One10 has launched two new startup accelerator programs worth up to $490,000 aiming to help purpose-driven entrepreneurs transform their ideas into reality.
Forty hopefuls have already applied for a spot in One10’s Activate and Amplify programs, which kick off this September and cater to two different groups of early-stage startups.
The selected participants will be tackling anything from climate change through to social services and health solutions, One10 CEO Veronica Munro says.
“We’re keeping it quite open,” Munro tells StartupSmart.
Munro has been working closely with One10 founder Geoff Gourley and the team to bring the programs to life.
“We are very client-focused and human centred and we bring in the commercial acumen to execute on these businesses,” she says.
“It will be very collaborative.”
The Activate program, run in partnership with In Common, will focus on very early stage startups, giving up to 12 purpose-driven entrepreneurs a chance to bring ideas into the world using lean startup methods.
“It will capture people at the idea-stage,” Munro says.
“We have so many people approach us with ideas who haven’t proven there is a market for it.”
Despite this, Munro says many of them have the perseverance and tenacity to see big ideas become a reality.
“I’m excited to work with visionaries,” she says.
With the Activate program, Munro says she will be looking closely at who the applicants are as entrepreneurs, especially those who have a personal story driving them to solve a particular issue.
“The ideal person for the Activate program would be someone who is deeply connected to an issue that they want to solve,” she says.
“It’s someone who has resilience, is not attached to their idea and is always open to learning and reiterating what they’re learning.”
This accelerator program will be delivered for $5000 per startup.
Activate will start initially in Melbourne and Sydney but there are plans to offer it in Brisbane from next year.
“A lot of feedback that we got from other accelerator programs was they didn’t quite like that they were in a group of startups at all different stages,” Munro says.
To address this, One10’s other program Amplify will cater to founders of startups with an already proven business model.
Amplify will see five startups develop their “go-to-market strategy”, become investment-ready and raise seed capital.
The Amplify program will cost $25,000 per startup.
The program will run in Melbourne this year and will open up in Sydney in early 2017.
The decision to enter programs like these will boil down to the founder’s confidence in their business model, execution and fundraising skills, One10 founder Geoff Gourley says in his blog.
“If you have a credible story and your business is smoothly progressing on your own, you probably don’t need to be part of one of these programs,” he says.
“But, if you need help fine tuning your business model or revenue model, or may be a first time CEO wanting to hone your skills from proven peers and entrepreneurs, then this type of program could be perfect for you.”
And while the application is long, it is worth it, Munro says.
“What counts is when we give you a phone call to see where you’re at and where you want to go,” she says.
Dinushi Dias is a freelance journalist and a former StartupSmart reporter and multimedia content producer. She is the co-founder of Melbourne-based production house Dinushi & Power.
