Early stage startups are invited to apply for Startup Next, a pre-acceleration program from Techstars that helps prepare startups for accelerators and seed investment.
With mentors like Strategyzer co-founder Alan Smith, Marie Chevrier, founder of Sampler and inaugural winner of Startup Next Toronto, and Tom Walsham, The Working Group‘s director of product, the program’s aim is to help get startups focused on the progress needed to stand out.
During the six-week free program, founders will attend three-hour weekly sessions hosted by TWG, so they can learn while still having time to continue building their product. Demo nights and extended sessions will be hosted by MaRS. BetaKit is proud to be a sponsor!
While the program is part of Techstars, it’s not specifically preparing startups for Techstars acceleration programs, and no equity is taken for Startup Next. Success stories, besides Sampler’s $795,000 seed round six months after winning Startup Next, include QuotaDeck‘s acceptance into Techstars Boulder, and QVIT, which raised $2.3 million.
To apply for the program, details are available here. Application are open until October 5th.