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Top 30 Accelerator programs in the USA

6/15/2017

Lighthouse Labs in the Top 30!

For the second year in a row, Lighthouse Labs was ranked among the top 30 seed accelerators in the United States! Among internationally renown programs like Y Combinator, Tech Stars, and 500 Startups, Lighthouse was assessed based on six criteria:

Valuation
Qualified Exit
Qualified Fundraising
Survival
Founder Satisfaction
Alumni Network

The ranking relies almost entirely on data provided by program participants and alumni. We know data collection and responding to surveys is no fun! A heartfelt thank you to all alumni for sharing their data and impressions of Lighthouse Labs with the ranking organization! Thank you!

Capital One awards $100,000 to Lighthouse Labs
Earlier this week, Capital One announced a $100,000 grant to Lighthouse Labs. This will mark the fourth year that Capital One has financially supported Lighthouse Labs in its mission to invest in the lives of entrepreneurs. â€œAfter experiencing the outstanding quality of startups in last yearâ€™s program, we are excited to continue our collaboration with Lighthouse Labs to spur innovation in Central Virginia. Our partnership with Lighthouse not only provides Capital One project team members the opportunity to directly interact with innovative startups, but also allows us to invest in growing the talent pool of the Richmond startup ecosystem,â€ said Jay Sanne, Vice President of Card Technology at Capital One. Read the full story in Richmond BizSense.

Two weeks to go!
With only two weeks until our application deadline, we are still looking for the most qualified founders who would benefit from joining Lighthouse Labs this fall!

Applying to Lighthouse Labs
We know that, especially for early-stage companies, an accelerator application can be cumbersome and intimidating. In our first blogpost, Three Questions to Ask Yourself before Applying to Lighthouse Labs, we clarify some of most frequently asked questions about acceleration and highlight the Lighthouse difference. We also wanted to know from Lighthouse Labs alumni how they went about preparing an outstanding application. Read all about it in Inside Lighthouse: Applying for Lighthouse Labs!

Can you help us spread the word? If you know a founder who is a good fit, send them a link to our blog, encourage them to apply and/or refer them to Anika!

If you use social media, please feel free to spread the word:

Only 2 weeks to go! Apply for @rvalighthouse, 1 of 30 top seed accelerators in the U.S.! https://www.f6s.com/lighthouselabsrva/apply
2 weeks left! Accelerate your high-growth #startup at @RVALighthouse! Apply now for nationally ranked acceleration! https://www.f6s.com/lighthouselabsrva/apply

Our committee is already reviewing applications; teams that apply early will get more exposure to our judges!

LIGHTHOUSE SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

JUNE 30 - Applications Close
JULY 25 - Finalist Interviews
JULY 27- Accepted Companies Announced
AUGUST 23 - Program Begins
NOVEMBER - Investor Road Show
NOVEMBER - RVA Investor Demo Day
NOVEMBER 17 - Program Ends

Resources

ECOSYSTEM NEWS

New Richmond Ventures raises new investment fund of $33 million
Padilla Acquires INM United

UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS

JUNE 15th - rvatech/on tap, rvatech
JUNE 20th - Exporting 101: How to Take your Company Global

For a full list of events see Activation Capital.

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Inside Lighthouse: applying for lighthouse labs

6/1/2017

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We asked Alumni how they prepared for their application to Lighthouse Labs and some mentors let us in on what they look for in a good application. Read on to learn what it takes!

Rain Thomas, Skraach
For us, the best preparation was actually applying to other larger accelerators. We didn’t get in but it was good practice and helped us hone in on the important parts of our idea. Because we applied to those other programs prior, we were prepped well in advance. We answered the questions in an editable word document, drafting several iterations before sending it in.

Mike Broggie, Mentor
I’m looking for an articulate statement of the problem the founders are solving and at least a cursory understanding of the value being created for their end customer.
Common mistakes: incomplete applications
Red flag: “disrupt” anything. On a really, really good day, you are innovating, not disrupting.

Elliot Roth, Spira
We used a shared google doc so the entire team could give input. We also sent it to previous Lighthouse teams to get feedback. Mostly it was our CEO putting the application together and we submitted the day prior. I wish we had gotten feedback from investors rather than startups.

Joseph Heinzen, Zoozil
My co-founder and I got together to fill out the application. We discussed it, exchanged ideas, and also read sample successful accelerator applications that we found online. I don't know that we would change anything due to our successful entrance. Moving forward, however, I would do more modeling to illustrate expansion by geography -- most late stage accelerators tend to want that in your interview. We made it to the last round for the AT&T edtech accelerator (final 10 out of 280 applicants) and that area was lacking for us and I believe it was the reason we didn't make the final cut.

Cody Nystrom, Lighthouse mentor
What I look for in a strong application is the originality of idea, whether it addresses a true pain point with a big market, how the team solves distribution challenges, whether they have already identified team resources, and demonstrate competency in market they are addressing.

Jordan Jez, Glass Smith
We took the application pretty seriously, due to where we were in the process of creating Glass Smith some of the application questions required a good deal of thought, exploration, and research. We sat down went over the questions and worked through each on as a team. Once compiled we passed along what we had to a couple friends familiar with the program and the startup ecosystem here. Taking that feedback we made the changes necessary and submitted. Advice here is to plan ahead, execute, revise, and then submit.

Ace Callwood, Painless 1099
We had a ton of conversations with the Lighthouse team itself and a fair amount of the other mentors and board members before applying. It obviously helped being a part of the community already, but mostly we did our homework to put our best foot forward for the application and interview process. Not to mention, our application was denied the first time we applied. If at first you don't succeed.

Dominic Costanzo, Lighthouse mentor
The most important thing I look for is whether the enterprise is operating in a large (and growing) market with the ability to scale. Traction and team are weighted heavily in my evaluation. Common mistakes are being too informal in the language used in the application. Another mistake is providing too much information. It’s important to remember as an applicant that your application is not the only one being read. It’s easy to lose someone who is reviewing it if it takes too much time to read through, especially after going through dozens prior. Stand out by being concise, to the point, and providing only relevant information.

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Three questions to ask yourself before applying to Lighthouse Labs

6/1/2017

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What is an Accelerator?
There is some confusion around the language of startup support in general and founders easily get confused about the nuances of different program offerings. Before applying, be sure you understand the difference between incubators and accelerators. Both provide support to fledgling entrepreneurs, and many offer different perks from workspace to access to advisors and mentors. An incubator primarily offers workspace, administrative support and some may even grant access to community members who act as advisors or mentors. Most incubators, however, operate on rent. Most incubators have no selection process and house companies for anywhere between one and five years (Cohen, 2013).

Accelerators, on the other hand, work with cohorts over a fixed period of time (usually three months) and in most cases take equity in return for the program. Most accelerators recruit founders through a competitive selection process (nationally acclaimed programs accept as little as 1% of applicants) and expose them to a high number of mentors.

To learn more about the difference between incubators and accelerators, read What Do Accelerators Do? Insights from Incubators and Angels, Susan Cohen, 2013

The Lighthouse Difference: Lighthouse Labs is ranked among the top 25 seed accelerators in the United States. Unlike most other programs, we don’t take equity in the companies that join our cohort. “We provide seed funding of $20,000 per team, adaptive programming over the course of three months and focus on curating amazing connections for founders through our mentor community. In return, we expect them to work diligently and full time on their ventures while they’re in the program. We encourage founders to support each other as peers, leverage every mentor meeting and actively engage in our weekly sessions and deep partner learning opportunities.” says Todd Nuckols, Managing Director of Lighthouse.

Who should apply to an accelerator?
Founders in the early stages of venture creation are the best fit for accelerators. Some programs require startups to be able to prove traction and an existing customer base, others will work with founders who apply with nothing but a promising idea. Founders who are willing to learn and re-evaluate their entire startup approach will gain the most from an accelerator. In some cases, this mean questioning their key assumptions about their idea, and making constant changes along the way.

The Lighthouse Difference: Lighthouse works with founding teams of at least two co-founders

whose startup has the potential to scale their venture quickly in multiple locations (as opposed to local small businesses)*
can already prove some traction with existing customers,
want to leverage the perk and connection power of a global network through our relationship with the Global Accelerator Network (Gan.co), and
are willing to relocate to Richmond, VA, for the duration of the program to work full time on their venture.

*Learn more about the difference between small businesses and startups in this article.

What can you expect from an accelerator?
Each accelerator offers different perks and terms of participation. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the expectations and conditions of joining an accelerator before applying. Here are some general pointers to look out for:

Many accelerators focus on a specific vertical like healthcare, education, financial technology and so on. The upside? They are able to tap into relevant industry networks that are strongly represented in their locality. Founders within the cohort, advisors and mentors work within the same industry and can share industry-specific expertise and contacts. It also means that the group is more homogenous than in industry-agnostic programs.
The levels of investment and the conditions tied to participation vary program by program. Again, make sure to review these terms before applying.
Most accelerators today offer access to mentors who engage deeply with teams throughout the program. These mentors do not only advise startups based on their expertise but can often open many doors to relevant networks, contacts and potential investors.

Demo day or pitch night: Most accelerators culminate in what is referred to as a Demo Day or pitch night during which founders pitch their ventures to potential supporters and investors. During Demo Day startups showcase and celebrate their progress over the previous three months.

The Lighthouse Difference: Lighthouse Labs is industry-agnostic and accepts high-growth startups. As mentioned before, Lighthouse invests $20,000 in each team, as a participation award, without taking equity. “To kick-off the program, we host a Mentor Open House which is a speed pitching event between the founders and dozens of mentors. We want to make sure the founders find the right experts and seasoned entrepreneurs who can provide guidance and make critical connections. The more mentors they meet early on, the higher the likelihood that they will find allies who often become deeply invested in their startup’s success.” says Joanna Pheil, Program Manager at Lighthouse Labs. She adds: “Instead of hosting Demo Day in Richmond alone - which is an annual highlight in the community! - we take founders on a investor roadshow through Virginia and North Carolina to give them the opportunity to pitch to as many angel investors as possible.”

Lastly, before applying, founders should ask themselves whether an accelerator program can help them move forward in the specific phase their startup is in. Is the timing right for you as a founding team to spend three months in an intensive mentor-driven program? Does the city that you are potentially relocating to offer the right type of resources for your industry and an attractive target market? Most importantly, are you open to challenging the key assumptions of your business?

Resources
Hear from Lighthouse Alumni how they prepared for their application, and see what our selection committee looks for in an outstanding application: Inside Lighthouse: How to Apply for Lighthouse Labs

Want to dive deeper? Read up:

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Top 30 Accelerator programs in the USA

Inside Lighthouse: applying for lighthouse labs

Three questions to ask yourself before applying to Lighthouse Labs

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