Lunar Startups creates opportunities and access for underestimated entrepreneurs. The deadline to apply to Cohort 2 is January 13.
Danielle Steer, Managing Director of Lunar Startups, describes the events leading to the formation of their organization as a “serendipitous perfect storm.”
In 2017, the Knight Foundation became interested in supporting underrepresented, underserved entrepreneurs, such as women, people of color, and LGBTQ entrepreneurs.
Around this same period, the late Glen Nelson bequeathed a gift to help American Public Media to invest in the future of journalism. This led to the launch of the Glen Nelson Center.
Also, around this same time, Ecolab moved their global headquarters, leaving their former building vacant. Ecolab CEO Doug Baker worked with the building owners to sell the building to a group of entrepreneurs who had a vision for an entrepreneurial center.
“So, we had space. We had the funding from the Knight Foundation. We had the organization who was willing to be the home of this startup,” says Danielle. It was from this confluence of events that Lunar Startups was born.
Lunar Startups is a year-long incubator dedicated to serving underestimated entrepreneurs such as women, people of color and LGBTQ. Danielle says that she borrowed the term “underestimated” from famed venture capitalist Arlan Hamilton.
Amanda Heyman is the Director of Lunar Services at Lunar Startups. Lunar Services provides business and legal technical assistance to those within Lunar Startups cohorts. “The underestimated founders that we work with often don’t have those informal networks to key service providers,” Amanda explains. “For example, they may not have an uncle who is a lawyer, or a neighbor who is a CFO, or a friend who is a software developer. The idea behind Lunar Services is to provide access to that sort of help early in the journey.”
Cohort 2 Applications Closing
The deadline to apply to Cohort 2 is January 13. If accepted, startup founders will receive the following:
- Dedicated office space
- Access to investors
- $5,000 travel, technology, and marketing reimbursement fund
- Access to an expert network of professionals providing pro-bono support
- Access to state-of-the-art equipment for video conferencing and podcast development
- Weekly startup-specific programming based on the needs of the cohort
- A peer network
And more.
Applications close January 13. To learn more about the criteria and to apply, go here: https://www.lunarstartups.org/criteria.
Social Entrepreneurship Quotes from Amanda Heyman and Danielle Steer
Social Entrepreneurship Resources:
- Lunar Startups: https://www.lunarstartups.org
- Cohort 2 Criteria and Application: https://www.lunarstartups.org/criteria
- Glen Nelson Center: https://www.glennelson.org
- American Public Media: https://www.americanpublicmedia.org
- Knight Foundation: https://knightfoundation.org
- Lunar Startups on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LunarStartups
- Book: Crazy Good Advice: 10 Lessons Learned from 150 Leading Social Entrepreneurs: https://tonyloyd.com/book