SoTech Ventures Pre-Accelerator

Opportunity Zones Done Right...

Here is the hard truth that entrepreneurs have had to accept...

Out of the approximately 600,000 new businesses that get started each year, only .05% of them will secure VC funding. The statistic only jumps up to about .9% if angel investors and other sources of early-stage capital are included.
​
If you are an entrepreneur reading this right now, you have less than a 1% chance of securing the growth capital you need to take your venture to its' next phase of development. Venture Capitalists are professional investors and have a fiduciary responsibility to their investors (limited partners) to find the next billion dollar company based upon whatever criteria they deem worthy. Unfortunately, the selectiveness (whether fair or not) of the VCs, Angel Investors and the like leave 99% of entrepreneurs essentially Unfundable...
​
SoTech Ventures offers a unique accelerator built from our operating model that liberates us from dependence upon LPs (limited partners) and allows us to support the 99% of ventures that most VCs ignore. We only have one catch, your venture must have the potential to create a significant social and/or environmental impact in addition to being financially viable.
​
If your business has the potential to change the world for the better while also generating profits, SoTech Ventures is looking for you. We have the ability to work companies across all stages of development from seed stage (at least an MVP developed) to small corporations (private or public).
​
The SoTech Ventures Accelerator is open to everyone, however, we place a high emphasis on serving founders of color. Why? Because emerging markets excite us.
​
An Emerging Market is Identified By 5 Primary Characteristics:
​
1) Lower than average per capita income
2) Rapid growth
3) Rapid social change/high volatility
4) Under-developed capital markets
5) The potential for higher than average returns for investors
​
Men and women of color here in the U.S. represent one of the most unique emerging markets in the world due to the fact that they are an emerging market within a developed market. While the U.S. as a whole and most businesses therein enjoy the benefits of a first-class, developed market which includes strong physical & digital infrastructure, mature capital markets, high income and more, ventures that are owned and operated by entrepreneurs of color lag behind in growth, scalability and valuation because many of them face barriers to accessing developed market benefits. Furthermore, in instances where they are offered access to opportunity, those resources are often designed based on a startup culture that lacks diversity, inclusion or consideration for people from varied socio-economic backgrounds.

PROGRAM DESIGN
​
The SoTech Ventures Accelerator is structured into a 8-week program with weekly assignments, bi-weekly "Board Room" sessions and personalized support for each participant to maximize growth of their business or idea.
​
PROGRAM FEATURES
​
- Virtual Participation: The principle held to by the vast majority of "top" accelerators is that participants ought to re-locate to a particular city or region (usually Silicon Valley) in order to successfully complete an accelerator program. Unfortunately, that immediately excludes many entrepreneurs from being able to participate in such programs. Some of us have jobs to work and families to feed while simultaneously pursuing our entrepreneurial journeys. SoTech Ventures doesn't look down on or de-value part-time entrepreneurs. As such, participants in our accelerator participate virtually. We do schedule group Skype sessions and Google Hangouts for each week's curriculum, however, attendance in those sessions isn't required though highly recommended. For participants who have strenuous working hours, you have the option to receive each week's assignments and recommended readings via email and still receive personalized one-on-one support from us as it works with your schedule.
​
- Customized Capital: This is a topic that will be heavily discussed throughout the course of the SoTech Accelerator. Customized Capital refers to the unique fundraising model that each accelerator participant will be introduced to during the course of this program. In short, the Venture Capital industry operates a home-run based business model. Entrepreneurs have to navigate a world where if their pitch decks don't include billion dollar projections, they are dismissed. In this twilight zone, a $10M, $50M or even $100M dollar business is considered a failure. In our view, this represents the VC community's greatest weakness. They had their chance to innovate and evolve their business model to extract value from businesses of all sizes but have failed to do so. Now, it's time for you to find funding elsewhere (namely the philanthropic sector) and our accelerator is designed to teach entrepreneurs and position them to take advantage of this alternative source of capital.

- Community Collaboration: Throughout the course of this accelerator, participants will have assignments that require them to research and understand the social and/or environmental issues facing their local communities in order to integrate social enterprise elements into your business model. Our focus is to position entrepreneurs to succeed and equip you to maximize enterprise valuation all while prioritizing the people and places that need technology-enabled solutions the most.
​
- Reverse Engineered Growth: Building a business from scratch is hard and we are not all blessed with the insight to come up with the next billion dollar idea in 12-weeks. However, there are smaller victories to be had. Part of the SoTech Accelerator guides participants who are in need of a "pivot" through a process of reverse engineered growth which essentially involves finding a customer first and then building a business or product specifically catered to that one customer.
​
- Personalized Q&A Style Education: Entrepreneurs come from all walks of life. It has been the experience of some that accelerator programs can be pretentious in their teaching style by making participants feel like fools who ought to be grateful for every shred of knowledge that pours from the mouths of accelerator mentors, accelerator founders, etc. At SoTech Ventures, we aim to be authentic; no self-aggrandizement, no pretending we know the answers to everything. Challenge us, ask questions, present alternative theories, etc. We are as interested in learning from you as we are in sharing what we already know.

- Self-Sustainability Focus: We understand that the current, over-hyped startup culture has deeply embedded certain principles and beliefs into the minds of aspiring entrepreneurs. "Fail Fast", "Billion Dollar Markets", "All or Nothing", "Growth over Revenue" and more... The SoTech Accelerator focuses on helping you build the business that you want and need, not the business that mainstream media or investors say you should have. Whether that means aspiring to grow from concept to exit without ever taking a VC dollar OR pursuing the traditional route of multiple financing rounds; we will position you for sustainable success.
​
PROGRAM COST

The SoTech Ventures Accelerator is not designed to make us rich and proof of that lies in our price point. The program cost is $200. We do not take equity in your business or idea and there are no hidden costs. Our goal is to position you for success while also identifying potential investments for our own portfolio. At the end of the accelerator, each participant has the option and opportunity to decide whether or not they would like to bring SoTech Ventures on as an advisor or board member to their company but that choice is completely up to you.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Our goal is for each cohort to have a minimum of 7 participants with a maximum capacity of 20.

STEP 1) Apply for the next cohort using the link below

STEP 2) Accepted applicants will be invited to an informational session where you will have the opportunity to ask questions about the program and meet your prospective cohort peers
​
STEP 3) After all questions are addressed during the informational session, participants will be sent an online invoice for the $200 program fee.
​
STEP 4) Once all participants have paid their program fees, the first accelerator session will be scheduled and the program will begin.