About the Program
Helping early stage startups
The Emory Startup Launch accelerator program is offered this fall 2020 to guide early stage founders through a defined process that will help teams rapidly take their ideas and test them with customers to discard, change and build a business model to move the startup forward. The 10 week program begins in October and is accepting team applications now. The program is open to the entire Emory community, to help build and enhance the Emory student/faculty/staff/alumni entrepreneurial spirit by helping create successful startups.
There is no cost to attend.
This startup accelerator program is funded by a grant from the Emory University - The Hatchery in collaboration with the Emory Goizueta Business School
Program Requirements
Maximum team size is four members with at least one member of the team being a current Emory student, alumni, faculty or staff member. The program instructor chooses participating teams. Preference will be given to healthcare related startups.
All team members will be required to attend on a weekly basis: a three-hour night session, present a weekly team update, attend a thirty-minute progress meeting (with the instructor) and complete in-person, documented customer interviews.
The sessions are held at the
Emory University, The Hatchery.
Please consider that this is a highly-interactive program that requires substantial time outside the classroom interacting with your potential buyers/users each we
What you will learn
Topics covered during the program include:
- Use a Startup Business Model Canvas to describe, test and refine a business
- Uncover, refine and confirm buyer/user problems that lead to solutions
- Learn interview tools that test and refine your assumptions with buyer/users
- Define and explore your early adopters (buyers/users)
- Find the buyer/user behavior triggers that signal demand
- Create, deliver and test micro offers with buyers/users to reveal demand
- When and how to apply micro innovations to adjust your business model
- Recognize and utilize useful metrics to show traction in your business model
- How to discover, define and test key words to amplify buyer/user interaction
- Create an effective early stage company presentation for Demo Day
Methods and Processes
The program makes extensive use of in-the-field research and testing by applying methods/processes that include:
- Behavioral economics
- Ethnography
- Qualitative interviews
- Quantitative assessments
- Active listening and observation
- Startup Business Model Canvas
- Pathway development and activation
Doing this work successfully will helps teams validate demand, strengthen the teams’ understanding of the problem they are solving, develop metrics to support investments, build their resource networks and strengthen the startup team.
Mentors from the Atlanta startup community and GBS alumni will be invited to attend the program and help the teams during portions of the program.
A Team Insights event will be held at the completion of the program. Successful teams will be invited to present their startups to the Emory and Atlanta community. To apply for the Emory Startup Launch please complete and submit the program application
Program Co-founders
Robert K. Kazanjian
Emory University, Goizueta Business School
Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Organization and Management Goizueta Business School
Center for Entrepreneurship
Amelia Pane Schaffner
Emory University, Goizueta Business School
Director of Entrepreneurship
Goizueta Business School
Center for Entrepreneurship
Kurt Ronn
Founder, North Georgia Innovation
Ed Rieker:
Emory University, Goizueta Business School
Adjunct Faculty
Center for Entrepreneurship
Founder, Avondale Innovation District
2020 Fall Cohort Program Reflections
Hear from Cohort members about their experience in the program
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