No. Applicants are not required to have a fully developed startup or business idea to join the HQA Incubator Program, nor is a business plan required upfront. Admission to the program relies more on the quality of the applicant (skills, experience and qualifications) than on the quality of the business or startup idea.

Applicants are evaluated on the depth and breadth of their industry experience, and on their ability to provide relevant, effective strategic direction to the startup project beyond the initial research phase. 

Projects typically have a technology or innovation focused slant, with the potential for significant growth (and ideally hypergrowth). Whether the business idea was conceived by the applicant, or co-developed in partnership with the HQA startup incubator, it will be developed during the course of the incubation period. 

The idea and resulting research project will be subjected to iterative testing and refinement, resulting in a validated business model by the end of the incubation program.