Welcome to the Future of Work Studio Accelerator, powered by
Untapped Ventures & the City of Burbank
Find your cofounder, ideate, validate,
and build a venture-scale company
deserving of seed-funding in 9
months.
Welcome to the Future of Work Studio Accelerator, powered by
Untapped Ventures & our partner, the City of Burbank
We Want to Help You Build a Venture-Scale Startup Garnering Seed Funding...This Year.
Welcome to the Future of Work Studio Accelerator, powered by
Untapped Ventures & the City of Burbank
Find your cofounder, ideate, validate,
and build a venture-scale company
deserving of seed-funding in 9
months.
Let's build the Future of Work together!
This innovative Studio-Accelerator program is for passionate entrepreneurs obsessed with solving an important Future of
Work problem and creating a venture-scale company.
The Future of Work Studio-Accelerator.
Work as we know it is rapidly evolving. The COVID-19 pandemic was a major catalyst for this change, but disruption in the workplace has been a long time coming.
At Untapped, we firmly believe the New Future of Work is in redefining what, where, and how we get work done, and why we do it in the first place - is it our life purpose? Are we leveraging our superpowers? Are we using the latest productivity tools? Can we easily reskill? How is well-being? This is our definition of the New Future of Work.
This is a 9-month intensive program for founders passionate about disrupting work environments, designing new models of work, developing new tools for enhanced productivity, and bringing wellbeing into the workplace.
If you're an experienced entrepreneur with a bold new idea aimed at changing the "traditional work experience" and you are ready to commit to this hands-on venture building journey- we want you to apply!
BENEFITS
Co-Founder Matching:
One of the hardest parts of building a startup is finding the right co-founder for you and the problem you're trying to solve. Through our unique co-founder matching process, you'll be introduced to other passionate, smart, and driven founders with the goal of building venture-scale companies.
Access to Investment
Untapped is a startup studio (see FAQ for info on startup studios) with a venture arm. This means we build companies and invest in them. In addition to our investment capabilities, we have a strong network of investment partners and will make intros when the time is right!
Curriculum:
Through this program, you and your team have access to the World-Class Leanstack Continuous Innovation venture building platform. Through state of the art playbooks and various modeling tools, this platform walks you through all of the stages of building and scaling a venture. While moving through each battle-tested playbook you’ll have access to integrated tools to build lean canvases, model traction, record insights from customer interviews, engage in financial modeling, and much more!
1-to-1 Startup Coaching:
Our expert coaches are trained in Lean Startup methodologies and will help you move through the playbooks, program, and venture building stages efficiently. Your team will meet with your Continuous Innovation coach every other week.
Community:
Founders need support. Whether it’s sanity-checking an idea or getting some motivational uplift- we understand how lonely entrepreneurship can be. This is why we built the Future of Work Studio-Accelerator community. It’s the place where you'll share the ups and downs of startup life, get advice from peers, network, test ideas, share experiences, and find new opportunities.
Phase 1: Launch
4 Months - March to June 2021
Teaming:
If you enter the program as a solo-founder, this is where you will be introduced to potential co-founders. Think of it as cofounder speed dating. At the end of this period, you'll have built your A-team and will be ready to roll.
Ideation:
Everyone has great ideas, but each team can only choose one. This period is where you'll get clear on what problem you're solving, why it's a problem worth solving, and develop a potential solution to solve that problem.
Validation:
This is the Problem/Solution Fit stage: It's your time to experiment, talk to customers, build a demo, and test your product and see if you can pre-sell $10K ARR. You will iterate as you go and the Untapped studio team will help you to make your first set of sales. The Leanstack playbooks (our startup curriculum) along with your expert startup coach will be there to teach you everything you need to know.
Phase 2: Growth
5 Months - July to November 2021
Investment:
At this stage, you should have validated a problem worth solving, ideated a solution, and developed clarity on MVP 1.0. To get into the Growth phase, you and your team will pitch our investment committee to get funding. Untapped is prepared to invest in the most promising startup teams and ideas and those who gain investment will move on in the program.
Traction:
This is where our team helps your team build, launch, and scale. During this MVP-Customer Fit phase you'll develop your financial and business models, build your product, test it out in the market, and get sales. As initial customers are delighted and referenceable, you'll work on acquiring more customers. Using our proven system, expertise, and connections, we will help you move from $10K ARR to $100K ARR quickly becoming worthy a favorable seed financing round.
Demo Day
This is the big day! You've worked hard over the last 8-months and it's time to show the world what you've built. You can expect dozens of early-stage investors to attend as well as media, sponsors, our team, and our partners. This is your chance to secure seed-funding and grow a venture scale company. Note: Virtual or in-person TBD due to COVID.
Key Dates
Who Should Apply:
Here's who we're really looking for...
Entrepreneurs with a previous exit ready to do it again with the help of a startup studio
Business Cofounder whose gone out and gotten clear market validation on a very compelling Idea
Technical Cofounder whose come up with a brilliant solution to a big problem, likely hacked out an MVP already
Venture-backed startup exec who left their full-time job to take a shot - you're time has come!
Rockstar startup team with 2 to 4 cofounders with complementary superpowers and an early product
Minimum Requirements
Clear idea of a specific problem to solve for a target customer market
Strong venture-backed startup experience
Proven and demonstrated business results
Deep domain experience in your selected problem space
Entrepreneurial DNA - hungry, motivated, and driven to succeed
Committed to a 9-month program
Excited to put in ~40 hours per week building your business (minimum 20+ hours per week)
George Bandarian
Founder and CEO
James Bottom
Managing Director
Dianna Lesage
Program Manager
A Word from our Partner, the City of Burbank...
The City of Burbank Economic Development is proud to partner with Untapped Ventures to sponsor the Future of Work Studio Accelerator, spurring innovation and collaboration in Burbank and beyond.
Burbank is the Media Capital of the World championing the entrepreneurial spirit and supporting programs that nurture and inform the next generation of business talent. From strong demographics, to a high quality of life, and a thriving business community, Burbank offers you an unparalleled competitive advantage.
Burbank’s inspiring entrepreneurial programs like Burbank Tech Talk meet-ups and Startup Pitch Fests provide opportunities to learn collaborate and grow as an entrepreneur. The City also offers an entrepreneurial ecosystem with flex-creative workspace, co-tenancy with major corporations, access to several co-working spaces, a dedicated High Speed Fiber Optics Network and a competitive tax structure with no City Income Tax and no Gross Sales Receipt Tax. Co-locate your business with Disney, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, ABC, Netflix Animation and hundreds of other industry leaders - be a part of a world class City! For more information, visit: https://econdevburbank.com/entrepreneurs/ or contact the team at 818-238-5180 or econdev@burbankca.gov!
Garrett Hoyos
Burbank, CA
Through customer discovery interviews (50+) our team found a unique problems worth solving within the the "well-being at work" arena.
Through the Leanstack curriculum, I learned how to build a startup and used the built-in tools to model the business.
Some key outcomes of going through this program were: building a website, developing video demos, assembling a "mafia offer", pitching the product and getting sales. Overall, I learned how to succeed as an early stage startup founder- all thanks to Untapped!
When I joined Untapped’s 100
day program, the thought of
experiencing the startup process from A-
Z excited me! I was looking for more
help than just “building products” and
that is exactly what I received from
Untapped. The value I got from
formulating business models, flushing
out ideas, learning how to perform user
discovery, and ultimately using this
training to find problem/solution fit was incredible. It changed my life for the
better as now I have an Untapped
network of like-minded
entrepreneurs, friendships made with cohort members, and more
confidence to go out into the world
and either join a startup or create my
own.
Marianna O.
Armenia
I joined Untapped, because I wanted to stay relevant in fast-changing times. Within 100 days, I acquired valuable entrepreneurship skills and more importantly, found purpose and meaning by working closely with team-members whom I admire in creating a business that helps others find purpose and thrive in uncertain times. It's almost poetic how rewardingly recursive my Untapped AF experience has been.
Peter H.
Los Angeles, CA
I joined Untapped because I wanted to
solve a big global problem and join a
community of like-minded entrepreneurs
who were focused on to changing the
world. Untapped helped to open these
doors for me and showed me proven
methods of how to get from idea to
solution and beyond. The entire
Untapped team, especially George,
Dianna, and James provided weekly
mentorship, guidance, trainings, and a comprehensive curriculum for which
helped me learn what it takes to be an entrepreneur and how to solve real
problems. I am now equipped with
unique abilities and valuable skills
that I look forward to taking with me
into my career. Thank you, Untapped,
for making business,
entrepreneurship, and startup education accessible and exciting.
Brian H.
Boston, MA
Do I need to move to Burbank? Where is the Accelerator located?
The Future of Work Accelerator is being run virtually. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are not requiring founders to relocate to Burbank, CA. No in-person or on-site attendance is required. However, our hope is that by Demo Dsy in November we can have a big event in person with a live-stream, TBD.
When does the Accelerator program start and end?
Applications open on January 14, 2021. The program launches on March 1, 2021. Phase 1 (the "Launch Phase") runs through June 2021. Phase 2 (the "Growth Phase") runs July through October 2021. There will be a Demo Day in November 2021.
What is The Future of Work?
Anything that makes work easier or helps improve the well-being of employees. Some examples of "Future of Work" startups are Zoom, Slack, Salesforce, Asana, Zenefits, and Upwork. These ventures all enhanced our ability to work efficiently and/or changed the way work is engaged in. For specifics and details on what exactly we mean by the “Future of Work” please read our seminal investment thesis here.
Can I apply with an idea only?
All applicants must have a clear understanding of the problem they are trying to solve in the market. Naturally, when one recognizes a problem one thinks of the solution and this becomes the "idea" for your venture. While we expect you to have an idea, we are really looking for entrepreneurs who have taken action to validate the idea, build a prototype and get customers.
What if I have a full-time job?
We are looking for founders, 110% committed to solving an important Future of Work problem. A full-time job get in the way of that. If your plans are to quite your job to pursue entrepreneurship full-time then please apply.
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