MIT Entrepreneurship delta v – The Accelerator Program with a Difference

Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship launched its accelerator in 2012. The focused mission is to provide short-term, fixed-term, cohort-based, entrepreneurial coaching to selected MIT students to help them launch their business ideas as products in the real world of commerce within an accelerated timeframe. The original name of the program was Global Founders’ Skills Accelerator (GFSA) that was changed to MIT delta v to create an image in mind about the close connection that exists between velocity (v) and acceleration. The program founders consider the program a “capstone educational opportunity” to enable future entrepreneurs to launch their business ventures in an accelerated mode in the real world of operations. MIT delta v falls under 501(c) charity and funded by MIT and donations.

MIT Follows the Disciplined Entrepreneurship Framework Model

MIT employs the Disciplined Entrepreneurship Framework developed by Bill Aulet, which focuses on understanding customer needs and build the minimum viable product.

MIT delta v – a Distinct Program from the Ranks of Other Accelerators

MIT delta v is an educational accelerator that provides startups with curriculum, monthly fellowship (only for MIT and Wellesley students), workspace, mentorship, one-on-one coaching, and other benefits from June through August. The startups who have participated in this unique program represent multiple verticals – energy, agricultural technology, retail, financial technology, logistics, analytics, healthcare, education technology, media technology, aerospace, etc.

MIT delta v – Locations

The program was held in NYC Startup Studio, Cambridge Massachusetts and in 2020 virtual.

Salient Features of the MIT delta v Accelerator Program

• Experimentation: Every year, delta v has explored new coaching methods and student activities to learn from past failures and improve. When something succeeds, we scale it up.
• Equity-free Funding: As the delta v coaches and mentors do not claim a stake in their commercial startups, they learn freely and diligently without the fear of failing in the marketplace. The teams earn up to $20,000 in project funding. MIT students receive an additional $2,000 monthly Fellowship during delta v. Wellesley College are also eligible for delta v through a grant to support Wellesley students in their entrepreneurship journey.
• Nurturing Impactful Ideas: The ideas were nurtured through the MIT ecosystem from an initial idea before the delta v accelerator.
  Honesty in Coaching: Neither the Martin Trust Center nor the MIT faculty members claim a stake in any entrepreneurial venture they help commercialize. Their only objective is the student’s learning and success in the marketplace.

Key Focus Areas of the MIT delta v Program

We strive to bring students an incredible and rewarding experience.

1. Deliver delta v as a high-quality program (virtual or in-person) supported by experienced Entrepreneurs in Residence and programming focused on the fundamentals of Customer, Product, and Business readiness.
2. ECC program –ECC program teaches our student-entrepreneurs tools for self-awareness. We believe that if we teach students how to work through the stresses of entrepreneurship more effectively, it will lead to better decision-making and healthier choices for their lives and business.
3. Board of Directors – The mock board of directors includes diversity, business executives, domain experts, faculty, and delta v alums. The board members bring outside perspectives to the delta v teams in their real life and guide teams as they develop their businesses.
4. Focus on financial literacy foundation and messaging right for an investor pitch, including understanding how much money they will need, what sources there are, and the pros/cons of their choices.
5. Virtual Investor Day – The financial foundation leads into an Investor Demo Day.
6. Demo Day – At the end of the summer, the delta v teams formally present their startups at the program’s culmination on Demo Day. This is the biggest day of the year for entrepreneurship at MIT. We host a Demo Day and a post-event networking experience.

We say the MIT delta v experience is like eating broccoli. Maybe students founders don’t like broccoli; perhaps they are not sure. But, as we work through the program, they will learn how to steam broccoli and roast it and sauté it and puree it. They’ll know all of the ins-and-outs of broccoli – and come up with a winning recipe.