Season 2026 Exeed College students onlyExeed students only Finals live on YouTubeFinals on YouTube

Exeed Playbook Startup Incubator

Project Ruwad

Have you always carried a business concept in the back of your mind? Turn it into a market-tested venture in four phases, then pitch it live to the Dragons.

Register your team Download the Spark Kit

رُوّادRuwad is Arabic for pioneers.

  • 4phases from idea to live pitch
  • 3–4founders per StartUp
  • Top 5teams reach the Dragons’ Den
  • 5 + 7minutes to pitch, then Q&A
  • 6months of launch acceleration

About the programme

Out of the classroom. Into the arena.

Did you sit on what could be the next industry-shifting idea, only to push it aside because you lacked the roadmap to bring it to life? That ends today.

Exeed Playbook Startup Incubator presents Project Ruwad, the launching pad built exclusively for our students. We strip away the guesswork and hand you the tools and the framework to turn bold concepts into market-tested ventures.

Build your venture, test your momentum and prepare to face the Dragons. Our panel of industry mentors and executive leaders will evaluate your venture and help map your path to market launch.

Applications are now open. Bring your next big idea. We provide the launchpad.

  1. IdeaA concept you believe in, sharpened with the Spark Kit action cards.
  2. Validated MVPReal market evidence: a prototype, customer data and a financial model.
  3. Pitch-ready StartUpA 5-minute pitch, a 6-month growth plan and a seat in front of the Dragons.

Programme

Four phases. One live pitch.

From team registration to the Dragons’ Den, every phase has a deliverable and a date.

  1. By 15 Sep 2026Registration deadline
    Phase 1

    Team registration

    Form a team of 3 to 4, assign the four founder roles, name your StartUp and register. Approved teams unlock the digital Spark Kit.

    What happens in Phase 1
    • Students network and form their StartUp.
    • The founder team organogram is created: Chief Hustler, Hipster, Hacker and Handler.
    • Teams select a name for their StartUp.
    • Teams register in the Incubator Program and pay the registration fee.
    • StartUps receive the digital Spark Kit: the Ideate, Investigate, Improve and Iterate action cards.
  2. By 15 Oct 2026Results 30 Oct 2026
    Phase 2

    The Genesis Stage: ideation and feasibility

    Submit a 2-page brief. A Review Committee selects the top 5 StartUps, who receive the Genesis Award.

    What happens in Phase 2
    • The brief covers your Zen Statement, target market and its size, the problem statement and the proposed concept.
    • Include the plan with breakdowns: product or service, competitor analysis, finance, budgeting, forecasting and breakeven, online or brick-and-mortar, and how much venture capital you need.
    • The Review Committee scores problem severity, market feasibility and technical or academic merit, filtering out non-viable or low-effort ideas.
    • The top 5 receive a “Go” and the Genesis Award: the Digital Genesis Kit and a mentor as their Dragon.
  3. After the resultsTwo mentor meetings
    Phase 3

    The Digital Lab: MVP data

    Test your hypotheses in the real market, build the evidence and record a 5-minute online pitch.

    What happens in Phase 3
    • Mentor meeting 1.
    • Test your hypotheses in the market rather than relying on business-plan theory.
    • Build your MVP data: creative such as ads or posters; a proof of concept or prototype (software mock, physical product, service trial); quantitative validation such as survey data, landing-page conversion rate, waitlist sign-ups or B2B intent letters; and a financial model.
    • Develop a 5-minute online pitch.
    • Mentor meeting 2.
  4. Exeed GraduationLive-streamed on YouTube
    Phase 4

    The Dragons’ Den: the Launchpad Finals

    Present your validated venture and 6-month growth plan to the Dragons in a 5-minute pitch followed by a 7-minute Q&A.

    What happens in Phase 4
    • Submit your 5-minute online pitch with your MVP data. A panel of judges selects the finalists.
    • Finalists present live: a 5-minute presentation followed by a 7-minute Q&A per team.
    • The Dragons: 3 high-profile judges drawn from VCs, successful alumni founders and corporate venture executives.
    • Selected finalists unlock 6 months of dedicated launch acceleration.

Founder roles

Four founders. Four jobs.

Every StartUp needs 3 to 4 members who cover these roles between them. Choose yours before you register; each Spark Kit card names its lead roles.

Chief Hustler

Owns business strategy, unit economics, external pitches and the overall vision.

Leads the Ideate and Improve cards

The Hipster

Defines product features, customer validation and UI/UX design.

Leads the Ideate and Investigate cards

The Hacker

Creates the prototypes, builds the blueprint, designs customer workflows, drafts standard operating procedures and sets up trial pilot operations for live tests.

Leads the Improve and Iterate cards

The Handler

Keeps the team on track. Manages and tracks the budget, removes roadblocks, sources requirements and ensures accountability.

Leads the Investigate and Iterate cards

Resources

The Spark Kit

Four action cards that take your team from a raw idea to a tested one. Download them, fill them in together and bring the results to your mentor meetings.

Card 01

Ideate

Write your Zen Statement, name the three customer pain points and say why today’s alternatives fail.

Led by the Hipster and the Hustler Download PDF Card 02

Investigate

Log your customer interviews, spot the patterns and record where your assumptions met reality.

Led by the Hipster and the Handler Download PDF Card 03

Improve

Choose the one metric that matters, prune the features you don’t need, run a lean market test and record the results.

Led by the Hustler and the Hacker Download PDF Card 04

Iterate

Set your pricing strategy, log the micro-budget, scope the minimum viable product and plan the build.

Led by the Hacker and the Handler Download PDF

Each card is a two-page PDF worksheet. Print it and fill it in by hand with your team.

The judges

Face the Dragons

Three high-profile judges hear the final pitches: venture capitalists, successful alumni founders and corporate venture executives. Between the rounds, our panel of industry mentors and executive leaders helps map your path to market.

Seat 1

Venture capitalist

To be announced ahead of the finals
Seat 2

Alumni founder

To be announced ahead of the finals
Seat 3

Corporate venture executive

To be announced ahead of the finals
5-minute pitch 7-minute Q&A Live-streamed on YouTubeLive on YouTube At the Exeed GraduationExeed Graduation

Awards

What do you win?

Top 5 StartUps

The Genesis Award

Teams awarded a “Go” after the Genesis Stage receive:

  • The Digital Genesis Kit.
  • A mentor as your Dragon through the Digital Lab.
  • A place in the live Dragons’ Den pitch.
Finalists

The Launchpad

Six months of dedicated launch acceleration. Work directly with our in-house SEO growth hackers, graphic designers and technical web team to bring your business to market.

Registration

Register your team

One form per StartUp, in six short steps. Registration fees apply.

  • 3 to 4 foundersChief Hustler, Hipster, Hacker and Handler
  • One JPG headshot eachFormal, sharp, neutral background
  • A short bio eachTitle, sector, country, experience, up to 150 words

FAQ

Questions, answered

Who is eligible to take part in Project Ruwad?

The program is exclusively open to active students at Exeed College. Teams have up to four members, ideally taking on complementary roles so every aspect of the venture is covered:

  • The Hustler, business lead.
  • The Hipster, customer and UX lead.
  • The Hacker, maker and engineer.
  • The Handler, agile and operations lead.
How many members do I need to form a team?

A team needs a minimum of 3 members and a maximum of 4.

What is the Spark Kit?

The Spark Kit is a self-directed digital workbook of actionable frameworks (Ideate, Investigate, Improve, Iterate) that help teams de-risk their business concepts. Once your registration is approved, your team unlocks access to the Spark Kit.

Does my startup need to be a software or technology platform?

Not at all. Project Ruwad welcomes ventures across all industries, including services, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, healthcare and deep-tech research commercialization. In our framework the Hacker, or maker, role applies to anyone building a physical sample, a service workflow blueprint, a pilot operational test or a software solution.

What happens if my team is selected as a top 5 finalist?

The top 5 finalist teams qualify for the live Dragons’ Den pitch event. You present a 5-minute live pitch followed by a Q&A session in front of prominent venture capitalists, successful alumni entrepreneurs and corporate leaders. Finalists compete for the final prize.

Contact Us