Grow your startup with us in Michigan.

Michigan Founders Fund Pre-Accelerator is a free, seven-week, pre-accelerator program for companies that are looking to achieve rapid growth and/or raise venture capital. Michigan Founders Fund Pre-Accelerator helps entrepreneurs work in and on their business while also attaining the entrepreneurial mindset needed to be successful.

Thanks to our program partners, Michigan Founders Fund Pre-Accelerator is completely free to the five companies selected to participate in each cohort.

Michigan Founders Fund Pre-Accelerator embraces a concierge approach to its programming. That means founders receive one-on-one attention throughout the program. Everything we do is personalized to your business, no matter how far along you are in its development.

Additionally, you will receive the benefits of both the gener8tor and Michigan Founders Fund suite of programs, mentors, and extended networks. Participants will also receive direct funding grants of $15,000 from Michigan Founders Fund to apply towards their business.

Michigan Founders Fund Pre-Accelerator is powered by nationally ranked startup accelerator gener8tor, so you know that the help you’re getting is top-notch.

Sure, what have you got to lose? It’s completely free, and we’ll help you grow and scale your business!

Michigan Founders Fund Pre-Accelerator is a good fit for you if you are ready to “step on the gas” for your business. We work with both companies who are pre-revenue, and those who already have revenue. 

Since we are industry-agnostic, we accept a wide variety of startups, but we are looking for companies who want to scale quickly and see value in moving on afterwards to either an equity accelerator or direct investment.

Through one-on-one interaction with their program manager, mentors and investors, program participants gain valuable personalized insights that can be applied to their business strategy. Program focus areas include gaining an entrepreneurial mindset, validating the company, growing customer traction, and preparing for investor pitches.

Benefits include:

• $15,000 in non-dilutive operating grants from Michigan Founders Fund

• Additional media attention, which leads to additional support from community and business leaders

• Access to both gener8tor’s and Michigan Founders Fund robust network of fellow entrepreneurs, mentors and investors, and warm introductions to those most relevant to your business

• Lifetime membership access to GAN (Global Accelerator Network)

• $1M + in deals and perks from vendors like IBM Cloud, Rackspace, Amazon, PayPal, Zendesk and Microsoft

• Membership in gener8tor’s startup community of thousands of startup founders, with access to gener8tor’s network, events and resources for the lifetime of your business

Michigan Founders Fund Pre-Accelerator is industry agnostic, meaning that your company can be associated with any industry.

There is an online application that you fill out to be considered for the program.

Once applications close, the program manager will notify you if you have been selected for an interview. There are typically one or two rounds of interviews. You will be instructed to prepare a pitch for your interview, and the program manager will ask some questions once you are finished presenting.

After interviews are complete, the program manager will follow up to let you know if you have been selected.

We encourage you to sign up for an office hours before or after you apply to get face-time with the program manager and ask any questions you may have.

Although participation in Michigan Founders Fund Pre-Accelerator is free, all participants are required to sign a participation agreement during the onboarding process.

Once founders complete the 7-week program, they become alumni. Program Managers keep in close contact and continue to support their alumni, and they are invited to apply to the Michigan Founders Fund membership network. Either way, they will stay connected with the extended opportunities across the state through Michigan Founders Fund.

Alumni are also a part of the gener8tor network for the life of their business. We make every effort to ensure they are considered for future opportunities such as gener8tor’s investment accelerators, inclusion in our gener8tor conferences, or introductions to new mentors and investors. We have your back from start to finish.

We won’t sugar-coat it; running a startup and bringing it through an accelerator is a commitment, but you don’t need to be working on your company full-time to participate in Michigan Founders Fund Pre-Accelerator. We require five to seven hours per week of in-person or on-screen meetings, plus follow-ups and other outside time that founders will need to spend working on their businesses.

That said, our intention is always to work on projects and goals that will move your company forward significantly, so it’s time well spent. And, we do realize founders are busy while balancing their personal lives and their work lives. Program Managers will work with each founder to ensure the program works with their schedule. That said, we expect founders will make every effort to get the most out of their experience.

Yes, please do! Due to the nature of the program and our desire to put a strong focus on five companies per cohort, not all who apply will be immediately accepted. Founders should continue to apply for Michigan Founders Fund Pre-Accelerator even if they are not accepted upon first application.

Yes and no. We will help you set and achieve metrics that make your company attractive to investors and we’ll help you craft a compelling pitch. We’ll also introduce you to investors both during the program and after the program, if you’d like us to. However, we won’t pitch or make asks for you. We’ll show you the path, but it’s up to you to make the journey and get the funding.

While we cannot make guarantees in terms of potential investments, we work very hard to ensure that the program puts you in the best position possible to raise money if that is your goal.