More Than An Accelerator
In partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), our program is built around three of the four C's in our theory of change: consulting, coaching, & connections. Unlike other content-based accelerators, our no fee, no equity, 20-week experience is custom tailored to each company's specific business challenges and needs. Companies accepted into our program are matched with a pro bono consulting team, business coach, and a network of connections all partnering together to tackle the active strategic issues needed to get companies to their next stage of growth.
CONSULTING
Our partners from BCG Spark provide each company with a pro bono team skilled at solving business challenges in Strategy, Sales & Marketing, Operations, and more.
CONNECTIONS
Throughout the program, we will facilitate connections from our extensive network according to each company's needs. Companies will also have access to engage with industry and entrepreneur leaders in private speaker sessions centered around topics in entrepeneurship.
COACHING
While the consulting teams focus on the companies, business coaches focus on the founders. We have teams of seasoned business leaders and entrepreneur coaches across a variety of industries.
RESOURCE TOOLBOX
In addition to the three C's, companies have access to benefits and discounts valued at over $50,000 from partners such as Amazon Web Services, Google for Startups, HubSpot, Scroobious, The Capital Network (TCN), executive coaches, and more to help them grow their businesses.
Program Overview
We take one annual cohort per year and our program runs from October through March. The program is designed to take minimal time from founders (we recognize entrepreneurs have a business to run!) while providing maximum value to the business. While coaching is specifically for founders, founders are not required to attend all program events and are welcome to invite team members to other events and meetings. See a sample schedule below and meet our team of coaches, mentors, and speakers here.
CONSULTING ENGAGEMENT
The core of our program is providing tailored, company-specific consulting from subject matter experts to partner with companies to solve the specific business challenges needed for growth. We partner with the best consultants and operators in the world to bring world-class expertise and resources to our companies. See below for the progression of a typical consulting engagement.
Project Scope & Definition (Oct - Dec)
Companies will work with their matched team & coach to define 2-3 key business questions or problems to be tackled.
Background & Discovery (Dec - Jan)
To ensure success of the project, teams will start with a deep dive into understanding the company and its goals.
Work Execution (Jan - Feb)
Consulting teams run with projects and check-in with companies every 1-2 weeks.
Analysis & Delivery (Mar - Apr)
While smaller & interim deliverables may be completed sooner, the bulk will be presented late March to early April.
Join the Alumni Community
Companies continue to be eligible for connections, follow-on support, and access to special events.
Past Cohort Projects
A SAAS COMPANY
Projects
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Pricing: Developed dynamic pricing tool and packaging strategy
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Strategy: Created tactical go-to-market playbook to grow awareness and demand
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Scale: Organizational design to scale capacity and capabilities
A RETAIL COMPANY
Projects
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Optimized supply chain and logistics: Developed demand forecasting tool
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Marketing: Analyzed ad spend to create marketing strategy
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Scale: Identified and defined new roles, opportunities for cross training, and key risks
A GREENTECH COMPANY
Projects
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Scale: Created a scalable data-driven model for prioritizing markets for expansion
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Strategy: Created business cases for markets in a COVID-19 world
Who is a good fit for this program?
TEAM
We are looking for companies with a team of founders and/or senior leaders. Solo founders typically find it challenging to fully absorb our consulting & coaching engagement. We also want to ensure at least one full-time member can commit to participation in the program.
TRACTION
We look for recurring revenue from small businesses and evidence of plans beyond ideation for startups (e.g., beta version of a minimal viable product or previous accelerator/incubator experience).
TARGETS
We look for companies with an active business challenge that our consultants and experts will be well-suited to help with. This means that not every company that aligns demographically will be a good fit. Also, the same company may be a good fit one year, but not another - we encourage re-applications!