Minnesota's first tech accelerator,
Project Skyway, is accepting applications through May 1 for its first three-month program, beginning in August.
For the inaugural round, Project Skyway will select ten software-as-a-service (SaaS) or mobile startups to receive mentorship, co-working space, $6,000 (per founder), two developers, and a connection to key players in Minnesota's emerging startup scene. In June, 25 semi-finalists will participate in a tech accelerator "boot camp," after which the ten finalists will be chosen.
Project Skyway is seeking founders of companies that are beyond the idea stage, preferably with some sort of online presence, according to FAQs posted online.
"We want you to have done some market validation," says Project Skyway mentor Darren Cox. "Go out and talk to your potential customers � do some research, at the very least."
It wouldn't hurt to be in the revenue stage, either.
"We're no different than any other investor, in that folks with revenue actually have something to point to that folks without revenue can't," says Cox.
That said, Project Skyway has "some pretty strong differentiators" from other accelerators, says Cox. "We don't believe that you must be a coder to be a successful technology entrepreneur." Thus the access to two full-time developers per funded company.
The $6,000 per founder amounts to living expenses, explains Cox. "The money is there to allow you to focus 100 percent of your time on building your company."
The greatest value of the accelerator program to the chosen "Skywalkers" will be the mentorship, resources and connections, says Cox.
"That's how you build a company--you build a groundswell of support for the idea and for the people who are shepherding that idea," he says.
The first round is focused on SaaS and mobile "because we really want to dial into the type of startups that we know we can provide the most help to right away," according to the FAQ page. Future accelerator rounds might venture into hardware, cleantech, social ventures, and other types of startups.
In exchange for the program, Project Skyway receives 6�9 percent "founders shares" of common stock from participating (and successful, assuming) startups.
Source: Darren Cox, Project Skyway
Writer: Jeremy Stratton