Ask any entrepreneur and they’ll tell you starting a business is one of the toughest things they’ll ever do. It’s a journey filled with promise but also full of risk. Since 2006, the Accelerator Centre (AC) has played an essential guiding hand helping tech startups mitigate that risk.
And yet, for every company that meets the AC’s stringent requirements for admission into its facility, there are another 4 or 5 that aren’t quite there yet, says Andrew Jackson, the Accelerator Centre’s vice president, client services.
“We consistently have entrepreneurs applying to our program who have great technologies with promise, or great business ideas, but don’t yet meet all the criteria we set out for admission into the full Accelerator Program,” he says. “So we found ourselves regretfully turning a way a lot of people who could benefit from our help.”
That fact didn’t sit well with the Accelerator Centre team, so they decided to do something about it.
“We began by pulling together our in-house mentors, key stakeholders, and CEOs of graduate companies to brainstorm how we might go about serving earliest stage companies better. Out of this effort, we were able to create new phase of AC programming targeted at helping those early stage entrepreneurs build a strong business foundation,” says Andrew. Called Momentum, this initial phase of programming offers entrepreneurs a structured curriculum focused around market validation, and individualized programming and mentorship tailored to the company and its specific needs.
“When a company applies to the Accelerator Centre, they don’t choose the program they want to enter. Rather, they are assessed by our intake team, and a recommendation is made as to which program is best suited for their needs,” says Andrew. “We’ve had companies meet with us believing they are further along, until we begin explaining the Momentum program. Then they realize how valuable Momentum will be.” Andrew notes that while a company typically takes about a year to complete the Momentum phase, there are exceptions where a company will speed through the program.”
Just a few months into its existence, Momentum has attracted 7 entrepreneurs into the program, with a goal to attract another 7 or 8 to reach full capacity. As a first step, every company in the Momentum phase is completing AC Pathfinder™, an intensive market validation exercise based on the lean canvas methodology which includes surveying and ‘testing’ potential markets to gauge demand for the company’s product offerings.
“Market validation offered by AC Pathfinder is really critical to a company’s success. It gives the entrepreneur a clear vision for their market, which then informs every other business decision,” says Clinton Ball, the Accelerator Centre’s manager of client services. “It also helps us determine where the business requires immediate mentorship. For instance, if they are trying to sort out their sales strategy, or channels, we’ll pair them up with Kevin Hood, the AC’s sales and marketing mentor. If they haven’t thought through their IP, then we’ll have them spend time with Bob Rushby, a former CTO of Christie Digital and the AC’s technology mentor. Or if they need to incorporate or sort out their taxes, we’ll bring in Kevin Elop, our finance mentor.
“Momentum has been a fantastic experience to date,” says Tariqu Ali Asghar, CEO of ESIG Inc. “The Pathfinder program, which we’ve just completed really helped us zero in on the right market for our technology, and clarify our business strategy and planning efforts.”
The application process to Momentum is very easy. Entrepreneurs can apply anytime through the Accelerator Centre’s web site. They are then contacted within 3 business days by the AC team, where an initial interview is scheduled and the process begins.
“While startups have a lot of services and resources available to them across Waterloo Region, the fact is, demand is still exceeding supply,” says Clinton. “It’s our mandate to reach out to that underserved market. We want to give companies at every stage the very best opportunity to succeed in their business ventures. Momentum helps fulfill that mandate by filling in a gap in the AC’s service offerings.”
Interested entrepreneurs can apply anytime to the Accelerator Centre here www.acceleratorcentre.com/apply/.