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Levelling the playing field with Acceleration-as-a-Service
Why we're building a platform to connect impact tech innovators to capital, capabilities and communities.
Levelling the playing field with Acceleration-as-a-Service
Why we're building a platform to connect impact tech innovators to capital, capabilities and communities.
Sam Applebee
9th April, 2019 • 2 min read
It's 2019, and it's STILL who you know??
Two years partnering impact organisations with digital agencies has taught us a thing or two. Teams using tech to solve social & environmental problems encounter all sorts of roadblocks related to not knowing the right people.
Over time they all need some combination of funding, technical skills, legal advice, mentorship, domain knowledge and so on.
Over time they all need some combination of funding, technical skills, legal advice, mentorship, domain knowledge and so on.
Getting connected to the right people at the right time is usually an arbitrary product of circumstance. We think that's dumb.
Getting connected to the right people at the right time is usually an arbitrary product of circumstance. Where were you born? Who do you know already?
We think that's dumb. Or at least massively inefficient, if your goal is getting impact tech solutions into the world and generating impact as quickly as possible.
We think that's dumb. Or at least massively inefficient, if your goal is getting impact tech solutions into the world and generating impact as quickly as possible.
Democratising access to connections
The top startup accelerators do a really good job of making connections for the companies they invest in, but their business model is inherently exclusive.
Typically they raise money, invest in a cohort of 5–15 startups, support them for 3–6 months, and eventually profit when one of the startups exits at 30X returns. Repeat.
Typically they raise money, invest in a cohort of 5–15 startups, support them for 3–6 months, and eventually profit when one of the startups exits at 30X returns. Repeat.
1. There's only so much money in accelerators' funds, which means:
- Only a tiny minority of teams get the benefits
- These privileged few are the most financially promising
This is bad news for impact ventures who are balancing financial returns with impact returns.
2. Teams have to attend accelerator programmes in person, which is biased toward:
- People living in startup hubs like Silicon Valley or London
- People with the means to relocate
Too bad if you're a Syrian data scientist who's invented a way to predict airstrikes, but you're stuck in a civil war.
To level the playing field, we're developing Super Global as a platform for Acceleration-as-a-Service (™ you heard it here first, folks!)
How does Acceleration-as-a-Service work?
Our model
- Innovators using tech to solve impact problems register to Super Global
- They define which resources they need (funding, digital services etc)
- Our matching engine connects them with the right partners
- Relationships are managed on Super Global, from introduction to signed agreements and beyond
- Flows of money and services are logged for transparency and to improve decision making
- We charge a fee when connections turn into relationships
Results
Gimme gimme gimme!
We're working toward a Q3 launch for the first version of the platform.
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Ok then, you curious cat, here's a sneak peak under the hood...
Ok then, you curious cat, here's a sneak peak under the hood...
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