Yes! Students, both undergrad and post-grad, are encouraged to apply.

The program runs remotely. Therefore, your company does not need to be based in Boston this summer. That said, we encourage you to be in Boston to make the most of the attending some mentor meetings and events in person (SSC Venture Partners puts on in-person events for founders in Boston).

No. If you’re in the early stages of exploring a startup idea, and would like to apply, we welcome your application. You will get a lot of value out of the accelerator program. However, once the program begins, founders must work on their company full-time throughout the accelerator and are expected to pursue their company full-time after the accelerator ends.

The accelerator starts at the beginning of June and ends mid-to-late August. Exact dates are confirmed once participating companies have been finalized. This allows us to make sure all founders are available for key dates like orientation and demo day.

It’s your company so you still control the majority of your time every day. Expect ~1 day a week alloted to SSC programming.

Some days you will have SSC mentor meetings for 45 minutes. Some days you will meet with a Venture Partner for a weekly check in on your top challenges and questions. Some days the whole cohort will get together for a 2-hour fireside chat with a serial entrepreneur. Some days we will all join a workshop on managing high performing teams. And so forth.

Importantly, this is a self-driven program. The mantra is “What you put in is what you get out.”

You will get the most value out of the accelerator program if you’re a first-time founder who has been building a business for at least a few months (ideally, six months plus).

However, founders of all experience levels have applied to the program. The SSC is industry agnostic and seeks diverse founding teams.

Some founders have elected to enter the accelerator multiple years in a row. You’ll always learn a lot if you bring the right attitude.

Yes. All accelerator companies participate in the accelerator program in return for granting SSC Venture Partners a 2% equity stake (via a SAFE).

SSC takes a lower stake than many accelerator programs due to the mission-driven nature of the organization, financially backed by many BC alumni.

SSC accelerator companies are eligible for larger follow-on investments from the SSC’s venture funds. Follow-on investments are not guaranteed; follow-on investment decisions are made at the discretion of the SSC’s General Partners.

The accelerator program is run by the SSC Venture Partners team. You can see our profiles here. We are BC alumni who are startup founders, serial entrepreneurs, and/or investors. 

We run the accelerator alongside our other companies because we believe in supporting Boston College entrepreneurs and seeing more successful startups come out of the BC community.

Great! We love referrals. Please email duncan@sscventurepartners.com – tell us a bit about the company and why you think they would be a good applicant.