BADideas.fund opens applications for the 3rd Fundraising School; applications close September 4

The venture capital and angel investment fund BADideas.fund, in partnership with the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) and the Riga Investment and Tourism Agency (RITA), is opening applications for the third edition of Fundraising School, a unique accelerator program equipping CEE startups with the skills and investor access needed to raise global capital. Over the past two years, Fundraising School alumni have collectively raised more than €5.2 million in investments.

This year’s program will include interactive webinars and workshops, culminating in one-on-one meetings with investors and a final pitch demo day. The best-performing startups will have the opportunity to win cash prizes from Make and Hubspot to fuel their growth. In previous years, more than a third of participants received invitations from investors for follow-up discussions or entry into other accelerator programs.

“This is a unique opportunity to gain fundraising skills in a short and intensive format – and it’s completely free of charge,” says Jurģis Kalniņš, Program Director of Fundraising School. “Once again, the program will be led by two experienced instructors with backgrounds both in startups and investment, including Silicon Valley companies – Diāna Lāce-Davidova, current Head of Operations at Latvia’s success story Whimsical, and Suhas Ghante, a two-time 500 Startups graduate, entrepreneur, and partner at SVethos.”

In addition to lectures and workshops, the program will feature more than 20 venture capital funds managing over €700 million, as well as four founder-mentors who have successfully raised capital themselves.

“It’s not the best companies that get funded - it’s the best storytellers.”

“Time and again we see that great companies fail to raise because their applications don’t answer key investor questions: why this team, how fast is the market growing, and how exactly will capital fuel growth,” notes Raimonds Kulbergs, founder of BADideas.fund. “In today’s post-pandemic climate, investors demand rapid but efficient growth. With our 250-strong investor community, we’re able to bring Silicon Valley’s best fundraising practices and share them with our region. The growing interest from both startups and investors for the third year in a row is a strong signal that this program is needed.”

A unique focus on early-stage founders from CEE

Fundraising School is the only specialized accelerator program in Latvia dedicated solely to preparing startups for fundraising – targeted at pre-seed and seed-stage founders across industries. Over six weeks, participants will learn to approach investors, craft compelling pitches, and close investment deals.

Applications are open until September 4, 2025: https://www.badideas.fund/fundraising-school

The program is free of charge, thanks to strategic support from the Riga Investment and Tourism Agency, as well as the Latvian Investment and Development Agency, that operates under activity 1.2.1.4 "Support for the improvement of the technology transfer system" of the Specific Support Objective 1.2.1 "Strengthening of research and innovation capacity and introduction of advanced technologies in enterprises" of the European Union Cohesion Policy Programme 2021-2027 (project identification number 1.2.1.4/1/23/I/001)”.

📅 Applications close: September 4, 2025

🌐 Apply here: https://www.badideas.fund/fundraising-school

Media contact:

Jurģis Kalniņš, Program Director, Fundraising School

j@badideas.fund | +371 26757704