FoundersPlus – a Program for Women and Minority-owned Startups

6 weeks

weekly

webinars

personal

office hours

the possibility for another

$5,000

loan through the LaunchFund

vouchers up to

$5,000

per company

Due to popular demand, we’re launching a second cohort. Stay tuned for updates on the next open enrollment.
If you missed out on the first round, your opportunity to join is available once more.

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Overview

FoundersPlus is an entrepreneurial development program focused on developing companies led by women and minority founders.

Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi-based minority and women founders will be invited to join a network of peers to participate in programs that further entrepreneurial education, provide mentor connections and offer general development assistance. Training will be delivered in the form of a webinar series delivered weekly.

Innovate Mississippi hosts this webinar series on topics essential to building a successful business. Each webinar will walk through progressive steps that outline critical business concepts.

Participants are strongly encouraged to attend webinars and office hours events each week.

Next stop, COBUILDERS! Our FoundersPlus program equips you to grow your scalable, innovation-based startup. The training and tools provided in the program are designed to help your startup be more competitive when you apply for our CoBuilders accelerator program.

WEBINAR SCHEDULE

Each week, webinar participants are invited to discussions on various business development concepts. Innovate Mississippi staff and mentors will be available to talk about specific challenges with entrepreneurs in 15-minute, one-on-one virtual meetings.

Webinars will be held through Microsoft Teams.

Week 1: Introductions, Program Overview, and Startup Readiness Assessment

Week 2: Startup Readiness Workshop and Product Feasibility Discussions

Week 3: Founders Topic 1. Programming scheduled based on the needs of cohort participants.

Week 4: Founders Topic 2. Programming scheduled based on the needs of cohort participants.

Week 5: Founders Topic 3. Programming scheduled based on the needs of cohort participants.

Week 6: Pitch Development

Beyond Week 6: Pitch Practice timeslots available until June 30th

OFFICE HOURS

Innovate Mississippi staff and mentors will be available to talk to specific challenges with entrepreneurs in 15-minute, one-on-one virtual meetings.

LAUNCHFUND

The LaunchFund provides zero-interest loans to low-income startup founders, to fund the earliest stages of development. LaunchFund awards range from $2,000- $5,000. The loan funds must be used for startup business activities. Eligible uses include prototype development, beta testing, marketing expenses, and other early-stage business activities. Proposals must be made to Innovate MS staff outlining the business opportunity and use of funds. To be eligible for the LaunchFund, applicants must have attended 5 out of 6 webinars and office hours events.

Eligibility Requirements:

Must be a for-profit business
Must be based in the Jackson area
The founder must be minority, female or parent
Companies interested in applying for the LaunchFund, must attend 8 out of the 10 webinars and participate in the office hours events.
Must engage regularly through office hours and additional meetings with Innovate Mississippi staff and partners
Must demonstrate a viable business opportunity
Must demonstrate use-of-funds on the company’s critical path of its business plan

Process for applying to the LaunchFund:

Register and attend webinars
Register for Office Hours to discuss business – (which will lead to more in-depth discussions with Innovate team)
Submit proposal including a financial forecast and business pitch deck or business plan.

Launchfund Loan Terms

Repayment (using $5,000 for example):

No interest nor payment for 2 years, but repayment is as followed:

1.25x at 24 months (Total amount repaid = $6,250)

1.5x at 30 months (Total amount repaid = $7,500)

1.75x at 36 months (Total amount repaid = $8,750)

2x at 42 months (Total amount repaid = $10,000)

Call Back:

The loan would be called if any of the following activity occurs:

Spending award money in a manner inconsistent with their application and proposal (Vegas, etc.)
Engagement in illegal activity or failure to comply with state or federal regulatory requirements.
Failure to report on spending as required at the mid-point and for a final report

Funds Disbursement:

Funds will be dispersed at 50% upon approval. The borrower must provide a 1-page (minimum) report on spending and milestones achieved to receive the remaining 50%. After all spending is done, borrowers must provide a final report on all activities achieved under the funding.

Approval Process

You should receive an email – whether approved or not – within fourteen (14) business days of the deadline date. If there are questions or further clarification needed on a proposal, we may reach out for clarification. Please note that this may adjust the timeline for approval.
If approved, you will receive an email from bill.com and you’d need to complete the profile.
50% of the monies will be sent via bill.com, initially, and you will be notified of the expected receipt date.

Learning Path

Lesson 1 - Know Your Audience

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