School will Attract New Companies and Promote Massachusetts as a Top Destination for Startups
Today, MassVentures joined with Ven^x to announce the launch of Founders School, a pre-accelerator program for early-stage deep tech entrepreneurs that aims to equip them with the tools and knowledge needed to succeed and promote Massachusetts as the leading destination for innovation and entrepreneurship.
“Massachusetts is where ideas start, scale, and thrive, and our administration is here as a key partner for founders looking to grow in our state,” said Secretary of Economic Development Yvonne Hao. “The Founders School is a springboard for our deep-tech ecosystem. We are excited to nurture these startups with resources that may not otherwise be available to them and position our state as the best place for tech talent and entrepreneurship.”
“By launching the Founders School, we’re creating a platform for untapped talent to thrive,” said MassVentures President and CEO Charlie Hipwood. “This initiative will break down barriers for emerging tech leaders to access critical resources, build strong networks, and gain invaluable mentorship. It will provide them with the tools and support needed to innovate and scale their ventures, continuing to position Massachusetts as the leading hub for technological innovation and entrepreneurship.”
The Founders School focuses on supporting founders often overlooked by traditional funding sources. The program will offer them resources to help overcome common obstacles such as securing capital, locating physical space and facilities to scale their businesses, navigating regulatory requirements, and building a strong business network.
The hybrid program features a robust curriculum led by industry leaders, academic experts, and entrepreneurial champions that focuses on the intersection of research, technology, and the creation of real-world solutions. Through the program, founders will be matched with entrepreneurial experts who will work with them for the duration of the program to help them refine their business model, prepare for competitive accelerator programs, and jump-start their high-growth potential business.
“Like any natural ecosystem, our deeptech community will be made richer and more resilient through diversity – both in the founder backgrounds and their technologies. The common excuse for a lack of representation in venture portfolios is the homogeneity of our collective deal pipelines,” said John Ho, Founding member of Ven^x and Partner at Anzu. “Founder school is our humble contribution to building a more vibrant pipeline and filling it with historically underfunded entrepreneurs in deep tech.”
The program will provide founders with the opportunity to hear from and interact with speakers who are leaders in their fields in both group and individual sessions. Select members of each cohort will then be invited for an additional nine months of coaching that will be tailored to address their individual business challenges including fundraising and getting their businesses to market. Founders School collaborators include Anzu Partners, AWSM VC, Duplessy Foundation, Institute of Technology and Global Health, Wilson Sonsini, and faculty from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other Massachusetts research institutions across Massachusetts.
The school is also designed to provide guidance on business resources available to them through the Executive Office of Economic Development and its Massachusetts Office of Business Development, as well as quasi-government agencies such as Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, and Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.
The deadline to apply is September 10 and the program will launch October 2024 with an initial cohort of up to 18 founders. MassVentures will host informational webinars on August 13 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET and August 27 from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. ET. Applications are due on September 10. Interested applicants can find more information on the Massachusetts Founders Network website.
