Applications for 2020 opening soon!

We offer an intensive idea stage startup accelerator to a small group of selected founders. Subscribe below to see what our founders get up to and to be notified when applications for the April 2020 JHB program open.

The Nutshell

This immersive program will focus your energy on your idea stage startup while you learn and apply the lean startup methodology through weekly evening face to face workshops, online prep work and work assignments. Track and discuss key metrics and learnings with mentors and fellow founders selected on their potential and merit.

Part Time but Intense

Evening sessions makes it possible to test your idea while keeping your day job.

Practical but Thoughtful

Minimal theory. Tools and Techniques are prepped online then taught by example face to face and immediately applied.

Selective but Impartial

We choose our selection criteria to maximise collective learning and chances of commercial success.

Three Stage Approach

Our three-stage approach ensures that the fundamental building blocks are in place before effort is spent in vain on downstream activities. Founders may be asked to leave the program if they have not achieved the stage objective.

Validate the

Opportunity

4 weeks

Develop the

Product

4 weeks

Polish and Pitch the

Business

4 weeks

Common Questions

The program kicks off on Wednesday evening 30 Oct 2019 and concludes with the investor pitch competition and graduation on Saterday 23 Feb 2020.

Evening workshops run on Wednesdays from 5:30pm to 9pm. Workshops will pause after 4 December and resume on 8 January.  

The venue will be at the offices of selected corporate sponsors, either in Woodmead or Sandton. The program will break during December for two weeks.

The April 2020 program fee is R8 000. A limited number of bursaries are available.

Nope. Definitely not in any traditional sense of the word. There is no certificate of attendance. There is no SAQA accreditation. We’re not a dumping ground for corporate training budget. We choose who can join and we kick off those who don’t do the work.

The program will however provide intensive training, coaching, inspiration, networking and accountability.

No. Our investor network may make you an offer for equity during or at the end of the program.

The program will also equip you to optimally trade your equity at the right time with the right partners.

He he. Good luck with that. You’ll learn that Ideas are cheap. Without focused effort calibrated over time the idea itself means very little. The program is a safe space and you choose what you share.

In one word? Demanding. You’ll need to be able to spend about 20 hours a week on your startup. That includes going through online material in preparation for the weekly evening workshop, attending and participating in the workshop, completing the tasks during the week, attending occasional one on one sessions and updating your startup profile.

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Thoughts from our contributors...

"if you can’t convince people of your idea, don’t give up, build it. It’s far harder to ignore market traction than dismiss an idea"
"For any product or service to be successful, you need to make things that people actually want."
"Today it has become possible for anyone to test an idea with minimal risk and financial investment."
"Entrepreneurship is neither a job nor a description. Entrepreneurship is an attitude."

"Understanding customer behaviour, building prototypes and testing assumptions is the cheapest and most effective way to find product market fit."
"Your chances of startup success improves significantly when you are part of a tribe of peers and trusted advisors who encourage you to apply your mind and hold you accountable for doing the next action.".