Startup Sauna is looking for the best startups in Lithuania by holding a free, one-day coaching event for local startups in Vilnius on September 14th in collaboration with ISM. Startups apply for the event via local application and the best 15 will be chosen for the event.

According to the press release, twice a year, the Sauna team and their coaches tour 20 cities organizing local coaching events, and the purpose of these events is to enrich the local startup ecosystems and screen the best startups for the 5-week accelerator program held in Helsinki.

Experienced serial entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts both from Finland and Lithuania will be coaching and collaborating with the teams in search for the next billion-dollar Lithuanian company to join the Startup Sauna accelerator program. Startup Sauna takes no equity and the program is free.

“Startups will go through an intensive, full-time 5-week program during which they will get coaching from dozens of serial entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts. Teams will attend our Founder’s Talk -series as well as receive 1on1 coaching regarding their business model, pitching, legal matters, or basically anything an early-stage startup would need,” COO Panu Paljakka elaborates.

After the program, the best teams will be taken to Silicon Valley to get to know the ecosystem, meet potential clients, and visit the most prominent VC’s on Sand Hill Road. In addition, all startups accepted to Startup Sauna will have free access to the leading startup conference Slush held on November 11-12 in Helsinki, Finland.

The morning introduction and pitching session is open to media to attend, while the afternoon 1on1 sessions are closed. During the pitching session, 15 Lithuanian startups will present their business idea to both local and Startup Sauna coaches competing for entrance to Startup Sauna fall ’15 accelerator program. In addition, the top performer of the day will receive a free ticket to world-renowned startup conference Slush. During the event, media will get to know the local startup ecosystem, meet the most promising early-stage teams of Lithuania, and see Finnish- Lithuanian entrepreneurial collaboration in action.

Read more here.