2019 at Lunar Startups
At Lunar Startups, we resist the idea that there's a "right" way to be a founder, run a start-up, or accelerate your business. That's why Lunar Startups is a year-long program, bucking the trend of in-and-out startup accelerators that prioritize scale and speed over long-term growth and sustainability. We're in it for the long haul.
“Entrepreneurship is not a sprint.”
-Mohammed Abdurrahman, ClutchSOS founder and Lunar Startups Cohort 1 Member in The Lunar Startups Podcast
Our commitment to connect women and POC founders with the resources, attention, and investment they deserve was the driving force behind our year. As 2019 comes to a close, here's a list of all the ways we said yes to more women and POC founders succeeding, thriving, and winning.
Hello, Cohort 2!
Lunar Startups Cohort 2 from left to right: Marcus Sims, Tedious; Elizabeth Orme, Creatively Focused; Sheilla Sajady and Yasameen Sajady, Maazah; Vikas Mehrota, Virtue Analytics; Trina Olson, Team Dynamics; Elyse Ash, Fruitful Fertility; Dario Otero, Youth Lens 360.
In March, our coworking space at Glen Nelson Center became a little more crowded as we welcomed our second cohort of entrepreneurs into Lunar Startups. From femtech to filmmaking to financing higher education, our cohort companies are building a future that works better for everyone. Meet them here.
Not Your Average Pitch Session
At UnDemo Day, local up-and-coming artist DJ Mickey Breeze kept us grooving all night long.
At UnDemo Day, we packed the Palace Theater for a celebration of the hard work, dedication, and progress of the first founders to participate in Lunar Startups. Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter joined us for a showcase of what it REALLY meant to be a founder – and yes, there were also some demos. Couldn't make it? A video recap is coming soon!
Social Capital, On Your Terms
Lunar Expert Network member Bliss Pierce gives feedback to a pitch presentation. We invited our expert network for an early morning pitch session, and were joined by keynote speaker Hamse Warfa, Deputy Commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
We've all showed up for a coffee meeting and thought, "Why am I here?" From the start, we’ve prioritized our cohort founders' time, and providing them with the resources they really need. This year, we launched the Lunar Expert Network – a group of Twin Cities leaders in technology, business law, entrepreneurship and marketing that's on call for specific needs, questions, and support for our cohort companies. In 2019, we connected cohort companies with 43 hours of expert services, workshops, and office hours, and scheduled 50 one-to-one meetups. Meet the Expert Network here.
$1 Million+ in Resources
It takes a community to grow a startup. Jasmine RuKim, co-founder of Monicat Data and Jamie Glover, co-founder of Asiya, work alongside each other at our coworking space at Glen Nelson Center.
We became a part of the Global Accelerator Network (GAN), an invite-only community of the world’s most respected organizations that provide startups with the best resources to create and grow their businesses, wherever they are. Startups accepted into a GAN accelerator have access to a variety of exclusive perks including over $1M worth of free services, introductions to a network of investors and access to soft landing spaces worldwide.
And as an official Techstars Affiliate, we are able to fast-track startups that we find are a good fit within our own programs or network through the Techstars application process.
Our larger communities are just another reason to apply to join Lunar Cohort 3. (Applications are due January 15!)
Building Equity in Community
The Lunar orbit has grown exponentially since we first launched Cohort 1. Now, we could fill several theaters across the globe with our community.
In June, Lunar Startups was invited to join an exclusive pilot program for equity and social justice-focused accelerators, VilCap Communities, focused on investment readiness training for entrepreneurs. Supported by Travelers, this high power cohort included Black Girl Ventures, Goodie Nation, Meta-Bronx, WePower STL, and reSET Co. Our new, expanded network of providers and leaders is dedicated to our success in Minnesota.
The Lunar Startups Podcast
The Lunar Startups Podcast features the origin stories of each Cohort 1 company, and explores common themes that all entrepreneurs experience, like failure, joy, and overcoming fear.
We teamed up with our friends at matriarch digital media to produce The Lunar Startups Podcast, chronicling the origin stories of our Cohort 1 founders, and the co-creation process of building a new kind of accelerator for women and POC founders. Our Cohort 1 companies were our test users, our collaborators, and our inspiration as we built Lunar Startups into what it is today. If you want to feel inspired going into the New Year, we recommend giving it a listen. You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
We accomplished a lot in 2019, but we're even more excited about the work ahead.
We're proud to be building the community and connectivity that entrepreneurs need to succeed. Entrepreneurs don't take the easy way out, and neither do we We'll continue to invest in building strong peer and professional networks – not just one-size-fits-all programming – to power cohort companies in 2019, 2020, and beyond.