BUTLER VENTUREACCELERATORA T B A B S O N

The John E. and Alice L.

The John E. and Alice L. Butler Venture Accelerator

Program provides the ecosystem where Babson lives

and breathes entrepreneurship. It’s where you take

action, whether you’re looking to start or advance

an entrepreneurial venture, or join a startup team.

It’s where you explore opportunities and move your

business concept forward. And, it’s where you come

to turn your idea into a reality.

MOVEFORWARD.

B O S T O N / S A N F R A N C I S C O / W E L L E S L E Y / W W W . B A B S O N . E D U

Our entrepreneurial community offers unparalleled support throughout each stage of developing your organization.

GET FROM POINT A

TO POINT B FASTER.

Past Workshop Topics

Ideation / Creating Social Value / Pitching to Investors / Business Entry Strategies / Legal Basics for the Entrepreneur

25+WORKSHOPS EACH YEAR

It’s easy to stay focused and take action when

you’ve got access to resources that enhance our

extremely entrepreneurial environment. And, being

surrounded by like-minded entrepreneurs, you’ll

find their ambition is contagious, helping you spend

less time thinking and more time doing.

ADVICE FROM EXPERT ENTREPRENEURSAs part of the accelerator program, you’ll gain

special access to guest entrepreneurs and focused

workshops, giving you an added advantage with

just-in-time industry information and insights.

Babson’s Entrepreneurs in Residence have included:

» Daymond John, FUBU founder and “Shark Tank” host

» Andrew Zimmern, “Bizarre Foods” host

» Gail Simmons, “Top Chef” judge

CROSS-CAMPUS COLLABORATIONIt’s all about who you know, and partnerships

with the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial

Leadership (CWEL) and the Lewis Institute for

social innovation—including Food Sol, focused on

food entrepreneurs—give you access to additional

connections that you can use to further progress

your business.

YOUR ENTREPRENEURSHIP FAMILYThe accelerator is the only place where constant,

intentional collaboration between undergraduates,

graduates, and alumni occurs through one combined

program. And, like any good family, this group

makes you feel accountable, with weekly reminder

emails keeping you committed to the program—

and taking your next step.

YOUR VENTURE. YOUR ACCELERATOR.

The accelerator offers three phases, each with tailored resources and dedicated faculty advisers that will help you advance your business from one phase to the next.

EXPLORE » PURSUE » LAUNCH AND GROW » The customized support and services you receive

during the accelerator program are determined

by your venture stage, your goals, as well as your

entrepreneur experience. Prior to entering the

program, you’ll complete an assessment intake

form to determine whether you’ll start in phase

1, 2, or 3.

The focused environment, as well as the open

lab spaces to collaborate, experiment, and

work, allow you to acquire the skills you need

to succeed and move your business opportunity

forward. As you progress through each phase,

you’ll earn access to even more resources.

EXPLORE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES

LAUNCH &GROW YOUR BUSINESS

PURSUE YOUR PASSION

Throughout the venture experience:

MENTORING / ADVISING / WORK SPACE / SELF-ASSESSMENTS / FUNDRAISING / PEER SUPPORT / FOCUSED WORKSHOPS

LEARN ABOUT BUSINESS AND HOW TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR

» Identify an opportunity

» Define customer

value proposition

» Test on potential

customers

» Demonstrate market

feasibility

DESIGN AND BUILD A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR A NEW BUSINESS VENTURE

» Conduct industry

and market tests

» Build your business model

» Work on prototype or

minimum viable product

» Recruit team members

» Identify operational partners

(manufacturing, distribution)

» Contribute to the Babson

Entrepreneurs blog

TAKE AN ESTABLISHED BUSINESS VENTURE TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF SUCCESS

» Refine your team

» Contact suppliers

and customers

» Secure initial sales

» Contribute to the Babson

Entrepreneurs blog

» Hold peer-to-peer

advising sessions

» Grow your business

As you generate ideas and discover opportunities,

the Explore phase helps you to validate your

business concept with primary market research

and action. You’ll determine the feasibility of

your opportunity with industry, market, and

customer analysis, allowing you to articulate

the problem, social, and/or economic need

your business aims to address.

Actions here help focus your idea, including

continuous conversations and early business

experiments with your potential customers to vet

your idea and initial business model. Throughout

the phase, you’ll build connections in addition

to recognizing the resources you already have on

hand: who you are, what you know, and whom

you know.

PHASE 1 » EXPLORE

YOU WILL:» Identify an opportunity

» Define customer value proposition

» Test on potential customers

» Demonstrate market feasibility

RESOURCES» Group advising sessions with

dedicated faculty advisers

» Peer mentors

» Common work space

» Workshops

» Rocket Pitch

Goal of Phase 1:

COMPLETE FEASIBILITY STUDY DEMONSTRATING MARKET NEED

TAKE THE FIRST STEP

“ THE BIG BENEFIT OF THE PROGRAM IS CONNECTING WITH PEERS; it’s scary pursuing your idea alone. Here, there are resources everywhere,

people of all backgrounds, people old enough to be my parents …

but it’s not intimidating because everyone is really open and you

learn about new opportunities you wouldn’t know about otherwise.”

– MICHELENE WILKERSON ’16

During the Pursue phase, you will shape your

opportunity and create your plan to implement

your business. You’ll continue to talk to your

customers as part of your market research, build

prototypes, prove technologies, and build your

leadership teams.

This phase challenges you to focus on planning

your business and ironing out details from

prototypes to pricing. You’ll understand the

importance of your team and learn how to most

effectively tap into their skills. The focus of this

phase is on your business model canvas, using

it to not only map out your business, but to pivot

your organization as needed.

Goal of Phase 2:

CREATE MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT OR SERVICE

YOU WILL:» Conduct industry

and market tests

» Build your business model

» Work on prototype or

minimum viable product

» Recruit team members

» Identify operational partners

(manufacturing, distribution)

» Contribute to the Babson

Entrepreneurs blog

RESOURCES» Team meetings and

one-on-one meetings with

dedicated faculty advisers

» Peer mentors

» Common work space

» Rocket Pitch

ADVANCED PURSUEMay apply for:

» Hatchery space

» B.E.T.A. Challenge

» Seed funding

» Summer Venture Program

PHASE 2 » PURSUE

HIT THE GROUND RUNNING

“ I knew I was going to start a meadery, but I didn’t know how to do it.

My business partner Carl Hirschfeld called it analysis paralysis.

I NEEDED MOMENTUM, NEEDED TO MOVE FORWARD, NEEDED SOMETHING TO JUMP-START THIS.

The accelerator helped us put concrete goals on the table. It forced us

to ask questions, to get feedback, and to talk in front of lots of people—

and often—to fine-tune our idea.”

– ELIZABETH BORGES M’10, HOUSE BEAR BREWING

Goal of Phase 3:

GENERATE REVENUE AND LOOK FOR NEW OPPORTUNITIES

The last phase of the accelerator is really just

the beginning. You’ll launch your venture and

work to create a revenue stream and become

a self-sustaining business. As you work to secure

investors, you’ll also market your products and/or

services for continued growth and expansion.

One-on-one conversations with advisers, who

have experience in raising funds or as investors,

will help you grow your business. Their guidance

will help you tackle initial sales discussions,

prepare you for conversations with investors,

and refine your organization.

YOU WILL:» Refine your team

» Contact suppliers

and customers

» Secure initial sales

» Contribute to the Babson

Entrepreneurs blog

» Hold peer-to-peer

advising sessions

» Grow your business

RESOURCES» One-on-one conversations

with dedicated faculty

advisers who teach at

Babson and have lived the

entrepreneurial experience

» Peer mentoring

» Common work space

LAUNCH/GROW ORGANIZATIONS May apply for:

» Hatchery space

» Meetings with legal

professionals and other

service providers

» Meetings with Entrepreneurs

in Residence

» Consultations with marketing

and PR experts

» B.E.T.A. Challenge

» Seed funding

» Summer Venture Program

PHASE 3 » LAUNCH & GROW

SURPASS YOUR COMPETITION

“ The accelerator resources are integral to where we are today. We

have earned dedicated office space alongside five other ventures, so

it’s a great, collaborative environment. It also has offered an easy way

for us to build out our network and interact with potential customers.

WHEN INVESTORS SEE WE’RE PART OF THE ACCELERATOR AT THE NUMBER ONE SCHOOL FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP, IT MITIGATES RISK. IT ADDS TRUST AND VALIDITY.”

– ROBERT DALTON M’14, 88 ACRES

SHARE YOUR STORY. INTRIGUE INVESTORS. As you work to create a self-sustaining business, you’ll continue to have access to Babson’s exclusive entrepreneurship network, including our network of more than 36,000 entrepreneurs of all kinds. Plus, you can continue to tap into your support network as you get your business in front of larger audiences and investors. Rocket Pitch/Pitch your business idea—in three minutes—to

an audience of students, faculty, entrepreneurs,

investors, and service providers at the annual

Rocket Pitch event in late October. An open

networking reception follows the event so

you can connect with other entrepreneurs

and investors directly.

B.E.T.A. Challenge/ Submit an application to the annual spring

competition, Babson Entrepreneurial Thought

and Action® (B.E.T.A.) Challenge, demonstrating

the milestones your business has achieved by

taking action. As a B.E.T.A. Challenge participant,

you are eligible for the grand prize of $20,000 in

cash, plus services-in-kind donations from alumni

and corporate sponsors, awarded in each of the

three tracks: undergraduate, graduate, and alumni.

Summer Venture Program /Apply to the Blank Center’s Summer Venture

Program to take your business to the next level.

This 10-week intensive experience supports up to

15 of the most promising MBA and undergraduate

teams from Babson, Olin, and Wellesley colleges

each summer, and includes housing, work

space, advisers, and a speaker series, among

other resources.

MassChallenge/ Compete in MassChallenge, a global business

competition based in Boston that provides

entrepreneurs with resources to successfully

launch their ventures. Finalists receive mentorship,

training, office space, and a chance to win a share

of $1 million, among other free resources.

“ THE SUMMER VENTURE PROGRAM OFFERS A HUGE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES, SUCH AS OFFICE SPACE, NETWORKS, AND, IF NEEDED, SOURCES OF FUNDING.

I am still in constant contact with all the mentors; their experience is the

biggest resource for me. I also try to attend as many accelerator sponsored

events as I can, including outside speakers and events like Rocket Pitch,

where there are a ton of networking opportunities.”

– ALEXANDER HUANG ’15, REDESIGN

MOVE FORWARD. START HERE. PARTICIPANTSStudents / Join the accelerator during the school

year, or during the 10-week summer intensive.

Alumni / Join the program in the Pursue and

Launch/Grow phases.

MENTORExperienced Entrepreneurs / Volunteer your

time and serve as a consultant to the businesses.

JOIN THE PROGRAM OR BECOME A MENTORContact Cindy Klein Marmer at cklein-marmer@babson.edu, or Antonette Ho at aho1@babson.edu to learn more.

BUTLER VENTURE ACCELERATOR PROGRAMW W W . B A B S O N . E D U / A C C E L E R A T O R

@ B A B S O N E S H I P

F A C E B O O K . C O M / B A B S O N E N T R E P R E N E U R S

ABOUT THE ARTHUR M. BLANK CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIPThe John E. and Alice L. Butler Venture Accelerator Program is the signature cocurricular

program at The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship. The center focuses on

expanding the practice of Entrepreneurship of All Kinds™ through programs, such as the

venture accelerator, and global collaborative research initiatives that inspire and inform

Entrepreneurial Thought and Action®.

Babson faculty, staff, Entrepreneurs In Residence, and mentors cannot make a financial

investment or accept equity in, or accept compensation or remuneration of any kind

from a Babson student business while the student is enrolled at Babson College. This

prohibition continues for a period of 12 months after the student’s graduation from the

College, withdrawal from the College, or transfer to another college/university.

BUTLER VENTURE ACCELERATOR PROGRAMW W W . B A B S O N . E D U / A C C E L E R A T O R

W W W . B A B S O N . E D U