The Impact Venture’s 12-week Accelerator program is designed to train and equip underrepresented entrepreneurs, putting them on a fast track to traction and funding within their startup or small business. The program is structured to fit the full-time founder or the part-time “intra-preneur”, offering a flexible part-time in-person and online schedule, while maintaining quality education, community, and access to high-level mentorship and professional networks.
Our rigorous training and development program is designed to remove barriers and close equity gaps in access to:
- Human Capital – Intangible assets like education, training, intelligence, technical and soft skills
- Social Capital – High quality social and professional networks in the form of mentorship, advisory board development, and professional references
- Financial Capital – Access to non-extractive integrated capital sources
Impact Ventures 12-week Accelerator Program works with early-stage founders from under-represented and non-traditional background building profitable, high-growth companies.
Startup Track Requirements:
- Women, Person of Color, LGBTQ, Veteran, or Social Enterprise
- Startup must be a for-profit enterprise
- Startup must be tech, or tech-enabled (Includes Consumer Goods & Products)
- Stage: Idea, Pre-Revenue, Prototype, Private Beta
- Looking to validate idea, business model, customer, go-to-market strategy
- Less than 5 years old
Growth Track Requirements:
- Women, Person of Color, LGBTQ, Veteran, or Social Enterprise
- Startup must be a for-profit enterprise
- Startup must be tech or tech-enabled (Includes Consumer Goods & Products)
- Stage: Team or Cofounder Preferred, In Market or Private Beta w/product, Some Traction: Sales/Users
- Looking for Pre-Seed to Seed Stage Capital
- Less than 5 years old
Our uniquely designed programs offers tailored support to fit diverse founders at the early stages of their company. During Orientation, the IV Accelerator cohort will be split up into the “Startup Track” or “Growth Track”, depending on the stage your business. The “Startup Track” focuses earlier stage Founders and teams on business model validation, customer validation, and go-to-markets, while the “Growth Track” focuses teams with a live product and customers on traction and funding. Our program curriculum is grouped into 5 focus areas;
- Founder Development
- Customer Development
- Product Development
- Company Development
- Traction
We take a human-centered approach to curriculum design by curated training and technical assistance to the needs of the program applicants based on their 6, 12, and 18 month milestones. Our course content is delivered in-person through experiential learning activities using lean startup methodology and design thinking principles and also online for rigorous learning and development tracking.
Program Track Schedules:
Startup Track: Monday Evenings in-person workshops; online check-ins throughout the week. Founders participate in 1-1 mentor sessions, peer-to-peer groups, and weekly ‘in the field’ sprints with milestones.
Growth Track: T/Th evenings in-person; Weds evenings online; Saturday 11am-1pm in-person. Founders participate in in-person lectures, interactive workshops and sprints, group and 1-1 mentor sessions, and more.
The Impact Venture’s Startup Accelerator is a 12-week program designed to train and develop underrepresented women, minority, or social impact focused startups. Our program is both mentor and curriculum driven, with the goal of equipping founders with the tools necessary to accelerate venture traction or prepare for a capital raise. Below is a list of program benefits:
Program Benefits:
Dedicated Mentors: Our program’s curriculum is led by experienced executives who have demonstrated significant entrepreneurial success and leadership, business acumen, and are committed to accelerating the impact and financial sustainability of underserved entrepreneurs in North Texas. Our Lead Mentors commit 3 hours per week to the growth and development of participating ventures, including one hour of weekly face-to-face meetings per venture and one hour of virtual follow-up via our technology platform. Through a collaborative process, Lead Mentors assist Startup Ventures in developing individualized road maps using proven startup assessment tools and assist in achieving significant milestones and goals.
Dedicated Venture Associates: Startup Ventures receive access from local university partners to Pre-MBA/MBA students ready to assist with projects on an as-needed basis. Tailored support is offered within the areas of marketing, law, accounting, bookkeeping, financial modeling, + more.
Pro Bono Professionals/Corporate Partners: Startup Ventures receive access from a robust network of professionals, ready to assist through our corporate hacks. Tailored support is offered within the 5 curriculum competencies of founder development, customer development, product development, company development, and traction.
SME Mentor Office Hours: Startup Ventures expand their networks with weekly opportunities to meet with 50+ influencers, executives, investors, technical specialist, and business leaders.
Use of the Impact Ventures Office Space HQ at GoodWork: Startup Ventures have free membership at Impact Ventures Office Suite at GoodWork throughout the 3-month Accelerator. Membership includes use of our co-working desks, WiFi, printing, a mailing address, conference room meeting space, and parking. GoodWork is located at 1808 S. Good Latimer Expy, Dallas, TX 75226.
Peer Evaluation/Learning: An important component of the program is building a support network of like-minded entrepreneurs. Startup Ventures learn from one another, find solutions, and share challenges, resources, and successes. Startup ventures participate in weekly networking events, investor dinners, hack sessions, online webinars, and more.
The Impact Program Staff: We are here to ensure your success by making timely connections with potential clients, investors, procurement officers, policymakers, government officials, and mentors.
Increased Visibility: Impact Ventures helps increase Startup Ventures’ visibility through special events, cohort roadshow to SXSW, media referrals, featured articles in publications, as well as our Website/Medium Blog, and Podcast.
Startup Perks: Through our partnerships we provide over $125k worth of free and discount services through Microsoft for Startup hosting credits, HubSpot for Startups CRM tools, LeanStack, EOS, Asana, Quickbooks, and more.
September 2nd, 2019
Applications Open
September – November
Interest Meetings Begin – Sep 10th, 17th, & 24th
October
Founder Open Pitch Practice – Oct 1st, 8th, & 15th
November 29th @ 5:00pm
Program Applications Close
December 2019
Startup Internal Due Diligence Begins
January 2020
Selection Committee Due Diligence Begins
February 15th, 2020
Cohort Participants Selected
February 29th, 2020
Accelerator Kickoff Retreat
March 3rd, 2020
Accelerator Program Begins
May 22nd, 2020
Accelerator Program Ends
May 30th, 2020
Accelerator Showcase Event
Applications to join Impact Ventures Spring 2020 Accelerator Cohort are open. Applications are due November 29th by 5pm. Please see the Key Dates section that outlines our application timeline and the activities leading up to selection date. Also, please note that all info shared is subject to change as we are still procuring additional resources to support our fellows.
Apply for Impact Ventures Spring 2020 Accelerator Cohort
