Apply to Excelerate

Sam Yagan, of OkCupid and Sparknotes fame, recently founded Excelerate Labs, a bootcamp for startups that provides some seed capital, mentorship from proven entrepreneurs and investors, and great networking opportunities. Excelerate is based in Chicago, and will operate similarly to other tech incubators such as Y Combinator or TechStars. Six to ten startups will be selected for a three-month program, during which time they will get access to mentors, resources for their project, and $15,000 – $20,000 in funding (depending on the number of founders). This is all in exchange for 5% equity.

If you have a startup idea, I encourage you to apply even if you don’t need the funding. From talking to the guys at Scribd and Reddit (Y Combinator companies), the doors these programs open for their companies are worth 5% in equity alone, and the mentors and “interested parties” that Excelerate has lined up are fairly impressive (mentors include TechStars founder David Cohen, OpenTable’s Chuck Templeton, Apex Venture Partners’ Lon Chow, and others).

Applications are due April 2nd, and you don’t have to be based in or commit to being in Chicago to get funding.