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[MALTA: OPEN DAY] From Technology to Your First Market Conversations | Thursday, 24 September | 8:30 [Zoom]
Applications for MALTA 2026 are now open
MALTA starts on 29 September 2026, and applications are already ongoing.
If you are interested in joining the program, do not wait for the Open Day to apply. Places are limited, so we recommend submitting your application as soon as possible.
You can still join the Open Day afterwards to meet the team, learn more about the program, and ask any remaining questions.
You have promising technology. But where do you start with the market?
For many early-stage technical teams, the technology is the clearest part of the business.
The harder questions come next:
Who is the right customer?
How do you explain the value of your solution?
Whom should you talk to first?
How do you start building relationships before you have a polished product, a sales team, or the perfect pitch?
Join the Entrepreneurial Office at Technology Park Ljubljana for an open conversation about the first steps in business development and the launch of MALTA: Motivation, Activation, Launch, Traction, Acceleration.
MALTA is a practical Business Development Readiness Program for early-stage technical founders and research-driven teams.
It helps participants move from promising technology and market assumptions to:
validated positioning,
real conversations with potential customers and partners,
a focused network of relevant contacts,
and the foundations of their first go-to-market pipeline.
Together with two guests from the TPLJ entrepreneurial community, we will explore what business development looks like in practice and answer your questions about moving from technology development to market readiness.
The event is free and takes place online via Zoom.
What will you learn?
Where business development starts when you have strong technology but no established approach to the market.
How to identify the first customers, partners, and other people worth talking to.
Why clear positioning matters before you start pitching or selling.
How to approach early market conversations while your product and business model are still evolving.
What founders commonly underestimate when moving from technology development to market development.
How MALTA helps early-stage teams build the foundations required for BALI and other accelerator programs.
Most importantly, you will be able to ask practical questions, meet people from the TPLJ entrepreneurial community, and decide whether MALTA is the right next step for your team.
Who will join us?
Guests from the TPLJ entrepreneurial community
David Rakar
Director of Business Development, Waboost
Luka Zupančič
Co-Founder & CEO, Plan Z
David and Luka have both been involved with the Technology Park Ljubljana entrepreneurial community and bring practical experience in entrepreneurship and business development.
They will share their perspective on the challenges early-stage teams face when they move beyond product development and begin building their positioning, network, and first business opportunities.
Technology Park Ljubljana Entrepreneurial Office
The team behind MALTA will introduce the purpose, structure, and practical approach of the program and answer your questions about participation.
Who is this event for?
Join us if:
you are part of an early-stage technical or research-driven team,
you have promising technology but no clear or validated approach to the market yet,
you are building a company for the first time and do not know where to begin with business development,
you need to clarify your positioning, target customers and first steps towards the market,
you want to start conversations with potential customers, partners or investors but are unsure how to approach them,
you are preparing to apply to BALI, ESA BIC, NATO DIANA, or EUDIS and want to build stronger business development foundations first,
you are considering applying to MALTA and want to understand what the program involves.
The event is designed primarily for technical founders, early-stage teams and research-driven startups.
What is MALTA?
MALTA stands for Motivation, Activation, Launch, Traction, and Acceleration.
It is a practical Business Development Readiness Program for early-stage technical founders and research-driven teams that have promising technology but do not yet have a clear, validated approach to the market.
Through three hands-on sprints, participants develop the clarity, communication skills, relationships, and practical business development habits needed to move from assumptions to evidence and action.
By the end of MALTA, participants will have:
clearer, market-tested positioning,
a stronger understanding of their customers and competitive landscape,
experience conducting real customer and market conversations,
a focused Dream 20–40 network of relevant contacts,
a practical 2-pager and clearer pitch,
and the foundations of their first go-to-market pipeline.
MALTA bridges the gap between developing promising technology and being ready for more advanced business and accelerator programs such as BALI, ESA BIC, NATO DIANA and EUDIS.
Business development through practice
Each week, participants receive a practical framework and immediately put it to work through real activities: customer interviews, positioning tests, outreach messages, introductions, live conversations and pitch practice.
MALTA is not a traditional course where participants only learn about business development. It is a structured environment in which they practise it, receive feedback and improve through real contact with the market.
Your first focused network
Participants identify the customers, partners, investors and ecosystem connections that matter most to their progress.
They build a focused Dream 20–40 list, learn how to ask for introductions and begin their first structured conversations with the market.
Bonus expert Q&A sessions
In addition to the core program, participants will have access to bonus Q&A sessions with selected experts.
These sessions will cover topics that early-stage founders often need to understand before entering more advanced accelerator programs or investor conversations, including:
funding options, equity, vesting and relevant Slovenian legislation,
dual-use and defence opportunities,
military and public-sector buying processes,
and access to relevant organisations and support ecosystems.
For teams working on dual-use or defence-related solutions, Technology Park Ljubljana brings direct experience and connections within the Slovenian defence ecosystem, including MORS and NATO DIANA.
The bonus sessions are designed to give founders practical orientation and direct access to experts when these questions become relevant.
A 12-week core sprint with ongoing support
The core MALTA program runs for 12 weeks, starting with technical onboarding on 29 September 2026.
Following the holiday break, the program continues with the second Final Founder Roast and concludes with MALTA Graduation on 14 January 2027.
Participants also receive weekly Office Hours throughout the program, giving them regular opportunities to ask questions, review their work and move forward.
The program is effectively free. Participants pay only a small refundable deposit, which is returned in full after they successfully complete the program.
MALTA graduates also receive a 50% discount on the entry deposit for the BALI accelerator.
MALTA is not a pitch-deck workshop, an investment-readiness program, or a branding course.
It is a structured environment for practice in which founders move from assumptions and theory to real conversations with the market.
Because before founders are ready for an accelerator, they need to be ready for the market.
MALTA 2026 Program Schedule
All main sessions are online on Thursdays from 8:30 - 10 CEST/CET.
Introduction
29 September 2026 – Technical Onboarding
Sprint 1: Market Clarity & Validation
1.10. 2026 – Your Professional Identity
8.10. 2026 – Competitive Landscape & Positioning
15.10. 2026 – Customer Discovery & Language-Market Fit
22.10. 2026 – 2-Pager V1 & Clarity Testing
29.10. 2026 – Validation Review & Positioning Roast
Sprint 2: Network & Relationship Building
5.11. 2026 – Go-To-Network & Dream 20–40
12.11. 2026 – Conversations in the Online World
19.11. 2026 – Market Actors, Partners & Potential Clients
26.11. 2026 – Live Outreach Lab & Pitch Practice
Sprint 3: GTM in Practice
3.12. 2026 – Market Access & Events for Discovery
10.12. 2026 – Event Booster, Follow-up & Pipeline Lite
17.12. 2026 – Final Founder Roast, Group 1
Holiday break
18.12. 2026 – 6.1. 2027 – Holiday Break
7.1. 2027 – Final Founder Roast, Group 2
Program completion
14.1. 2027 – MALTA Graduation & Next Steps
Office Hours
Every Tuesday, 8:30–9:30 – Office Hours
Every Thursday, 10:00–10:30 – Office Hours following the main workshop
Bonus expert Q&A sessions
Additional expert Q&A sessions on funding, founder essentials, dual-use, and defence market access will be announced during the program.
Apply to MALTA
Applications for the 2026 cohort are already open.
If you are ready to turn your technology into real market action, submit your application today. You do not need to wait for the Open Day to apply.
More information and a personal consultation
Find detailed information about the program, curriculum and delivery format on the Technology Park Ljubljana website.
If you would like to check whether MALTA is the right fit for your team before applying, book a free 30-minute consultation.