SouthwestX

Series A+

For Founders

Connecting Europe's Next Gen Tech Champions.

We are an invite-only circle uniting France's and Germany's most ambitious tech startup founders on a mission to strengthen European digital sovereignty.

What we are

A Franco-German Program

The STARTUP LEADERS Program fosters the Franco-German bridge to support selected (deep)tech startup founders on their path to industrial maturity and cross-border potential. In 4 highly curated off-site retreats, we match our members with top executive mentors, industrial leaders and authorities from politics and growth finance. STARTUP LEADERS is a life-long network on a mission to strengthen European tech sovereignty.

0 +

Founders per cohort

Off-site retreats

Months programme

Days minimum per retreat

What we offer

STARTUP LEADERS is:

Circle of Peers

An exclusive, trust-based circle of fellow top-level founders sharing radical honesty and deep-dive discussions on company-building at the highest level.

Leading Authorities

A mentor advisory board of leading economic, political and financial authorities, including unicorn founders, Growth VCs, and Family Offices.

Cross-Border Partnerships

Building bridges into our neighboring markets to propel cross-border market expansion and industry partnerships.

Off-the-record Insights

Guided by the Chatham House Rule, we facilitate a high-density knowledge transfer among the cohort members and with their mentors.

European Autonomy

Contributing to the agenda of European technological autonomy in key future industry sectors.

A Lifelong Connection

Once in, you will always be a part of the STARTUP LEADERS network — including regular alumni retreats and exchanges.

We unite Europe's

tech champions.

Nomination

Suitable startup candidates (C-level founders) can be nominated by VCs and mentors from our network. We are looking for (deep-)tech startups from Germany and France that raised between 10–50 Mio. € and are looking to expand cross-border.

Selection

Each nominee is screened by a jury of our top-level mentors. Up to 10 startups per country per cohort.

Commitment

Participation is mandatory. 4 off-site retreats, 2–3 days each.

Zero Admin Policy

We handle all logistics at the retreats, the travel costs need to be covered by the participants.

Locations

Paris, Saarbrücken, Baden-Baden, Southern France, Berlin or Munich

Kick-off

15.-17. June

What you can expect

Programme Schedule

This programme is preliminary and subject to change.

1st Retreat

2 days

June 15-17, 2026

Paris, pre VivaTech

Cohort building · Mentorship Matching · French industry giants & Embassy Networking

2nd Retreat

3 days

September 2026

Baden-Baden, Saarbrücken

Participation in the BBUG Fall Meetings · Partnership meetings with German Mittelstand leaders

3rd Retreat

2 days

TBA

Southern France

Executive Leadership coaching · Corporate and capital partners · Client acquisition workshops · French VCs and Growth Capital meetings

4th Retreat

2 days

TBA

Munich or Berlin

Alumni network · Policymaking workshop · Impact for European Tech sovereignty

Partner

"Europe has extraordinary talent, technology and ideas. What we often lack is the environment where these ideas can grow into great entrepreneurial leadership. STARTUP LEADERS is designed to create exactly that space."

Knut Stannowski

CEO, Collège des Ingénieurs

faq

Further info

Contact

For more questions, reach out to:

Jana Burnikel, Project Lead

For Startups

Startup Journey

Programmes & Batches

For Corporates

Innovation Journey

Ecosystem

Our Ecosystem

About

Contact

STARTUP LEADERS is:

Circle of Peers

Leading Authorities

Cross-Border Partnerships

Off-the-record Insights

European Autonomy

A Lifelong Connection

We unite Europe's

tech champions.

STARTUP LEADERS Program

Nomination

Selection

Commitment

Zero Admin Policy

Locations

Kick-off

Programme Schedule

Paris, pre VivaTech

Baden-Baden, Saarbrücken

Southern France

Munich or Berlin

"Europe has extraordinary talent, technology and ideas. What we often lack is the environment where these ideas can grow into great entrepreneurial leadership. STARTUP LEADERS is designed to create exactly that space."

Further info

For more questions, reach out to:

We'd love to hear from you