Ukrainian-Portuguese startup HotBall aims to reduce inequality and make entrepreneurial knowledge more affordable by launching an AI consultant that helps create a comprehensive business plan in minutes. The team believes that students, aspiring founders, and small businesses will benefit from this tool.
CEO Maksym Nagara, who once held the role of CFO and boasts a decade of prowess in business strategy consultancy, remarks, “The hurdles that entrepreneurs often confront—whether it’s the high cost of business education, consultation, or incubation services—shouldn’t be stumbling blocks. Our ethos is rooted in the belief that everyone, regardless of their origins or the resources at their disposal, should have a level playing field. Hence, the name ‘HotBall’ was conceived. It mirrors the dynamism and agility of contemporary teams—where ideas are ceaselessly tossed back and forth, and experimentation is the order of the day.”
Initiated in February 2023, and with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) rolled out by May of the same year, HotBall seamlessly fuses seasoned strategy consulting insights with the robust capabilities of OpenAI’s technology. Presently, users can derive a foundational business blueprint by responding to several prompts on the platform. However, the founding team emphasizes the importance of introspection and thoroughness while interacting with the questionnaire. Their mantra is clear: the more meticulous and in-depth your responses, the more precise and value-driven the AI’s feedback will be.
At the moment, HotBall can generate a name, mission, value prop, and business model from an idea. Additionally, there is a workspace where a user can work on several projects and export results in PDF format. Also, a library with startup ideation frameworks is available on the website, as well as examples of business plans from successful companies.
The capability to post customized questions will soon be introduced. An LLM specializing in startup consultancy scenarios will be adept at executing thorough interviews, delving into cause and effect analyses, carrying out digital marketing research, and instantly formulating precise questions pertaining to clients’ ventures. This AI system will steer startup founders towards establishing a fruitful product-market alignment through its offerings of research, fiscal strategizing, product planning, and a detailed route to market.
Research by the team, grounded on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s findings, indicates that the combined figures from the EU and USA show about 70 million individuals are immersed in nascent entrepreneurial endeavors. This expansive audience signifies a substantial segment of probable adopters of the project.
About HotBall:
Mission: Leveraging LLMs, the team aims to architect an all-embracing platform that champions entrepreneurs from diverse walks of life. This is done by granting them the opportunity to tap into previously exclusive insights and mentorship. The collective conviction is that AI intervention minimizes fiscal uncertainties, allowing business founders to judiciously allocate assets, hence conserving both time and capital while aiding them in realizing their aspirations.
Status: As July concluded, the startup has witnessed a promising uptake, boasting over 1100 active members without any expenditure on marketing. Currently, the initiative is in pursuit of pre-seed funding.
