The Summer Accelerator at UCalgary

The Summer Accelerator at UCalgary

About the Summer Accelerator

The Summer Accelerator at UCalgary is designed to help promising startups in the UCalgary community continue to build and develop their startup. This program will offer funding and resources to support early-stage entrepreneurs and leverage resources within the UCalgary ecosystem. The objective for this program is for startups to validate their business as a viable business and be able to definitively make the go, no go decision to continue with their venture. The program will run for 12 weeks from June 5, 2023 to August 25, 2023.

As a participant, you will receive a monthly stipend of $3,000, plus the opportunity for an additional $150,000 in funding.

You will also gain exclusive access to the Hunter Hub, the Innovation Sandbox, the UCalgary innovation ecosystem, local startup networks, and the Venture Backbone program. Participants will also have access to a wide range of resources such as lawyers, accountants, potential investors, and more.

Progress through the program will be based on milestones. At the beginning of the program, teams will provide a plan of objectives and milestones to be completed by the end of the program. At least 2 members of the team, but preferably the entire team, must be fully committed to the program. 

Apply now

Applications close on May 31, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. MST. 


Key information

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Students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and alumni (within 5 years) with a startup in the launch phase. Teams entering this program should have a clear question they need to validate during the 12 weeks program to definitively determine if they are committing to moving their venture forward. 

At least 2 founders must be committed to working full time in the Innovation Sandbox over the 12 week program.

Startups will leave the program confident in their decision to continue or stop working on their startup. Teams will have completed set milestones over the program and will have a roadmap with a clear go to market and customer acquisition strategy, have a functional product on the market, and could be looking for investment. 

The Venture Backbone is a program from Innovate Calgary that provides discounts to several services. Please see the Innovate Calgary website for more information.