Entrepreneurial Institute

This Summer, Choose From 2 Accelerators to Grow Your Startup

Posted By Frank Rimalovski
on Thu, Feb 22, 2018

2017 Summer Launchpad teams taking flight!

For the past five years, the Entrepreneurial Institute has offered our marquee program, the NYU Summer Launchpad accelerator to graduating NYU startup teams.  The program was the summer home for successful NYU startups including Brooklinen, Smart Vision Labs, Ephemeral Tattoos, ShopDrop, My Wellbeing, and many others. Collectively, Summer Launchpad teams have gone on to participate in renowned startup accelerators such as Techstars and Angel Pad, have raised more than $21 million in angel and VC financing, built out their teams, shipped products and are generating more than $60 million in revenue!

Building on the amazing track record of Summer Launchpad, plus what we learned from the incredibly successful 2-week J-Term Startup Sprint, this summer we’re offering NYU entrepreneurs two summer accelerator programs to choose from: A 2-3 week Summer Startup Sprint primarily for students graduating in 2019 or later, or the more immersive 9-week Summer Launchpad accelerator, primarily for graduating students. 

Which program is right for you this summer?

Summer Startup Sprint

This shorter, 2- to 3-week intensive program is one of two bi-annual Startup Sprints for NYU undergrads, grad students & postdocs. Designed for current students (graduating in 2019 or later), the Sprint is an opportunity for early-stage teams to test the value of their solutions with potential customers through customer discovery and experimentation. The Summer Sprint offers either a $350 grant (for two-week participation) or $700 (for three-week participation), plus an opportunity for select teams to receive up to $2,000 in additional funding. Teams can also expect co-working space, mentorship, $5,000 in Amazon Web Services credits and other perks. Select teams will be invited to participate in the Fall Ignite Fellowship at the culmination of the program. The Startup Sprint is offered in partnership with the CIE at the Tandon School of Engineering, and supported by VentureWell and the National Science Foundation under grant number 1644681.

Summer Launchpad (SLP)

This immersive 9-week accelerator is for teams of NYU student entrepreneurs who want to bridge their part-time dedication to their startups while in school, with a full-time commitment after graduation. Each year we select about 10 teams from 100 applications from across the University. SLP offers teams $10,000 in non-dilutive (zero equity) grant funding. Additionally, teams receive mentorship from leading NYC entrepreneurs and investors, pro-bono incorporation and legal services, $10,000 in credits from Amazon Web Services, 24-hour co-working space for the Summer and much more. In the Fall, select SLP teams will have the opportunity to pitch in the first ever SLP Demo Day, to an audience of angel investors, prominent accelerators, and NYU friends and family.

Check out which accelerator is right for you:

* Summer Startup Sprint starts shortly after commencement. If you have a summer internship and/or don’t plan to be in NYC for the summer, that’s fine as long as you are in NYC full-time from May 28 through June 8, with no other daytime or evening commitments on those days. A third optional week will be open to select teams interested in receiving additional resources and coaching.

Attend an Info Session!

We will be hosting four info sessions, along with a co-founder hunt in the coming weeks. It is mandatory that at least one person from every team that applies attend one of the info sessions. Details and RSVP below:

  • Mon, March 5, 12–1PM: Info Session @ Tandon MakerSpace
  • Thu, March 8, 4–5PM: Info Session 2 @ Leslie eLab
  • Mon, March 19, 2–4:30PM: Team Hunt @ Tandon MakerSpace 
  • Mon, March 26, 4:30-5:30PM: Info Session @ Leslie eLab
  • Tues, March 27, 3-4PM: Info Session @ Leslie eLab 

If you weren't able to make it to any of the info sessions, please watch this video and let us know that you've done so on your application.

Not sure which program is for you, don’t worry! We have one application for both programs, where you can indicate your preference(s) or that your not sure, and we’ll consider you for both. Some teams, particularly those that are graduating this year, but have not been engaged in customer discovery nor achieved problem-solution fit, may be required to participate in both.

Applications are open now, and are due by April 6 at 5pm. Apply here.

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