Prowpeller
Applicants are responsible for reading and complying with all requirements before applying.
Last updated: 3 August 2026
Prowpeller is the matchmaking and pitch competition of the PROW conference. It is open to early-stage startups and founding teams, and it runs from the opening of applications on 3 August 2026 through to Pitch Day, held on stage at PROW 2026 on 30 October 2026 at the Timișoara Convention Center.
This document sets out the rules of the competition itself: who may enter, how applications are submitted and evaluated, what happens on Pitch Day, and what winning does and does not entitle a startup to. It is the document an applicant accepts when submitting an application.
The competition is not the accelerator. The Vest Ventures acceleration and investment programs (pre-acceleration, acceleration and seed financing), operationalised under the Business Acceleration Financial Instrument financed from the West Regional Program 2021-2027 (SMIS Code: 358941), are governed by their own participation regulation, published on the Vest Ventures platform at vestventures.vc/en/programs-terms. That regulation covers the state aid regimes, investment ceilings, private co-financing requirements, monitoring, reporting and archiving obligations, and it becomes binding on a startup only if and when that startup enters the programs. Applicants are strongly advised to read it before applying.
Prowpeller is organised jointly by the two entities below, each responsible for a distinct part of the competition. Where this document refers to the Organisers, it refers to both, acting within their respective roles.
Learn Build Share, a Romanian registered non-governmental organisation headquartered in Timișoara, 19 Aries, 2nd floor, room 207, is the official organiser of the PROW conference. Learn Build Share is responsible for the Prowpeller stage and running order, the Startup Expo, the venue, accreditation and all event logistics. Contact: hello@prow.ro.
Usaldusfond Wise Guys Romania Fund 1 (commercially called Vest Ventures / vestventures.vc), an investment fund registered in Estonia (code 17329661, headquartered at A. Lauteri 3, 10114, Tallinn), legally represented by the General Partner Wise Guys Ventures OÜ, is responsible for the evaluation of applications, the selection of the shortlisted startups, the composition of the jury and any investment that follows the competition.
Vest Ventures manages the financial instrument through the Wise Grow Collective consortium, composed of Wise Guys Ventures OÜ (Estonia, Association Leader and Authorized Fund Administrator), Wise Guys Holding OÜ (Estonia), Growceanu Angel Investment SRL (Romania), Cowork Timișoara SRL (Romania) and Iceberg Plus SRL (Romania). Funding is provided from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and from the state budget, through the West Regional Program 2021-2027, under Policy Objective 1: "A more competitive and smarter Europe".
Applications are open to early-stage startups and to founding teams that have not yet incorporated a company, provided that every member of the team has full legal capacity and is at least 18 years old on the date the application is submitted. Applying does not require the applicant to be incorporated, to be located in any particular region, or to have raised any prior funding.
The eligibility conditions below do not restrict who may apply or who may pitch, but they must be met before any investment is made or any place in the accelerator is taken up. Applicants who cannot meet them may still compete, and should be aware that they will not be able to accept the prize described in art. 6.
In accordance with European rules and the clauses of the Financing Agreement, startups/individual applicants are not eligible and will be automatically rejected if they are involved in any of the following activities or find themselves in any of the following situations:
There must be no family relationship, hidden affiliation or direct patrimonial interest between the management structure/associates of the startup and the team of the investment partner or the partners in the management consortium. Any previous ownership of shares or equity options by members of the fund management team in the applicant startup results in absolute ineligibility. Applicants are required to complete a declaration on their own responsibility regarding the absence of a conflict of interest.
The digital application platform made available by the Organisers is the only way to enter Prowpeller. Applications submitted by any other route (email, social media, in person at the event) are not registered and are not evaluated.
The entire application and evaluation flow is recorded digitally, ensuring a complete history of each application submitted.
Evaluation is carried out by Vest Ventures after applications close on 25 September, through a digitalised, multi-stage process which combines the analysis of the submitted materials by the fund's key experts with specialised human expertise (possibly complemented with a strictly indicative role by an assessment based on an AI-type algorithm). No application is rejected on the basis of an automated score alone.
Applications are reviewed against the criteria communicated on the application platform, which relate to the strength of the team, the problem addressed, the stage and validation of the product, market and scaling potential, and the fit with the areas described in art. 2.B. The Organisers may at any stage ask an applicant for additional information or documents, invite the team to an interview, or carry out preliminary compliance, conflict of interest and legal status checks.
Depending on the outcome, the Organisers may also propose that an applicant be redirected towards a different component of the Vest Ventures programs (for example acceleration without investment, or pre-acceleration) instead of, or in addition to, a place in the competition.
The shortlisted startups are notified individually in early October 2026 and are asked to confirm their participation in Pitch Day by the deadline stated in the notification. A startup that does not confirm in time may be replaced. The number of startups shortlisted, and the allocation of Startup Expo booths among them, are decided by the Organisers.
Selection decisions are taken at the sole discretion of the Organisers and are final. The Organisers are not obliged to give individual feedback on unsuccessful applications, and are not obliged to shortlist any startup at all if, in their assessment, no application meets the standard of the competition.
Two distinct reporting channels are available in relation to the recruitment and evaluation process, both of which benefit from a rigorous analysis within 5 business days.
Use this channel for anything related to the application process, the evaluation, or your ongoing interaction with the team.
This channel is dedicated to reporting serious irregularities, unethical behavior or violations of the law (e.g. fraud, corruption, undeclared conflicts of interest).
Important note: You will only receive a response/update on the status of your complaint if you have provided an email address in the questionnaire. In the absence of a contact address, the complaint will be processed internally, but we will not be able to communicate the status or outcome of the analysis to you.
Pitch Day takes place on 30 October 2026, on stage at the PROW conference, in front of a jury, investors and the conference audience.
The winning startup is offered an investment opportunity of up to EUR 150,000 from Vest Ventures, together with a place in Cohort 2 of the Vest Ventures accelerator, which starts on 2 November 2026.
The prize is an opportunity, not a payment. Winning Prowpeller grants the startup entry into a negotiation and due diligence process with Vest Ventures. It does not, in itself, create any entitlement to receive money, and no provision of this document obliges Vest Ventures to disburse any amount. The actual investment (including whether it is made at all, its final amount, its structure and its timing) is conditional on all of the following:
From the moment a startup enters the accelerator or signs an Investment Agreement, the Vest Ventures participation regulation applies to it in full, including the obligations regarding active participation, monitoring and on-site visits, audit trail and archiving, visibility and publicity, the horizontal principles, and the refund and sanction clauses set out there. Those obligations are not reproduced in this document and are not waived by its silence.
The prize cannot be exchanged for cash or for any other benefit, and cannot be transferred to another startup or team. If the winning startup declines the opportunity, withdraws, or does not meet the conditions above, the Organisers may, but are not obliged to, offer the opportunity to another startup that took part in Pitch Day.
Applying to Prowpeller and taking part in the competition are free of charge. No entry fee, commission or participation cost is charged by the Organisers at any stage.
Unless the Organisers expressly communicate otherwise, each participant bears its own costs of taking part, including travel, accommodation, meals, the production of pitch materials and any costs of staffing a Startup Expo booth. Access arrangements to the PROW conference for the shortlisted startups, and any support towards participation costs, are communicated by the Organisers together with the Pitch Day logistics.
Costs incurred by an applicant in preparing an application are borne by the applicant, including where the application is unsuccessful or where the competition is amended, suspended or cancelled under art. 12.
The PROW code of conduct applies to every participant, for the whole duration of the competition and at the event. A standard of zero tolerance is applied towards any form of discrimination, harassment or unequal treatment based on gender, ethnic or racial origin, religion, disability, age or sexual orientation.
The following are grounds for immediate disqualification from the competition, and where the startup has already been designated as winner, for withdrawal of the prize:
Disqualification may be applied to the entire team or only to the members responsible, where the remaining members decide to continue and the Organisers agree. Disqualification takes effect on written notification and does not give rise to any compensation.
A participant may withdraw from the competition at any time and for any reason, by written notification to the Organisers. A participant who withdraws before receiving any amount owes no refund, and is required to return any materials, access data and resources made available to it for the purposes of the competition.
Entering Prowpeller does not result in the transfer to the Organisers of copyright or of any intellectual or industrial property right relating to the business projects proposed within the competition, nor of the intellectual property rights of the participants.
Participants are responsible for the accuracy and correctness of the information provided during the competition, including, but not limited to, creative ideas, suggestions and feedback/information regarding proposed products and services, market analyses, surveys, business plans, business forecasts, partnerships, know-how, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "Content"). Each participant represents and warrants that they are the author and owner of the Content provided and/or that they are otherwise able to grant the Organisers the rights to use such Content for the purposes of the competition.
Participants also declare that, by registering and participating, they do not violate, either directly or indirectly, any right of a third party (including, but not limited to, intellectual property rights, the right to activate a confidentiality or non-compete clause). Participants assume full responsibility for the Content and for the way in which they decide to develop it and are directly liable to third parties potentially affected. Neither the Organisers nor their collaborators have or assume any liability, and cannot be held liable for any kind of damage that may result from accessing and/or processing any information, data, business initiatives/ideas or documents from the Content provided by participants.
The commercial data submitted for evaluation (pitch decks, budgets, technical details protected by trade secrets) are strictly confidential and accessible only to the team of the investment partner and, where required, to the Management Authority. The methodologies, screening processes, evaluation criteria, event and training materials used by the Organisers remain the exclusive intellectual property of the entities forming the Wise Grow Collective consortium and of Learn Build Share respectively, and may not be reproduced, distributed or used by participants for any purpose other than taking part in the competition.
A pitch delivered on the Prowpeller stage is public. Pitch Day takes place in front of the conference audience and may be recorded, streamed and reported on by the press. Participants must not disclose on stage, at the Startup Expo booth or in any public part of the event any information they need to keep secret, including unpublished technical details, trade secrets or anything that would prejudice a future patent application. Participants understand and consent to the fact that part of the Content presented during the event becomes accessible to other participants, to the Organisers, to mentors and external partners and to the general public.
All participants expressly authorise the Organisers to take photo, video and audio materials during Prowpeller and the PROW conference, including at Pitch Day and the Startup Expo. These will be used free of charge and for a period at least equal to the archiving period, for the purpose of promotion, progress reporting to authorities, in presentations made and on the official media channels of Learn Build Share, of Usaldusfond Wise Guys Romania Fund 1 (with the commercial name Vest Ventures) and of the entities in the consortium as well as of ADR Vest (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, etc.).
Participants also authorise the Organisers to use the name and logo of the startup and a short description of the project in the communication of the competition and of the conference.
This paragraph applies to startups that receive an investment. Although confidential commercial data, source code, technological secrets and intellectual property rights of startups are fully protected, elements regarding the use of public funds cannot be declared confidential. The identity of the beneficiaries (the official name of the SME), the logo or other branding elements created, the location of the project, the business idea and the amounts received (financing and the value of support services) will be mandatorily published in the Electronic State Aid Register (RegAS), on the official website vestventures.vc and on the transparency platforms of ADR Vest. The related visibility and publicity obligations are detailed in the Vest Ventures participation regulation.
Personal data submitted in the application are processed for the purposes of running the competition (evaluating applications, communicating with applicants, organising Pitch Day and, where applicable, initiating the investment process) by the Organisers, each within its own role.
By applying, the applicant confirms that they acknowledge and assume the provisions of the Personal Data Processing Policy by checking the corresponding box at the end of the application form. The PROW Privacy Policy applies to the processing carried out in connection with the conference and this website.
The Organisers reserve the right to modify or update the content of this document at any time, including as a result of legislative, jurisprudential or operational changes. Any revision is marked by updating the "Last updated" date on this page. Changes that significantly affect the rights of applicants are additionally communicated, by posting on this page and/or by email to the contact addresses provided, at least 15 days before their entry into force.
Continuing participation, or taking any action (submitting the application, attending an interview, confirming a place on the stage, accepting the prize) after the publication of an updated version, constitutes implicit acceptance of the new conditions. It remains the responsibility of the applicant/participant to check this page periodically.
The Organisers may also decide to suspend, postpone or cancel the competition, in whole or in part, or to change its dates, format or venue, for reasons such as:
Such a decision is communicated publicly by publishing an announcement on this page. In these situations the Organisers are not bound by any further obligation towards applicants or participants and do not owe them any compensation, without prejudice to the rights already acquired under an Investment Agreement signed before the date of the decision.
Any notification sent to applicants or participants by the Organisers in relation to this document is deemed to have been validly communicated, as follows:
Verbal notifications will not be taken into account unless they are subsequently confirmed by one of the above methods. Applicants are responsible for keeping the contact details declared in the application accurate and for monitoring that address, including its spam folder.
These rules are governed by Romanian law. Any dispute arising in connection with the interpretation or execution of obligations shall be resolved amicably as a priority. If an amicable solution is not possible, exclusive territorial jurisdiction shall lie with the competent courts of Timișoara.
The section titles of this document are strictly for guidance only and do not in any way affect the interpretation of their contents.
Applicants and participants may not assign the place obtained in the competition, nor the rights or obligations resulting from it, without the prior and express consent of the Organisers. The Organisers may assign the capacity of organiser, as well as the related rights or obligations, to any third party, without the consent of the applicants or participants.
If any of the provisions of this document is declared null and void, in whole or in part, the other provisions remain valid and continue to produce their effects, and the affected provision will be replaced, as far as possible, with one having an effect equivalent to that originally intended.
Persons completing forms, participating in the competition, or submitting notifications on behalf of an applicant declare, on their own responsibility, that they are legally authorised to perform these actions and assume the related obligations.
The waiver by the Organisers of applying a particular provision in a specific case does not constitute a general waiver of the right to apply it subsequently or in other situations.
By checking the option "I accept the Terms and Conditions" on the application platform, the Applicant confirms on their own responsibility that they have read, understood and fully assume these rules of the Prowpeller competition.
The Applicant further acknowledges that the competition and the acceleration programs are governed by separate documents: that a place in the accelerator and any investment are subject to the participation regulation published at www.vestventures.vc and to the negotiation and formal signing of a separate Investment Agreement, which alone details the rights, commercial obligations and clauses specific to the equity transaction, the public nature of the allocated European funds and the obligations incumbent on a beneficiary during and after the program.