FoundersPlus – a Program for Women and Minority-owned Startups
6
weeks
weekly
webinars
personal
office hours
the possibility for another
$5,000
loan through the LaunchFund
vouchers up to
$5,000
per company
Due to popular demand, we’re launching a second cohort. Stay tuned for updates on the next open enrollment.
If you missed out on the first round, your opportunity to join is available once more.
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Overview
FoundersPlus is an entrepreneurial development program focused on developing companies led by women and minority founders.
Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi-based minority and women founders will be invited to join a network of peers to participate in programs that further entrepreneurial education, provide mentor connections and offer general development assistance. Training will be delivered in the form of a webinar series delivered weekly.
Innovate Mississippi hosts this webinar series on topics essential to building a successful business. Each webinar will walk through progressive steps that outline critical business concepts.
Participants are strongly encouraged to attend webinars and office hours events each week.
Next stop, COBUILDERS! Our FoundersPlus program equips you to grow your scalable, innovation-based startup. The training and tools provided in the program are designed to help your startup be more competitive when you apply for our CoBuilders accelerator program.
WEBINAR SCHEDULE
Each week, webinar participants are invited to discussions on various business development concepts. Innovate Mississippi staff and mentors will be available to talk about specific challenges with entrepreneurs in 15-minute, one-on-one virtual meetings.
Webinars will be held through Microsoft Teams.
Week 1: Introductions, Program Overview, and Startup Readiness Assessment
Week 2: Startup Readiness Workshop and Product Feasibility Discussions
Week 3: Founders Topic 1. Programming scheduled based on the needs of cohort participants.
Week 4: Founders Topic 2. Programming scheduled based on the needs of cohort participants.
Week 5: Founders Topic 3. Programming scheduled based on the needs of cohort participants.
Week 6: Pitch Development
Beyond Week 6: Pitch Practice timeslots available until June 30th
OFFICE HOURS
Innovate Mississippi staff and mentors will be available to talk to specific challenges with entrepreneurs in 15-minute, one-on-one virtual meetings.
LAUNCHFUND
The LaunchFund provides zero-interest loans to low-income startup founders, to fund the earliest stages of development. LaunchFund awards range from $2,000- $5,000. The loan funds must be used for startup business activities. Eligible uses include prototype development, beta testing, marketing expenses, and other early-stage business activities. Proposals must be made to Innovate MS staff outlining the business opportunity and use of funds. To be eligible for the LaunchFund, applicants must have attended 5 out of 6 webinars and office hours events.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Must be a for-profit business
- Must be based in the Jackson area
- The founder must be minority, female or parent
- Companies interested in applying for the LaunchFund, must attend 8 out of the 10 webinars and participate in the office hours events.
- Must engage regularly through office hours and additional meetings with Innovate Mississippi staff and partners
- Must demonstrate a viable business opportunity
- Must demonstrate use-of-funds on the company’s critical path of its business plan
Process for applying to the LaunchFund:
- Register and attend webinars
- Register for Office Hours to discuss business – (which will lead to more in-depth discussions with Innovate team)
- Submit proposal including a financial forecast and business pitch deck or business plan.
- Spending award money in a manner inconsistent with their application and proposal (Vegas, etc.)
- Engagement in illegal activity or failure to comply with state or federal regulatory requirements.
- Failure to report on spending as required at the mid-point and for a final report
- You should receive an email – whether approved or not – within fourteen (14) business days of the deadline date. If there are questions or further clarification needed on a proposal, we may reach out for clarification. Please note that this may adjust the timeline for approval.
- If approved, you will receive an email from bill.com and you’d need to complete the profile.
- 50% of the monies will be sent via bill.com, initially, and you will be notified of the expected receipt date.
Learning Path
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Video 48 Min + 2 Min read to complete
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Video 48 Min + 2 Min read to complete
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Video 48 Min + 2 Min read to complete
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent eu orci faucibus orci malesuada semper eget non tellus. Cras sed dignissim purus. Mauris varius neque leo, eu pellentesque justo venenatis et. Sed ultricies risus non turpis tempus, nec nulla suscipit. In comdo urna eu turpis accumsan, et viverra mauris fringillaCras interdum
Video 48 Min + 2 Min read to complete