Applications are now LIVE!
Apply to the programs through this link. Applications will be due on March 25th at 6pm.
Note: attending an info session is mandatory before applying. If you did not make it to an info session, email us at entrepreneur@nyu.edu to request access to the video version.
We're looking for the next group of NYU entrepreneurs and change-makers ready to put their ventures to the test and scale their impact through the NYU Summer Accelerators: Startup Sprint and Summer Launchpad. The programs offer NYU teams immersive opportunities to accelerate their ventures, with money (up to $10K in grants), training, mentorship (>100 mentors), co-working space, and other perks (up to $15K in cloud computing, legal counsel and more).
The programs help founders build a stellar network of advisors from across the NYC ecosystem. Last year's speakers and mentors for the programs include Dennis Crowley (Tisch '04) founder of FourSquare, Nobu Nakaguchi (Tisch '10) co-founder of Zola, Caren Maio (Gallatin '07) co-founder of Nestio, Geri Kirilova (Stern '16) principal at Laconia Capital Group, John Elton (Stern '00) partner at Greycroft, Keith Mauppa COO at Flat World Partners, Andrew Kangpan (Stern '13) principal at Two Sigma Ventures, and many many others.
Past program participants have come from every NYU school and college (and include all levels of student, researcher and faculty), and their ventures have gone onto generate over $115M in annual revenue, be accepted into later-stage accelerators like Y-Combinator and Techstars, and raise funds from prominent investors and grants providers. Plus, past participants have given both programs a 9.5+ net promoter score (out of 10)!!
Not sure what these programs can do for you? Check out what they did for some of the past ventures in the program below, and then RSVP to an info session to learn more!
Brooklinen
Who they are: Rich Fulop (SPS '07, Stern '14) & Vicki Fulop (CAS '07)
What they do: Brooklinen was built to deliver simple, beautiful home essentials at a fair price.
Participated in: Summer Launchpad, NYU Innovation Venture fund
What Summer Launchpad Helped them To Do: Hone in on their target customer segment, validate their pricing strategy and run a Kickstarter campaign where they raised $237K!
Where they are now: In the 5 years since they launched, Brooklinen has made more than $200 million in revenue by selling bedding and related luxury products. They're on track to approach $100 million in revenue this year alone. They've also opened a flagship retail store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and plan to establish 30 physical stores in the next 3 years.
Govern For America
Who they are: Kyleigh Russ (Wagner '20) & Octavia Abell (non-NYU)
What they do: Govern for America is a non-profit building a pipeline into key roles in states for young leaders to close the talent gap and create better government.
Participated in: Summer Launchpad, Ignite Fellowship, Startup Sprint (as well as Startup School, Startup Bootcamp, and more)
What Summer Sprint and Summer Launchpad Helped them To Do: Develop compelling value propositions for students and state agency customers, close partnerships with two states and recruit 600 applicants for their first cohort.
Where they are now: Govern for America is sparking real change in government. Since starting, they have connected more than 40 recent grads to government jobs in 7 states, in their mission to create more diverse, effective, and responsive government.
Geopipe
Who they are: Christopher Mitchell (Courant '16 & Faculty) & Thomas Dickerson (non-NYU)
What they do: Geopipe creates immersive digital twins and rich 3D data about real cities, instantly accessible for training simulations, games, architecture, and beyond.
What Summer Launchpad Helped them To Do: Identify and build relationships with their initial target customer segment - architects, and create a strategy to scale their venture and technology.
Participated in: Summer Launchpad, 300K Entrepreneurs Challenge, the Ignite Fellowship, and the VC Pitchfest
Where they are now: Currently, Geopipe has over 600 organic platform users and more that 10 enterprise customers. To date, they have attracted over $2 million in grants funding, including from the Air Force and Army, and National Science Foundation, and they participated in Techstars NYC.
These are only three of dozens of startups who have gone through our Startup Sprint and Summer Launchpad programs. Explore more participants in our Featured NYU Startups page. We're looking for the most promising, diverse and scalable ventures from across NYU to join the next classes of the Startup Sprint and Summer Launchpad programs .
Who it's for: Both programs are open to teams building highly scalable, and novel ventures across all sectors, with at least one current NYU student/faculty/researcher or recent alumni (2018 or later founder). Bonus points if your team is multi-disciplinary and diverse, i.e. led/co-led by a female or other underrepresented minority in tech (68% of past Sprint teams have been led/co-led by a female founder!!). The Startup Sprint is for teams who are earlier in development relative to the Summer Launchpad. Unsure which of these programs your startup fits in best? Check out our How to Choose blog post.
