Building something big? It’s time to apply to the Andrews Launch Accelerator.

Are you a student or recent NC State alumni (within 5 years) founder working on a venture that could use support? If so, you’ve come to the right place.

The Andrews Launch Accelerator is a program that aims to give founders like yourself the opportunity to jumpstart their entrepreneurial journeys. We provide funding, resources, and guidance to take your venture through accelerated growth. 

“The NC State Acceleration Fund is the product of a $1,000,000 donation from Lyn and Chip Andrews. Through the fund, we allocate equity-free seed capital to startups that complete the Andrews Launch Accelerator. The purpose of the Accelerator is to give NC State founders the opportunity to jumpstart their entrepreneurial journey. We provide founders with the funding, resources, and guidance to grow their company.”

Standing On the Shoulders of Giants

Entrepreneurship is a difficult path, but we’re here to help. The Andrews Launch Accelerator aims to provide founders with support and guidance from individuals that have deep levels of expertise related to specific phases throughout the entrepreneurial journey. The 14-week summer program (starting in May and ending in August) takes place in downtown Raleigh at NC State’s Entrepreneurship Clinic and is composed of a set of modules that provide companies with information that helps them breakthrough to the next stage of their venture.

Each of these modules, delivered by seasoned experts in their respective areas, cover key concepts containing information on topics such as customer discovery, market research and validation, financial planning, legal planning, pitching, launch strategy, and more. 

The modules deliver strategy and insights from some of the Entrepreneurship Clinic’s highest value industry professionals with extensive experience across industries and growth stages. The modules also have deliverable constrained requirements, helping ensure the program is more than a checkbox on a ventures list for funding, but rather an experience that produces measurable results. 

Throughout the 3-month program, the cohort companies will also be assigned Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs) who have experience directly relevant to the team they’re assigned. These EIRs will meet with the teams frequently to provide direct coaching and advice to the companies based on their specific needs.

At the conclusion of the three-month accelerator program, the grant recipients will pitch their concepts and progress to industry and community leaders as well as investors during the Andrews Launch Accelerator Demo Day, the largest event hosted by the NC State Entrepreneurship Clinic. 

What do the rewards include?

The Andrews Launch Accelerator offers grants that typically range between $5,000 -$10,000. The money is released through tranches based on the completion of work in the modules and milestones met by companies throughout the program.

Beyond the non-dilutive cash, participants in the program have seen other rewards such as these listed below.

• Up to $5,000 in Amazon Web Services credits
• Pro bono business services (legal and accounting) to support structure and formation
• Access to banking relationships
• Access to angel investment & venture capitalist networks
• Mentorship
• Talent acquisition/recruiting services
• Access to NC State Entrepreneurship spaces

Feel the Impact

The program has impacted a number of NC State’s best companies so far. To hear a bit more about what they’ve had to say, take a look below at some of the comments from our 2022 cohort.

• “We were extremely lucky to have the perfect match with our EIR. I don’t think it could have been any better.”
• “Impressive quality of speakers! The speaker sessions always energized and stimulated me.“
• “I think the group that was brought in was quite diverse in their knowledge and expertise, all of them were willing to meet afterwards and answer questions when I reached out as well.“
• “The speakers talked about all the things we’re focused on and thinking about- from sales to investment to constantly testing different things”

Don’t Wait, Get Started Now

The Andrews Launch Accelerator is an extremely competitive program. We highly advise exploring the application early, and attending the ALA: Launch sessions to learn more about the basics of exploring and explaining your venture opportunity.

To apply to the Andrews Launch Accelerator, you can apply right here. The application will be open until March 31st.