value of the program lies in its clear structure and the ability to move forward quickly:
“At the early stage, the problem is not a lack of ideas, but a lack of clear direction. The program helps teams define priorities, systematically test solutions, and avoid the most common mistakes. It provides access to expert feedback and helps reveal what often remains unnoticed. This not only accelerates growth but also significantly increases the chances of moving to the next stage and attracting investment.”
As the technology sector grows, it becomes increasingly important to be able to develop early-stage projects quickly and systematically. It is at this stage that it is most often decided whether an idea will become a real product.
In recent years, Kaunas has been steadily strengthening its position as a technology city – investing in infrastructure, encouraging collaboration between science and business, and creating conditions for innovation to grow. Initiatives such as hackathons and pre-acceleration programs are becoming an important part of the city’s innovation ecosystem and help ideas avoid getting stuck at the initial stage.
According to Tech-Park Kaunas CEO Paulius Nezabitauskas, strengthening the early stage has the greatest long-term impact:
“If we want more strong startups, we must invest not when they are already ready to grow, but when they are just forming. The early stage is where the greatest value – and the greatest risk – is created.”
The program is open to early-stage startups, researchers, students, and anyone with a clear technological idea who aims to turn it into a real product.
Selected teams will work with experts, test their solutions in the market, and prepare for further growth stages – from acquiring first clients to attracting investor attention.
Registration is open until April 10:
https://www.techpark-accelerator.lt/akceleravimo-programa