Seed Spot, a Phoenix-based startup incubator, is seeking applicants looking to scale their companies in this year’s Impact Accelerator program.
The six-week accelerator program, now in its ninth year, will be completely virtual this year and open to entrepreneurs across the world. The program will ultimately take 15 companies into this year’s cohort.
Seed Spot runs other shorter programs throughout the year, but this accelerator curriculum is its marquee offering for entrepreneurs, with sessions on pitching, financial projections, customer acquisition, team development and more.
“Covid helped us put this program in sharper focus,” Seed Spot CEO Zach Leverenz said in a statement. “In the wake of the pandemic, we recognize our collective opportunity and responsibility to ensure the economic recovery ahead creates a more just and equitable world.”
“Historically, when the nation rebounds from an economic crisis, it's new businesses that create virtually all job growth, including replacing lost jobs. Through customized training, expert mentorship, and direct access to networks of social and financial capital, our Impact Accelerator is the jet fuel underrepresented entrepreneurs need to succeed in this moment.”
Seed Spot took its programs virtual last year in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and it has since worked with entrepreneurs from 39 countries. That global reach comes from a nonprofit that has undeniable Arizona roots: Five of the eleven board members are in the Valley, most Seed Spot team members are here as is the majority of program alumni.
Previous Impact Accelerator participants include Schola, an edtech company that raised $2.5 million in fresh capital earlier this year and Televeda, a software startup focused on combating social isolation that was recently named to StartupAZ’s Growth Cohort.
Multimillion dollar funding rounds garner headlines, but there are scores of smaller angel investments poured into Valley startups each year that act as propellent to get early-stage companies off the ground and into growth.
Last November, Seed Spot, in partnership with Grand Canyon University’s Canyon Angels, won a competitive $300,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration that will be used to train 180 Arizona women and people of color to become angel investors. Another angel group in the Valley recently told the Business Journal about the value they’ve found since increasing diversity amongst investors.
Application details
Applications are due on Friday, July 16, by 11:59 pm ET. There is no application fee when applying, but the 15 entrepreneurs selected into the program must pay a $1,999 fee to participate. Seed Spot does not take an equity stake in participating companies. Click here for more information.
