The Problem
There's a dead zone between hackathon demos and sustainable products.
Hundreds of European teams build promising prototypes every year. Then they stall. No structured path from prototype to traction. No one connecting the dots between building and fundraising, token launches, or real revenue.
Founders burn months without direction. The best talent either gives up or leaves Europe. The ecosystem loses momentum.
The gap isn't talent. It's infrastructure.
The Program
Three stages. One flywheel.
Sustained effort creates compounding energy. Each stage builds on the last until you reach escape velocity.
Momentum
Continuous cohort. Always open, always selective.
The entry point. Teams join a rolling cohort with structured weekly check-ins, build-in-public accountability, and peer feedback loops. You prove you can ship consistently before anything else.
- ◦Weekly builder syncs and async updates
- ◦Build-in-public framework and accountability
- ◦Peer review with other cohort teams
- ◦Group workshops and deep dives
Acceleration
Intensive sprints. Personalized mentorship.
Teams from the momentum cohort apply to enter focused 4-week sprints. One-on-one mentorship from experienced founders and operators. Modular curriculum tailored to each team's stage.
- ◦1:1 mentorship with domain experts
- ◦User research and product iteration
- ◦Go-to-market strategy sessions
- ◦User acquisition and retention strategies
Escape Velocity
Final push. Demo day. Ready to fly solo.
The best teams from the acceleration cohort are selected for the final 4-week sprint. Narrow down your use case, sharpen the vision and product, refine your pitch, and prepare for fundraising or token launch. The final week is in person, culminating in a demo day in front of investors, ecosystem partners, and the broader community.
- ◦3 weeks remote: product, pitch, and fundraising prep
- ◦1 week in-person co-working sprint
- ◦Demo day at a major ecosystem event
- ◦Ongoing alumni network access
Founding Sponsor
Backed by
Base is the founding sponsor of The Flywheel. This means builders in the program get direct access to the Base ecosystem, from technical resources to visibility at major events.
Miniapps, AI agents, DeFi protocols, consumer apps, if you're building onchain, you belong here. Projects are evaluated against the Base Standard: onchain traction, user stickiness, transaction volume, and builder consistency. If you're building where users are, you're building on Base.
What this means for builders
Base-native focus
Build where users and liquidity already live.
Ecosystem access
Introductions to the Base team, grants, and partners.
Event visibility
Demo days at major ecosystem events.
2026 Calendar
Momentum
Always open
Starting March 2026
Acceleration
Applications open in Apr
May — June 2026 (6 weeks)
Escape Velocity
Demo Day in Lisbon
July 2026 (4 weeks)
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Always open
Applications open in Apr
Demo Day in Lisbon
The Team
Built by builders.
The Flywheel is organized by urbe.eth, the leading onchain builder community in Europe.
Mentors
...and more to be announced.
Start the momentum.
Applications are rolling. No deadlines. Apply when you're ready to build.