Advantage Accelerator

Ready to hit the gas on your startup?

Accelerate is a ten-week program open to community members and OSU researchers, students and staff who intend to establish a privately held, high-growth entrepreneurial venture. This stage focuses on developing a minimal viable product and engaging in customer discovery to validate your product market fit.

The program meets every week for ten weeks. Through the scheduled program events, one-on-one sessions with the directors, meetings with mentors, and access to intern assistance on projects, startup teams will receive the support they need to get their concept into the marketplace.

Accelerate runs three times a year (fall, winter, and spring). The current application will is recruiting for the Winter 2020 cohort beginning on January 7th. The application will close December 27th.

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Entrance Requirements

• Intent to establish a privately held, for-profit organization
• Amenable to advice from staff and mentors
• Apparent growth prospects as an innovative traded sector entity
• Comply with all responsibilities in duties as outlined in client agreement and exhibits
• Intent to drive economic growth and create jobs

Program goals

• Develop a process for finding and interviewing your target customers
• Define your minimal viable product
• Validate your product market fit
• Create a repeatable sales model
• Identify team needs and build accordingly

Graduation Portfolio

1. Product Market Validation
2. Elevator Pitch
3. Five-minute Pitch Deck
4. Social Media Presence
5. 50+ customer interviews conducted

Through OSU's I-corp grant, the Accelerator has potential funds to distribute to select Accelerate teams for attending trade shows to accessing customers and/or prototype development.

FeeS

Administrative: $100

Equity: 1%

Royalty: 2 & 1/2% of sales. This is payable when annual sales reach $200,000. Lifetime cap on payments is $100,000.