Betaspring is a mentorship-driven startup accelerator program for technology and design entrepreneurs who are ready to launch a company and change the world. Apply by 6/12 for our fall session, which begins on 8/26.
06.12.13
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mwithers
Applications for Betaspring's Fall accelerator session are due today, June 12, by midnight PST.
Twice a year, companies from around the country--and increasingly the world--come to Providence for Betaspring’s intensive 12-week accelerator. Our full-immersion program, which runs in Spring and Fall, enables teams with a strong start on a high-growth venture to rapidly transform into scalable companies. We have accelerated 72 companies since 2009 and our portfolio has raised more that $25M in follow-on funding.
Companies accepted into the program access an expansive mentor network, seed capital, office space and immersion in an entrepreneurial community where they develop a stronger peer support network with other CEOs, CTOs and founders. We are a member of the Global Accelerator Network, enabling Betaspring companies to access a HUGE portfolio of perks from major vendors...
06.11.13
Check out this piece by Betaspring Chief of Staff Melissa Withers that appeared in Women2.0 today:
For a little over a year now, I have been working to evaluate how Betaspring–a startup accelerator based in Providence–can better attract and support top-notch women founders. Why? Because women are one of the most underleveraged resources in our collective quest to launch a startup revolution.
Integrating more women into the accelerator scene is a work in progress. Some great women-led companies are percolating at Betaspring and at demo days across the country, but my gut tells me we have a ways to go.
I am not a social scientist but my work with 50+ startups in the last eight months affirms for me that this accelerator model presents special challenges for women, who statistically are more likely to have familial and domestic obligations beyond those faced by their male counterparts....
06.11.13
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atear
Every quarter we go back and analyze our portfolio, both to see how we can help our alumni and to spot long-term trends to help us improve Betaspring. One of the advantages of being one of the most active (30 startups a year) and longest-running (72 startups since ‘09) accelerators is that we learn from company rough patches, stall-outs, and outright failures. We use this data to help future teams avoid obstacles and deal with them when they crop up, without killing their companies in the process.
We also draw on observations from the hundreds of applicant interviews we do every year to select the companies we invest in. Though we don’t spend the intensive time with this larger group, we get close enough into founder mindsets and progress to draw valuable supporting/secondary data about why companies thrive and why they die.
At the start of each Betaspring session I present this...
06.04.13
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mwithers
Remember when riding your bike was all about fun and adventure? Well, if you have forgotten, it's time you got to know Autobike. Autobike, a Betaspring alum from Fall 2012, is now shipping an automatic shifting bicycle that delivers the simplest, smoothest, most comfortable riding experience ever to customers across the US.
Autobike was formed in January 2011, but the idea came about two years before. Several of the founders grew up together, and riding bikes was their ticket to freedom and fun. It was more about the experience, riding with friends, and exploring more than anything else. Autobike's founders felt that the spirit of riding was hard to find today in a bike culture obsessed $10,000 racing bikes, crazy aerodynamic helmets, and an overabundance of spandex.
I first met Autobike founders Kevin Smith and Sean Simpson on a hot summer day in Providence, when they rolled up...
06.03.13
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mwithers
Betaspring is now accepting applications for our Fall 2013 session, which begins on August 26. If you are ready to do in 12 weeks what most companies do in a year, apply now. Final application deadline is June 12 at midnight, PST.
Last week we began the first step in screening--ten minute interviews. Many high quality applicants made it in by the early application deadline and we'll see a dozen or so companies at BEX on Thursday.
Don't procrastinate: we accept companies on a rolling basis and will extend an offer to a great fit company before the final application deadline.
Why Accelerate?Twice a year, companies from around the country--and increasingly the world--come to Providence for Betaspring’s intensive 12-week accelerator. Our full-immersion program, which runs in Spring and Fall, enables teams with a strong start on a high-growth venture to rapidly...
05.30.13
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mwithers
It’s done. You tested, retested, and optimized features and function based on feedback from users and market intelligence. Your new product launched. Now, you can sit back and revel in your genius...for about 10 minutes. No sooner are you done, then you must begin again.
In an era where the half life of products, services and business models is shrinking like the polar icecaps, startups must find ways to operationalize a continuous cycle of innovation around user experience and user interface. Sound obvious? At the surface, yes. But dig deeper and the challenges of building the capability for ongoing innovation is what separates the superstars from the supernovas, those who last and those who fade fast.
Forget fiddling with buttons, clicks and fonts. That’s the easy part. Staying atop of what you know about your users and how to delight them shifts like sand, sometimes overnight....
05.29.13
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Owen
Experts in product development will tell you to understand your user. Some people are naturals at this, most have to learn. Raising money is no different. Some people understand it intuitively, but most aren't so lucky. Learning what investors care about and how they think is critical to knowing when and how to fundraise for your venture.
As an entrepreneur, you are thinking about the upside, opportunity, and the excitement. Rightfully so, as thinking about these things will carry you through the "valleys of death" that may open up in front of you on your entrepreneurial journey.
Investors also care about these things, but only because they want to answer a yes/no question: does the startup in front of me present a big enough opportunity to consider investing? Investors know startups are inherently high-risk, and a high-risk investment darn well better have the potential for a very...
05.16.13
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mwithers
It's pretty nice to wake up in the morning and find that you've made the front page of the Boston Globe's Business Section. Although it was two weeks ago and this blog is a bit overdue, it's not too late to give one more cheer for the good ink.
We came off Launch Week in good form and could not be more proud of our Spring 2013 companies, who killed their presentations at Investor Sneak Peek and Launch Day. The days following have been a whirlwind.
This session, we held our investor First Look day in Boston. First Look is an investor-only demo day to showcase the companies exiting Betaspring's 2013 Spring accelerator session. This event offered investors a sneak peek at the companies in advance of our public Launch Day on May 2.
Scott Kirsner's coverage for the Globe sprang from his participation in this event. At First Look, companies from the Spring 2013 cohort...
05.13.13
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mwithers
Companies applying for Betaspring's Fall session by May 21 are eligible to attend Betaspring Experience Day (BEX) on June 6, in Providence. In addition to getting a behind-the-scenes look at how Betaspring works, participants in BEX may be eligible for a face-to-face interview during their visit, a part of the selection process usually reserved for finalists.
We'll also have two great guest speakers in the house, Chris Walker, CEO of Secret Labs, and Rajiv Kumar, CEO of ShapeUp. Chris will talk about the future of wearable technology and Rajiv will talk about how his company used *real* content market to build one of the most exciting wellness companies in the world.
There will also be a panel of Betaspring alum on hand to answer your questions. We'll wrap with a social where you can meet the full Betaspring team and many of the startups in our community.
Early...
05.13.13
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mwithers
At Betaspring we don't play favorites when it comes to our incredibly awesome mentor network. But…I am not exaggerating when I tell you that having Kate Walker on the East Coast full time is the best news I've gotten all spring!
Kate, Partner & Senior Vice President at McGrath│Power Public Relations, has been supporting Betaspring companies for more than a year now, but this week--with the news that her bi-coastal commute twice a month will be slowing down--I was able to trick Kate into formally becoming a Betaspring mentor!
Through her work at McGrath│Power Public Relations, a 30-year old Silicon Valley-based technology communications agency, she has built a national rep for being a top-notch communicator and strategist. Kate has a passion for great stories and has spent her career helping people to find and tell their own compelling stories to audiences ranging...
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