A Deep Dive into PSL's Idea-Stage Accelerator Program
About Founded In Philly
Philly Startup Leaders created the Founded in Philly Series I Accelerator Program, which kicked off in 2020, to help idea-stage Philly-based entrepreneurs mold, shape, grow, and develop their budding startups. The program’s goal is to “teach new founders the mindset, skills, and endurance needed to pursue entrepreneurship.”
Each week, founders, mentors, and keynote speakers met for a 2-hour virtual session. The sessions would start with an icebreaker, where participants learned a little more about one another. We shared everything from a weekly win to each founder’s favorite ice cream flavor, which provided opportunity for deeper connections. Next, founders watched weekly presentations by an expert from the PSL Community.
Despite happening during an unprecedented and challenging time, the founders and their teams fully immersed themselves into this experience, and PSL could not be more proud of, or impressed with, this cohort.
“The program has exposed me to an amazing group of mentors and coaches, along with a huge network of supporters and friends from my cohort. We’re all in this together and the support I received and have provided to my fellow founders feels like it’s just starting. It’s rewarding to have founding conversations with people in similar startup states or just a bit ahead of me.”
Meet the Founders
Out of the plethora of applications received, PSL hand-selected 20 startups that showed promise, innovation, and drive. Many of the founders are striving to establish their own companies while still working full-time jobs, while others dove head-first into their entrepreneurship journey.
Of our program graduates, 39% consider themselves solo founders, and about 54% are pre-revenue. Many of them balance full-time jobs and the responsibilities of family life, yet on average they find about 33 hours a week to dedicate to their business. Additionally, they operate across many verticals but generally fit within the following categories:
39% Technology
31% Health & Wellness
15% Education & Career Development
8% Hospitality, Travel & Entertainment
8% Consumer Goods
Founders & CEOs include:
If interested in learning more about the founders and their startups, please reach out to the PSL Team at engage@phillystartupleaders.org.
“(The Program) absolutely helped move us forward in our business and helped us focus on finalizing our big whys, our value proposition and honing in on what we want to offer and do - before we had too many ideas and directions, and this process helped us focus and zoom in. ”
Curriculum
As with our Series II Accelerator Program, each session was focused on a specific aspect of entrepreneurship. For Series I, the curriculum centers around idea-stage founders and the first steps needed to make those ideas a reality. The program started with helping the founders hone in on who they are as a company, establish their mission and vision, determine what sets them apart from the competition, and establish their target customers. Keynote speakers asked the founders questions like “Who will you impact and whose life will you change in exchange for currency?” and “How do you find your purpose?”. Each week, the founders were able to dive deeper into those questions in small-group discussions with their peers and instructors.
Of course, we discussed the more tangible and logistical aspects of entrepreneurship, such as tech, business models, metrics, and finances. Keynote speakers and mentors also taught the founders how to determine whether their business models are value-driven or cost-driven, and the importance of creating a flywheel of both core user segments and key action phrases when it comes to measuring metrics.
In the middle of the series, PSL hosted a lightning pitch night, where the founders gave their initial pitches to mentors, founders and investors from the community as a whole. For many, this was their first time pitching in front of investors, and the feedback received after their 2 minutes led to breakthroughs and pivots in their businesses.
FIP Series I also made sure to include discussions to help establish a solid foundation both internally and externally, through topics such as building a team and storytelling. One valuable takeaway from the Building a Team session was: “The person with the best qualifications isn’t always the best choice.” Instead, the candidate that will evoke, maintain, and build your company’s culture is likely the more solid investment.
The final week of the program focused on storytelling to establish your brand. Here, founders learned that “a brand is something that exists between what an entity wishes to be perceived as and how the public actually perceives you.” Of course, a discussion about branding would not be complete without the ABC’s of storytelling: knowing your Audience, Being authentic, and Connecting with your audience.
Along the way, we made sure to present opportunities for the cohort to get to know one another better as a whole and in small groups, including pre-session virtual networking and weekly assigned Accountability Partners.
In addition to the weekly curriculum, the founders were offered the opportunity to attend three extracurricular events throughout the program. The first event, in partnership with Ballard Spahr, focused on Intellectual Property and legal considerations for new founders and businesses. About halfway through the program, our partners at GrowthX led a workshop on Product-Market Fit, identifying the perfect buyer for their solution. Finally, our friends at GoCoach taught the cohort tools that leaders can use as they look at decision making, communication and transparency - along with transition.
We are grateful for the ways our curriculum is shaped by our speakers, mentors and partners, and their willingness to share their lived experiences so that our cohort is confident moving their business forward.
“Despite the COVID-19 impact, FiP has given me the confidence and tools I needed to navigate starting a business when it seems like the odds were all stacked against me. As a Black woman, mother, and working professional, I had my fears and longed for a community that wanted to understand and support my dreams - Founded in Philly understood, empathized, & gave me a great foundation that I can use for all the dreams I plan to make a successful reality! Lastly, FiP planted a seed that I plan to pass on to other budding entrepreneurs.”
SPEAKERS & MENTORS
At PSL, support from our community means the world. For this program, over 30 well-established business leaders from varying industries supported the weekly sessions. Their vast knowledge and experience provided invaluable insight and lessons for the founders.
About 69% of participants said they gained 20+ mentors during the program, while the remaining 31% said they gained anywhere from 2 - 20 mentors.
PSL is forever grateful for all of the speakers and mentors that made this program possible.
Call for Mentors and Speakers for Series II 2021 begins next month; stay tuned!
“During COVID-19, daily life became less structured, as many people worked remotely or were unemployed, and so this daily structure helped us to stay focused and motivated on making progress on Keep.id during this time. Also, it was so wonderful to see the same faces each week at the meeting, and I feel like I got to know a lot of new people, both mentors and cohort participants, during a time when it is hard to meet new people.”
Key Takeaways
Here’s a peek at just some of the data that was collected over the course of the program:
92% of graduates say the accelerator experience had an immense impact on their company’s progress.
77% of graduates say the accelerator is responsible for a key relationship (mentor, co-founder, or investor) for their startup.
92% of graduates say the accelerator has made them feel more confident as an entrepreneur.
85% of graduates say the accelerator has made them more likely to keep their business in Philly long-term.
85% of graduates say they are more likely to continue pursuing their startup because of the PSL accelerator.
100% of graduates consider PSL to be one of the most important resources for their company during this time.
100% of graduates see value in having a long term relationship with Philly Startup Leaders organization and community.
“ It helped me realize I was not alone in the way that I thought. It helped me see a light at the end of the tunnel as it pertains to us still having a change to see the vision of our product come to fruition. Lastly, I felt that I was a part of a family that truly cared for my well-being and I will always be thankful for that. ”
After The Program
On Wednesday, May 12, 6 of the 2021 Series I cohort participants competed in the Alumni Lightning Pitch Lunch, sponsored by Ben Franklin Technology Partners. The first and second place prizes were claimed by EmpathED and Keep.id, respectively.
We’re so proud of the businesses that we added to the #FoundedinPhilly Alumni family. We cannot wait to see them use what they learned throughout this accelerator to take their idea-stage businesses and make them wildly successful. Make sure to follow all of these founders on their journeys ahead!
Interested in being a part of Founded in Philly? Learn more here.
“Being part of Founded in Philly helped during this time because it offered a support base of well-connected, bright startup leaders to network with and grow our business through throughout the past 5 months. Additionally, reaching out to other founders in the program and offering any help we could provide, and even just making pleasant connections, was always a pleasure.”