VILLAGEx Accelerator Program for Venture-Scale Startups (US)

Over a focused four-month period, up to 10 companies comprise a highly-selective cohort of startups that are ready to hustle towards their journey to scale. VILLAGEx leverages the passion and expertise of executive-level mentors, startup experts, business professionals, and mentors across industries and around the globe to provide Gulf South founders with the connections and resources needed to scale rapidly.

The upcoming program will run from January to May 2024. VILLAGEx recruits founders across the Gulf South and is optimized for in-person engagement in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Accelerator Benefits

• Mentorship: EIR
  • The mentorship piece of the program is quarterbacked by the remarkable EIR’S. EIR’s are current and former founders and operators who are looking to translate their success into helping others. EIRs lead in selection, program development, and catalyze resources for the companies. They strive to maintain a 4:1 company to EIR ratio in the program to maximize one-on-one engagement. EIRs continue to work with founders post-program to provide support throughout the capital-raising process.
• Mentorship: IIR
  • IIRs focus primarily on assisting companies in becoming capital ready. The majority of IIR involvement occurs during the second half of the program when they work with founders on aspects such as:
    • Deck creation and preparation for investor pitches
    • Leading pitch groups, including facilitating pitch rehearsal and giving feedback to both individual companies and small groups
    • Helping founders identify what investors would be most successful for their venture and making those introductions when needed
    • Facilitating cohort training/workshops on topics such as term sheets, due diligence, data rooms, and valuations.
• Advisory boards
  • Advisory boards consist of 4-5 mentors or advisors with balanced, complementary expertise who meet with founders monthly for a 60-minute board presentation. Advisory board members provide general business expertise, milestone accountability, and track progress throughout the program.
• Morrow community
  • VILLAGEx is a proud Morrow, previously known as the GAN accelerator, making the program one of 100+ world-class accelerators providing the highest quality of support to entrepreneurs who are leading to incredible outcomes for startups in 120+ cities across the globe. As a GAN accelerator, they offer VILLAGEX participants access to over $1M in perks, ranging from free services to digital and physical products.
• Direct resources
  • In addition to mentorship, participants have access to direct resources such as basic legal services, proforma development, pitch preparation, and graphic design support at special discounted rates. Additionally, founders will have full access to coworking space at The Shop, where The Idea Village is an anchor tenant.
• Peer connections
  • They believe that some of the most valuable long-term connections an entrepreneur can make are with other entrepreneurs facing similar challenges at a similar stage. They work to build these peer-to-peer connections throughout the program between current participants as well as the extensive alumni network. As a cohort-driven program they celebrate wins, big or small, together.
• Village networking
  • Throughout the program, accelerator participants are invited to exclusive networking events hosted by The Idea Village. These events, which will be in both physical and virtual environments, are attended by alumni, board members, investors, and industry leaders that provide opportunities for accelerator companies to connect with the Village.
• Fundraising support
  • Raising capital is critical for any early-stage, high-growth venture. The program is ideal for companies that have already raised seed stage capital and are looking to leverage that traction into hitting operational milestones and setting up a larger Series A level raise. They have a proven track record for supporting funding rounds from pre-seed through Series A.
• Pitch coaching
  • Once you have the right story, a great pitch will help you sell it. They work with professional pitch coaches who support founders while they hone pitch narrative and materials.
• Deck development
  • Founders finish the accelerator with a refined, compelling pitch and pitch deck to bring to any meeting with an investor or customer.
• Demo day
  • The accelerator program culminates in a company showcase called Demo Day, where founders are given the opportunity to demonstrate their company growth to-date and potential for future success.

Is VILLAGEx right for your startup?

Seed-stage startups are selected for the program based on a venture’s ability to prove it is:

• Rapidly scaling
• Serving a new or niche market in an innovative way
• Incorporating technology to solve a problem or improve a process
• Offering a new or unproven business model with the potential to revolutionize a particular industry
• Planning to take on at least $1M in funding in the next 24 months.

Selection Criteria

VILLAGEx seeks companies who have demonstrated clear strength in at least two of the following areas. The goal of the program is to work with companies over the course of the accelerator to successfully fill in the areas where there may be gaps.

• Product
• Team
• Traction
• Market

For more information, visit The Idea Village.