Founders arena 2026
16 Startups. One Stage.
The Future Of Entrepreneurship.
On June 16, the startup ecosystem gathers once again at Technopolis City of Athens for an evening dedicated to innovation, entrepreneurship, and the ideas shaping what comes next.
Founders, investors, industry leaders, and ecosystem representatives come together for a night of live startup pitches, meaningful conversations, and high-impact networking.
📍Technopolis City of Athens
📅 Tuesday, June 16, 2026
⏰ Doors Open at 18:00
About the event
What is Founders Arena
Founders Arena is the flagship event of EnvolveXL, where the startups of the program’s 3rd cohort take the stage to present their ventures live in front of investors, market leaders, and members of the innovation ecosystem.
From HealthTech and FinTech to ClimateTech, HRTech, and beyond, the event showcases founders building the next generation of impactful businesses.
The evening features:
- Live startup pitches
- Panel discussions
- Networking opportunities
- Networking
The Vision behind
Why to attend
Meet the Startups
Discover 16 promising startups from the EnvolveXL ecosystem as they take the stage to present their vision, products, and growth plans live.
Explore innovative ideas across sectors including HealthTech, FinTech, HRTech, ClimateTech, PropTech, and more.
Get
Inspired
Hear directly from founders, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders sharing their experiences, insights, and perspectives on innovation, growth, and building impactful businesses.
Connect & Network
Network with investors, mentors, corporate leaders, and key stakeholders from the startup and business ecosystem.
Founders Arena creates opportunities for meaningful conversations, collaborations, and future partnerships.
Enjoy the Vibe
Experience an evening filled with energy, creativity, and ambition inside one of Athens’ most iconic venues.
Pitches, discussions & networking
The agenda
On June 16, founders, investors and members of the startup ecosystem will gather at Technopolis City of Athens for an evening dedicated to innovation, entrepreneurship and meaningful connections.
About Envolve
Envolve Entrepreneurship
Envolve Entrepreneurship is a non-profit organization supporting entrepreneurship, at the forefront of innovation since its founding in 2012. It empowers individuals behind business ideas and promotes innovation through an open ecosystem based on collaboration, transparency, and outward-thinking. Envolve acts as a hub of innovation and knowledge, offering education and skills development, entrepreneurial support, and services in business innovation and digital transformation for a global community.
Through the EnvolveXL program, Envolve cultivates the next generation of entrepreneurs, building on the successful legacy of the Envolve Award Greece. Across its initiatives, Envolve has contributed to the growth of hundreds of businesses in Greece, Europe, and the United States, while also funding 47 companies with more than €6,200,000. These businesses have attracted an additional €330,000,000 from international investors, strengthening job creation and economic growth.
About EnvolveXl
EnvolveXL
A holistic program for early-stage startups based in Greece or Greek-founded startups worldwide for the digital & sustainable transformation of the economy.
20 startups participate in a 4-month acceleration program, where Envolve and its first-in-class group of experts take early-stage ventures to growth stage, through the provision of targeted training, founders’ networking activities, inspirational talks, funding, PoC initiatives, demo days, bonding activities, marketplace, and press exposure, investments, resulting in investment ready businesses.
We are scaling the impact and capitalizing on our 14-year legacy, working tirelessly with dozens of thousands entrepreneurs and with hundreds organizations in Europe and the U.S.A.
Community partners
In Kind Sponsors
transforming regions
Why HealthTech
Life-sciences is the dominant sector in the national Greek startup registry, Elevate Greece. Even though regulations have lifted allowing spin-offs and IP commercialization, the academic sector is struggling to find a link to “agora”, the market.
Following multiple crises and a recession which dominated the global headlines, patients see a great decline in public healthcare providers and innovative solutions. The healthtech industry is searching for test-beds and adoptions by clinics and practitioners.
Research communities drive regional growth, with major innovation hubs spanning across 6 different cities.
medagoraXL will serve as a nexus to accelerate entrepreneurial mindset and real-economy applications in the healthtech industry.
Resources & eEducational Material
MedAgoraxL Business 101 Toolkit
A collection of tools and resources tailored for researchers & entrepreneurs aiming to commercialize their health tech innovations.
This toolkit provides guidance on business fundamentals, including business planning, fundraising checklist, IP commercialization, and go-to-market design methodology, empowering innovators to navigate the complexities of starting their business ventures.
Business Model Canvas
Value Proposition Canvas
Maximizing Competitive Advantage
Persona
Customer Journey Map
Fundraising Checklist
IP Commercialization Blueprint
Powered by EVOLVED-5G
Workshop Material
Pitching to Investors
& Comms 101
Workshop Material
Innovation Strategy
from Idea to Investment Readiness
Demo Day Preparation
Pitching Reqirements
Latest News
News & Events
medagoraXL was designed and developed during the EIT Health DRIVE Program, a training program for innovation ecosystem development, targeting the HealthTech Sector. This program was organized by EIT Health Innostars, was powered by TU Delft and co-funded by the European Union, hosted online and in-person trainings and mentoring, visiting innovation centers in the Netherlands, Germany and Hungary.
6 startup support organizations from Greece, Lithuania, Italy, Slovenia, Latvia and Croatia were members of the 2023 EIT Health Drive program.
EIT Health is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.
medagoraXL through EIT Health Drive's eyes
SInce its establishment in 2012, Envolve Entrepreneurship has funded and supported dozens HealthTech startups with global presence through its former annual award programs, Envolve Award Greece, its various acceleration programs for EU startups, as well as other founders support initiatives.
Envolve introduces medagoraXL, a targeted acceleration program for the sector, connecting industry experts and helping research-based startups reach market validation and investment opportunities.
With EIT Health DRIVE program, we had the opportunity to connect with robust and well advanced innovation ecosystems. We emphasize on the importance of addressing the challenges in the health sector envisioning to revolutionize healthcare connecting the dots in the ecosystem.
Learn more about our journey through the eyes of EIT Health DRIVE program.