Emma Earley, Head of Accelerator Programs at Remarkable, explains the importance of the Kickstart phase of our Accelerator program. This stage lays the foundation for startup success by offering essential support and guidance. Emma shares how it helps startups find direction, create solid plans, and prepare for their journey. Discover how these early stages greatly impact Disability Tech innovators.
How does the Kickstart phase help startups find their direction?
One of our Accelerator Operating Principles is to build in and with the community. This includes people with a lived experience of disability, within the startup’s team and within their Accelerator cohorts. First and foremost, Kickstart is an invaluable opportunity for the startups to come together and connect as people, get to know each other and build a sense of support and community to help them through the program and beyond. Holding Kickstart in a hybrid format in Sydney and online really enabled these relationships to form that an online-only format may not have allowed.
Critically, the startups had a deep-work session with their Coaches to set program objectives for the 16-week program and to consider how they can make the most of the Demo Day pitching opportunities.
What support does Remarkable offer during the Kickstart phase?
From a programming perspective, we focused on gaining clarity on how to make the most out of Remarkable Accelerator, and delivered various formats of program sessions of a taster of what to expect in following weeks. For example, Masterclasses on Purpose, Mission and Values, a Round Table with Investors, a Founder Q&A with Anna Wright and Karn Ghosh, a peer-to-peer sharing session on ‘Why startups fail’, and community-building ‘paint and sip’ event, mentor networking lunch, and cohort dinner.
The cohort flew in from Canada, the UK, plus Adelaide and Melbourne and stayed in a hotel close to the event venues at Fishburners and UTS Startups, which also provided a lovely sense of context and history within the Australian startup ecosystem.
Why is the Kickstart phase vital for long-term success?
Startup founders have so many competing priorities to juggle, so coming together to focus, learn and connect at the start of a program (and throughout each startup milestone) is so important. Often, we can get ‘stuck in the weeds’ as Clu co-founder Cayelan Mendoza reminded us during a Key Takeaways sharing session, and though all of the teams have the skills, talent, experience and grit to succeed, sometimes we need someone to remind us what’s important, recalibrate our teams for a new stage of growth.
Can you share examples of startups that gained value during the Kickstart phase?
“On a business level, the coaching session was very valuable, helping us pinpoint the issue and create a plan to resolve it. On a personal level, it helped the team think outside the box more and realise each of us had valuable input in fields not directly associated with our roles.” Ivan Aleksandrov, Care Window
“It was great to be in an environment so specific to our business, vs agnostic accelerators that feel a little bit general.” Josh Byron, SpendAble
“Really great sessions full of good learnings and chances to connect with other members of the cohort. I feel like it was the best content that could have been included for the three days without being overwhelming.” Kaly Ryan, Capella
How does the Kickstart phase align with Remarkable’s mission?
Our mission is to empower Disability Tech innovators by providing the training, capital and networks they need to create a future that is accessible, equitable and inclusive for all.
Kickstart, along with the full Accelerator programming provided support tailored to the startups’ needs, an opportunity to connect with each other, and with the Remarkable network of alumni and mentors, and curated a roundtable with investors to support them on their capital-raising journeys.
Stay tuned for more insights into our 2024 Accelerator program!
Curious to Know More?
Explore these related articles:
- Introducing the Global Cohort of Startups in Our 2024 Remarkable Accelerator
- Introducing the US Cohort of Startups in Our 2024 Remarkable Accelerator
- Our Pathways: The Accelerator
- Our Pathways: Scaler
