Acceleration Phase

The purpose of the Acceleration Phase is to see how well each team performs in real-world circumstances.

First, each team will be required to create an updated one-page business model canvas to describe where they think they are with respect to their business idea.  This is not a business plan, because a plan is static.  A business model is fluid; it allows a company to pivot and adapt to ever-changing circumstances.

Next, each team must “get out of the building” and start testing the hypothesis of their canvas by engaging potential partners and customers to see if what they are proposing actually makes sense.

During this phase each team will be paired with a set of advisors that have been through this process, have investment experience and/or have understanding of potential target customers that the team believes is their best initial set of customers to engage.  They will also be able to apply for microgrants to cover basic expenses like travel, patent applications and prototypes.

The results after engaging in this process may be that some ideas just weren’t that good and a team might decide to retire from the battlefield without claiming victory.   More likely, however, the teams that have engaged in this process will have identified innovative ways to attack their problems and grow their business beyond the current battle into a viable and successful venture!