Deadline: April 6, 2020 23:59 CEST| Apply here
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Dates: June 15 - October 2, 2020
Eligibility: Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) companies are technology companies, or companies with a significant technology component since those are the companies we can help the most. Most ERA companies will be software or software-related in some way, and may be either B-to-B or B-to-C-focused. The interests are as diverse as your ideas: Internet, Mobile, FinTech, SaaS, E-Commerce, Local, Media, Marketing, Ad Tech, Education, Fashion Tech, Real Estate, Logistics and many more.
Location: New York, the United States
ERA Summer Program 2020
Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) combines seed capital, hands-on help and a great co-working location with an expert team to positively impact the trajectory of early-stage startups. ERA runs two, four-month programs per year.
It is New York City’s largest accelerator program. ERA has NYC’s deepest and strongest mentor network with 500+ expert investors, technologists, product specialists, marketers, customer acquisition strategists, sales execs, and more, across all major industries represented in NYC.
ERA companies gain direct access to leading members of the New York City tech community through the ERA mentor network and are also given access to the right investors, sales prospects and partners.
It looks for companies from anywhere in the world that are able to take full advantage of the NYC opportunity as a starting point to successfully enter the market for their product, service or application.
To date, the alumni companies have raised more than $500 million in investor capital
Located in New York City, ERA provides participant companies with an intensive four-month program with the goal of helping early-stage companies progress rapidly into exciting, viable, venture-scalable businesses.
Each accepted company receives an initial $100,000 investment and the potential for follow-on funding from ERA’s Fund. All accepted companies are required to locate in-house for the program’s duration in our midtown offices.
ERA companies also receive the partner and sponsor benefits listed below:
- Up to $120,000 of Azure benefits for 2 years from Microsoft
- $100,000 in webhosting credits from Amazon Web Services
- $100,000 in webhosting credits from Google Cloud Platform
- $24,000 in webhosting credits from Softlayer
- $10,000 in webhosting credits from DigitalOcean
- $50,000 in credits from Stripe
- Special legal benefits from Dentons Law Firm
- One year free service from Phone.com
- Free access to the SendGrid Pro 300K Plan
- Free banking account and perks package from Silicon Valley Bank
- Free and discounted services from Shutterstock, WithumSmith+Brown, ZipCar, HubSpot, RelateIQ, RJMetrics, InVision, FreshDesk, ZenDesk
A Day in the Life
A typical ERA week looks like this:
- Founder Speaker Series: NYC’s most successful business builders from entrepreneurs to VCs discuss topics ranging from how they built their companies from idea to exit to details about acquiring customers and investment strategies to trends and what they mean–or don’t mean.
- Workshop Series: Outside experts and ERA alum cover wide-ranging and diverse specific relevant topic areas. Sample workshops include: Enterprise Sales Tools and Tactics, User Optimization and Testing, Data Science and Decision Making, Digital Marketing Best Practices by Channel, IP and Patent Filing, and more.
- Fundraising Sessions: ERA partners lead sessions that cover funding categories, cap tables, understanding and preparing to meet your potential investors, tracking and follow-up meetings, investor decks, etc.
- CTO Roundtable: Problem solve with your cohort and other CTOs in the trenches.
- Mentor Meetings–ERA’s 500+ mentors, who have expertise in every imaginable functional area. ERA mentors are generous with their time and resources, available to advise our companies for the duration of our program.
- Resident Expert Office Hours: consult with technologists and other pros on specific tactical issues you encounter.
- KPI Review: You and your cohort track and discuss weekly progress together in a lively game show atmosphere that fosters teamwork.
- Pitch Practice–Practice, revise and refine your pitch; get feedback from your cohort, entrepreneurs and investors.
- Open Door to Partners & Staff: Partners and staff are always here to help build your business.
Mentorship
Mentorship is the heart of ERA’s program. ERA has the largest mentor network in New York, with more than 500 actives for any one program.
Mentors in his program can help startups focus on the right metrics to help get to product market fit. Through our deep mentor network, we connect you with the partners you need and provide you with critical access to the industries that comprise the New York opportunity.
During the first week of the program, you are matched with a lead mentor, who helps you achieve key milestones, and works with you through the entire program.
Fundraising
It takes real capital to build a real business, so you will need to raise money–and most likely, more money.
Fundraising is complicated and frustrating; we provide you with the support and resources to needed to navigate the process from valuation and timing to presenting your investor message and creating your deck to scheduling and tracking meetings and evaluating the right/appropriate financial partners for your business.
Alumni
You will be formally paired with alumni mentors; 200+ alumni companies have created an active and engaged community, including the thousands of employees at companies in the ERA family.
ERA alumni have been in your shoes; they are inspired and committed to their ERA family. We find that ERA startups learn as much from each other as anyone else and they thrive on the energy and innovation of working day in and day out with like-minded startups.
Events
ERA kicks off every class with a launch event, where our companies meet mentors in an intimate setting. You will be given the opportunity to bond with your fellow founders and ERA operating partners and staff at happy hours and mid-program investor pitch night.
Demo Day
This program officially ends with Demo Day, a high-profile coming out party to ERA’s community of 700+ investors from New York and the wider investor ecosystem.
Demo Day is an invitation-only event where accredited investors get the opportunity to see and meet with our companies. Each startup presents their businesses in what many of our founders have called the most meaningful and exciting moments of their professional career.
Interested in applying for the ERA Summer Program 2020? Register your participation by following the registration link and taking the suggested steps.
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