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- Is this accelerator only for students?
No. Our preference is the founding team is composed of graduating students (those graduating in Fall '22 or Spring '23), but others are welcome to apply if at least one member is a current student, recently graduated within the past year (Spring '22), or is a current faculty, researcher, postdoc or staff member. Faculty, researcher and postdocs working on technology-driven ventures instead be interested in participating in the sister program - the Technology Venture Program - which is designed just for faculty-led ventures commercializing technology developed at NYU (if you're a full-time faculty/post-doc/or researcher email rebeccasilver@nyu.edu to learn more about these programs).
- Can I participate if I'm not in New York or am an international student at NYU?
The Summer '23 program will be held in person in New York City, and if participants will be required to be located in NYC during the bulk of the program (some weeks during the program may be held virtually, while others will be held in person).
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- What types of ventures is the accelerator for?
Summer Launchpad is intended for all types of startups which have high growth potential. Whether focused on social innovation, software, medical devices, physical products, hardware, or other areas, all are welcome to apply. Both for profits and non-profits are welcome to apply as well.
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- What are the basic requirements to be considered?
See above in "Who It's For" and "Selection Criteria" for more details.
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- How selective is the program?
Summer Launchpad is highly selective, accepting only ~10% of applicants each year. Ventures which are less developed (you do not have demonstrated problem-solution fit, or a proof of concept/prototype) are encouraged to consider applying to a Startup Bootcamp or Startup Sprint instead.
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- When and where does it take place?
June 12th-August 10th. Prior to the program teams will also participate in an orientation at the end of April and will come in for Venture Coaching to establish individual team-based milestones for the program. Teams will also receive post-program mentorship and prep in advance of the NYU Demo Day in October.
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- I have a part-time internship or other opportunity lined up for summer. Can I still apply?
All core co-founders members must be committed to their startup full time (during and after program), and thus to pursuing their startup via NYU Summer Launchpad full-time. However teams may include some non-core founding members or advisors who have outside obligations such as faculty appointments or internships, but they are only eligible to participate in some Summer Launchpad program activities. Have questions about this? Email us at entrepreneur@nyu.edu prior to submitting your application.
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- What if I need more people to join my team?
We will be hosting team hunts each semester (visit the calendar section of this website to sign up!).
- Our team has two venture ideas, can we submit multiple applications?
While you may submit as many applications as you like, if your team is selected for the program, we expect teams to be fully committed to the venture they are selected to participate with (both during and after the program).
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- What is the deadline to apply?
Applications for the 2023 Summer Launchpad will be due on March 22rd, '23. Applications will open in February '23.
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- When can I expect to hear a decision about my acceptance?
Teams will be notified within one week of the application closing date if they've been selected to interview for the program. If you're invited to interview, you'll receive final notice of your acceptance around the middle of April.
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- We've already taken some funding. Can we still apply?
Yes - in the past many participants in the program had taken funding prior to participating.
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- Who will be reviewing my application?
Applications will be reviewed by and interviews will be conducted by senior members of the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute team and NYU Innovation Venture Fund. Applications will not be shared with any external parties for any reason.
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- Do you give feedback on application results?
Typically we do not give specific feedback on applications. However we’d be happy to meet with your team to give more general feedback and guidance about your startup through our mentorship/coaching program (open to those currently affiliated with NYU only). You can book a coaching appointment here: https://entrepreneur.nyu.edu/resource/startup-coaching/
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- Do you have an offline version of the application questions to review?
Yes! While the Summer Launchpad '23 application is not quite ready, you van view the application questions from Summer Launchpad '22 linked here. We HIGHLY recommend you make a copy of this document and fill out the application questions here before submitting through the Qualtrics form.
