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We’ve helped hundreds of people bring their ideas to life. Now it’s your turn! The Builders + Backers Idea Accelerator is a free, virtual, idea-stage program that takes aspiring founders like you from concept to first launch. In the Fall 2024 cohort, you’ll be supported by a studio team of experts in strategy, marketing, low-code tools, and more. Plus you’ll be eligible for $5,000 from our Pebble Fund to put your idea into action.
The earliest stages of an idea are often the hardest to get the help and funding that you need. Through the Idea Accelerator, every participant learns the secrets to turning an idea into a thriving venture and is eligible for up to $5,000 in Pebble Funds. Best of all, what you learn will help you grow any venture in the fastest, most cost-effective way possible. Read on for all the details on eligibility and key dates.
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Cohort Kickoff
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The Idea Accelerator is a cohort-based program that meets every other week for seven sessions. In addition, participants have one-on-one mentorship with our studio team of supportive experts and access to a suite of digital tools. The program culminates when you receive funding to run a real-world experiment that will put your idea to the test. Click below to start your application!
More About the Idea Accelerator
The Idea Accelerator is unique because we bring together people with novel ideas of all shapes and sizes across industries and arenas. Past participants have come in with ideas from AI-powered tools, high-scale hardware, and robotics, and new kinds of marketplaces to health and wellness applications, agricultural innovations, creative consumer products and more. Our approach to early-stage experimentation to test ideas applies to all of these - and to your idea too!
Apply to join our community of Builders today.
Thanks to our many partners the Idea Accelerator program is available to over 150 aspiring entrepreneurs across the country at no cost and with the opportunity to receive $5,000 in Pebble Funds. We are grateful for the commitment to early-stage ideas and entrepreneurship that each of the partners below has shown. Don’t miss the chance to apply for one of these spots and finally get your idea out of your head and into the world!
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Ideas are just that until we have evidence that they work. But we often mistakenly think that we need to build the solution we’re imagining as the first step. That can feel overwhelming or too expensive for most people. When we do get started, too often it is in expensive and time consuming ways. So ideas end up staying on the sidelines or not being built for success.
The Idea Accelerator teaches you how to run small tests of your idea to see if it holds promise. You'll see how no and low cost digital tools make it easier, faster and cheaper to build things than ever. You'll learn how to evaluate the results of your test and decide on the best next steps. There is no cost and the expenses of the tests are covered up to $5,000. We meet aspiring entrepreneurs where they are so we can get more ideas up and running.
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The Idea Accelerator is a virtual program designed to be your onramp to entrepreneurship. It equips participants (called Builders) with modern, world-class entrepreneurial tools to test their ideas, fueled by up to $5,000 no-strings-attached funding that we call Pebble Funds.
The Idea Accelerator has been running since 2021. Since then we have helped (and funded) over 700 Builders from across the country bring their dreams to life. We continue to support them as they build together in our Alumni community.
The program takes place virtually. That means all sessions and meetings happen over Zoom or on phone calls. All you need is an Internet connection to join. We also often host in-person meetups so Builders can get to know each other and meet program partners, community supporters and our team.
The application is short and straightforward (no pitch deck or business plans required). With some preparation, most applicants can complete it in under 30 minutes. Your application will be reviewed by the Builders + Backers team and our program partners.
When we say we help you test your idea, we don’t mean the kind of tests we take in school. We test ideas by running experiments - putting something in front of potential users or customers and seeing what they actually do (or don’t do)...which is often very different from what they SAY they will do. We run experiments to prove (or disprove) the hypotheses behind our ideas. Experiments are quick, scrappy, specific and measurable. They help us figure out quickly (and inexpensively) whether our idea works (or not). And they prevent us from diving head first into an expensive, time-consuming and risky venture before we’ve proven that our ideas hold merit. To learn more about our approach to experimentation, check out this article with a deeper dive.
The program is virtual with the possibility for optional in-person events. Builders join all-cohort, live sessions every other week over Zoom. These sessions are 2 hours long and we pre-schedule them at the beginning of the program so everyone can block off the times on their calendars.
Between those live sessions, Builders are assigned self-paced learning modules. During the first 45 days of the program, as Builders are preparing to run their experiments, these modules are mandatory. During the second 45 days, as Builders are actively running experiments, the learning modules are optional (but intended to provide additional insights and resources and most Builders do join).
Each Builder who goes through the program has the opportunity to access up to $5,000 in Pebble Funds to cover the cost of their experiment. Builders are required to come to the virtual sessions, complete self-paced work, meet with their mentors and then complete a Funding Proposal. The Funding Proposal is reviewed and approved by a Builders + Backers Executive. Pebble Funds can be used to fund the costs of experimentation.
Once this Funding Proposal is approved, the Builder receives a controlled credit card which they may use to make pre-approved purchases, and they are responsible for submitting receipts for all expenses.
Nobody leaves the program empty-handed. First, everyone learns a completely new perspective on how to take their ideas into the world and a new set of tools for experimenting. Whether this idea or the next one, the program is excellent at teaching people simple and modern methods to validate their ideas and turn them into new companies.
Second, everyone who completes the program receives a digital credential in Venture Building. If you decide entrepreneurship isn't for you (at least for now), the skills you gain will help you in other career pathways.
Third, everyone who completes the program is invited to join the Builders + Backers Alumni community. There, you can continue to engage with the Builders + Backers team, your cohort and hundreds of other Builders from around the country. As an alum, you'll be invited to all of our events and opportunities to engage live with one another and our Backer community.
Join us for an informational webinar where you can meet us, hear more about the program, and have a chance to ask questions.
RSVP at the link above.
The Fall 2024 program is open to anyone living in the United States who is a resident of one of the eligible regions listed below:
- Residents of Alabama, Arkansas, and Oklahoma
- Residents of Detroit, Michigan
- Members of the Eastern Shawnee Tribal Nation
- United States Military Veterans (regardless of residence)
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