A Start-Up Accelerator For Young Entrepreneurs
Giving every young person an equal chance of success in business regardless of their background.
Founder Machine is predicated on the belief that given a level playing field – equal
opportunity, resource and support – a young person will excel regardless of their social, economic or cultural background. Bringing young motivated people together from vastly different walks of life and providing them with a mutual goal of success, enables them learn from each and about themselves in a way the is often unavailable to them in their current daily lives.
Leading young “founders” through the ins-and-out of starting up and running a real business
During a 12-week camp, Founders work on growing their business with the help of real life successful entrepreneurs. Through a series of workshops, mentoring and “doing”, the group cohort determine how to make their business work for them. The 12-week cycle culminates with a demo-day when they showcase and pitch their business to an invited audience of supporters (and dare we say, potential investors!).
How does it work?
Founders are selected from an array different backgrounds – economic, cultural and social – so individuals are encouraged to contribute any amount they feel is appropriate (This will be kept confidential).
Founders learn how to:
- Launch a business (even though they already ‘have’ a business we get back to basics)
- Collaborate and work as a group
- Mix with others from different backgrounds
- Work with top class business mentor
- Be accountable
- Pivot their business to a new direction if it is not working
- Raise money & fund their growth
Format:
- Meeting at least one-time per week (3 hours session) for 12 weeks
- Ongoing mentoring
- Present @ Demo-day
- Your business must be Atlanta based
Selection process
If you are between the ages of 18-30, currently RUN a revenue generating business and you come from a disadvantaged community, you can apply. The Founder Machine team will select a group of 10-20 business owners to join the next 12-week cycle. Unfortunately, Founder Machine is NOT currently open to entrepreneurs with an idea for a business. Our goal, at this stage, if to work with businesses that already have revenue but may need help in growing
NEXT CYCLE: Starts Spring-2012
