Deadline:
April 23, 2024
Program Starts: June 17, 2024
Location(s)
United States of America
New York
Overview
The companies selected to participate in the four-month program will receive an initial investment of $150K on a 6% post-money SAFE and the potential for follow-on funding.
Since its founding in 2011, ERA alumni companies have raised more than $2 billion in investor capital and collectively exceed $10 billion in market capitalization.
Details
The Program
ERA combines seed capital, hands-on help and a great co-working location with an expert team to positively impact the trajectory of early-stage startups. ERA runs two, four-month programs per year.
We are New York City’s largest accelerator program. ERA has NYC’s deepest and strongest mentor network with 500+ expert investors, technologists, product specialists, marketers, customer acquisition strategists, sales execs, and more, across all major industries represented in NYC. ERA companies gain direct access to leading members of the New York City tech community through the ERA mentor network and are also given access to the right investors, sales prospects and partners. We look for companies from anywhere in the world that are able to take full advantage of the NYC opportunity as a starting point to successfully enter the market for their product, service or application.
To date, our alumni companies have raised more than $1.7B in investor capital and collectively exceed $10B in market capitalization.
What does ERA do for me?
ERA gives you a chance to grow your business with the help of our operating partners and mentors. All this support can’t make your company successful; that’s your job. But we are with you every step of the way, aligning you with our dream team of experts to help with your many challenges–product, functional or industry-related. We have assembled the most experienced group of entrepreneurial experts in NYC, all of whom are on deck to help solve every type of operating and strategic problem startups encounter. ERA’s partners are committed, passionate members of the New York tech community. As entrepreneurs with decades of experience in business, technology and early-stage venture capital; we have successfully founded, built, run, sold and financed businesses.
A Day in the Life
A typical ERA week looks like this:
- Founder Speaker Series – NYC’s most successful business builders from entrepreneurs to VCs discuss topics ranging from how they built their companies from idea to exit to details about acquiring customers and investment strategies to trends and what they mean–or don’t mean.
- Workshop Series – Outside experts and ERA alum cover wide-ranging and diverse specific relevant topic areas. Sample workshops include: Enterprise Sales Tools and Tactics, User Optimization and Testing, Data Science and Decision Making, Digital Marketing Best Practices by Channel, IP and Patent Filing, and more.
- Fundraising Sessions – ERA partners lead sessions that cover funding categories, cap tables, understanding and preparing to meet your potential investors, tracking and follow-up meetings, investor decks, etc.
- CTO Roundtable – Problem solve with your cohort and other CTOs in the trenches.
- Mentor Meetings – ERA’s 500+ mentors, who have expertise in every imaginable functional area. ERA mentors are generous with their time and resources, available to advise our companies for the duration of our program.
- Resident Expert Office Hours – consult with technologists and other pros on specific tactical issues you encounter.
- KPI Review – You and your cohort track and discuss weekly progress together in a lively game show atmosphere that fosters teamwork.
- Pitch Practice–Practice, revise and refine your pitch; get feedback from your cohort, entrepreneurs and investors.
- Open Door to Partners & Staff – Our partners and staff are always here to help build your business.
About us
Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) is New York City’s leading technology accelerator and early-stage venture capital fund. It has invested in 226+ start-ups since launching in 2011. Our alumni companies, who come from all over the world, are already playing leading roles in the evolution of virtually every major global industry. To date, ERA alumni companies have raised more than $1 billion in capital and collectively exceed $6 billion in market capitalization. ERA runs two four-month sessions per year one each in the winter and summer. We invest $100K in each selected startup. Companies in our program receive free office space, free legal and other services. Additionally, companies receive free hands-on help from a team of 500+ mentors, who are experts in their respective fields.
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
What types of companies can apply?
- While we leave ourselves open to great entrepreneurs with transformative ideas, we have some general guidelines around company focus.
- ERA companies are technology companies, or companies with a significant technology component, since those are the companies we can help the most. We look for companies best able to take full advantage of the New York City opportunity as a starting point to successfully enter the market for their product, service or application.
- Most ERA companies will be software or software-related in some way, and may be either B-to-B or B-to-C-focused. Our interests are as diverse as your ideas: Internet, Mobile, FinTech, Payments, SaaS, E-Commerce, Health Tech, Climate, Education, Real Estate, Logistics, IoT, Fashion Tech, Ad Tech, Local, Media, Marketing, and many more. We are looking to you to wow us with anything Internet and software-related that you think is cool. We consider all the business questions around the product business concept and market size. In the end, we want to know if yours is a great team and the right team for your product and business.
Do you require companies to be for-profit?
- Yes. We are unable to invest in non-profit organizations.
Are you looking for a particular stage company?
- We have no specific stage requirements, but most companies will have assembled a team and developed an initial product. Many have early customers and revenue. We don’t reject companies just for being earlier than that, but we need to see the team has made a real commitment to the company and a clear vision for its future.
Do you require a certain number of founders?
- No. It’s your company. That said, our bias is for two to four person teams, which is based on our experience for the optimal combination of “small enough to move quickly but large enough for idea sharing.”
Do I have to be technical to apply?
- We have a strong preference for technical cofounders. While we don’t require startups to have engineering founders, we are looking for companies that can make substantial progress on their product during the course of our four-month program. Companies with at least one technical co-founder are better able to implement at least some product changes and improvements without hiring additional resources.
Will you find me a technical co-founder?
- That would be outside of our standard practice, as the chemistry of a team is critical. Throwing together a business person and an engineer during an ERA program without knowing if they are able to work well together doesn’t make a lot of sense to us.
Do you require me to quit my part-time job?
- Yes. Your key leadership team should make a full-time commitment to your startup. Building a company requires intense focus and your full attention.
My startup is not located in New York City. Can I still apply for a spot with ERA?
- Absolutely. We are looking for the most promising business ideas, and we know those come from all over. ERA welcomes applications from anywhere in the world, and we continue to operate in-person with remote-friendly programming.
Our startup is not based in the United States. Are we eligible to apply for a spot with ERA?
- Yes! We are looking for promising business ideas to serve and disrupt a diverse cross section of industries. Whether you’re based in Santiago, London, Mumbai — or anywhere else, we encourage you to apply. ERA welcomes applications from anywhere in the world, and we continue to operate in-person with remote-friendly programming.
Our startup is based outside the United States and none of us are U.S. citizens/residents. Will ERA help with work visas?
- No. You are responsible for determining and independently obtaining any work visas that may be required.
Do you require my startup to be a U.S. C Corporation?
- ERA will only invest in U.S. C Corporations. If you have an LLC or foreign entity, we will require you to “flip” the company to a U.S. C Corporation. Many companies have done this in the past. We require this to make your startup as attractive as possible to U.S. investors.
Are companies expected to work out of the ERA space?
- Our Summer 2024 program will be hybrid, as we continue to operate in-person with remote-friendly programming.
If my company has already received funding can we apply?
- Yes, we accept companies that have already raised funding.
What if we just want your help and not your funding?
- Although some startups don’t require funding as their primary need, all ERA companies will receive funding as part of their acceptance into the program. We are investors and want all the startups in the Accelerator to have the same basic relationship with us.
Dates
Deadline: April 23, 2024
Program starts:
June 17, 2024
Program Starts: June 17, 2024
Cost/funding for participants
What’s the Deal?
Located in New York City, ERA provides participant companies with an intensive four-month program with the goal of helping early-stage companies progress rapidly into exciting, viable, venture-scalable businesses.
The companies selected to participate in the four-month program will receive an initial investment of $150K on a 6% post-money SAFE and the potential for follow-on funding.
ERA companies receive the partner and sponsor benefits listed below:
- Up to $120,000 of Azure benefits for two years from Microsoft
- $100,000 in webhosting credits from Amazon Web Services
- $100,000 in webhosting credits from Google Cloud Platform
- $24,000 in webhosting credits from IBM
- $100,000 in webhosting credits from DigitalOcean
- $70,000 in credits from Stripe
- $50,000 in credits from Mixpanel
- Preferred pricing from Justworks
- Preferred pricing from Carta
- $3,600 in credits from MongoDB
- $2,000 credits from Airtable
- $7,500 credits from Plaid
- $5,000 in SendGrid credits, education, and support + access to the Twilio Startups team
- Special legal benefits from Goodwin Procter LLP
- One year free service from Phone.com
- Free banking account and perks package from Silicon Valley Bank
- Free and discounted services from Withum, ZipCar, HubSpot, Salesforce, InVision, FreshDesk, ZenDesk
Un-save Opportunity
Internships, scholarships, student conferences and competitions.
