VILLAGEx

VILLAGEx is our **industry-leading, mentor-driven accelerator** program for **venture-scale startups** on the path to raise at least **$1M in the next 24 months**.
Over a focused four-month period, up to 10 companies comprise a highly-selective cohort of startups that are ready to hustle towards their journey to scale. VILLAGEx leverages the passion and expertise of executive-level mentors, startup experts, business professionals, and mentors across industries and around the globe to provide Gulf South founders with the connections and resources needed to scale rapidly.
**VILLAGEx** **recruits founders across the Gulf South and is optimized for in-person engagement in New Orleans, Louisiana**.
Meet and learn more about the current VILLAGEx 2025 cohort **on our blog**.

LEARN MORE

VILLAGEx’s IMPACT
BY THE NUMBERS

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Startups

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Million in
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Is VILLAGEx right
for your startup?

Seed-stage startups are selected for the program based on a venture’s ability to prove it is:

Rapidly scaling
Serving a new or niche market in an innovative way
Incorporating technology to solve a problem or improve a process
Offering a new or unproven business model with the potential to revolutionize a particular industry
Planning to take on at least $1M in funding in the next 24 months.

ACCELERATOR BENEFITS

+ MENTORSHIP: EIR

The mentorship piece of the program is quarterbacked by our remarkable EIR’S. EIR’s are current and former founders and operators who are looking to translate their success into helping others. EIRs lead in selection, program development, and catalyze resources for the companies. We strive to maintain a 4:1 company to EIR ratio in our program to maximize one-on-one engagement. EIRs continue to work with founders post-program to provide support throughout the capital-raising process.

+ MENTORSHIP: IIR

IIRs focus primarily on assisting companies in becoming capital ready. The majority of IIR involvement occurs during the second half of the program when they work with founders on aspects such as:

Deck creation and preparation for investor pitches
Leading pitch groups, including facilitating pitch rehearsal and giving feedback to both individual companies and small groups
Helping founders identify what investors would be most successful for their venture and making those introductions when needed
Facilitating cohort training/workshops on topics such as term sheets, due diligence, data rooms, and valuations.

+ ADVISORY BOARDS

Advisory boards consist of 4-5 mentors or advisors with balanced, complementary expertise who meet with founders monthly for a 60-minute board presentation. Advisory board members provide general business expertise, milestone accountability, and track progress throughout the program.

+ MORROW COMMUNITY

VILLAGEx is a proud Morrow, previously known as the GAN accelerator, making our program one of 100+ world-class accelerators providing the highest quality of support to entrepreneurs who are leading to incredible outcomes for startups in 120+ cities across the globe. As a GAN accelerator, we offer VILLAGEX participants access to over $1M in perks, ranging from free services to digital and physical products.

+ DIRECT RESOURCES

In addition to mentorship, participants have access to direct resources such as basic legal services, proforma development, pitch preparation, and graphic design support at special discounted rates. Additionally, founders will have full access to coworking space at The Shop, where The Idea Village is an anchor tenant.

+ PEER CONNECTIONS

We believe that some of the most valuable long-term connections an entrepreneur can make are with other entrepreneurs facing similar challenges at a similar stage. We work to build these peer-to-peer connections throughout the program between current participants as well as our extensive alumni network. As a cohort-driven program we celebrate wins, big or small, together.

+ VILLAGE NETWORKING

Throughout the program, accelerator participants are invited to exclusive networking events hosted by The Idea Village. These events, which will be in both physical and virtual environments, are attended by alumni, board members, investors, and industry leaders that provide opportunities for accelerator companies to connect with our Village.

+ FUNDRAISING SUPPORT

Raising capital is critical for any early-stage, high-growth venture. Our program is ideal for companies that have already raised seed stage capital and are looking to leverage that traction into hitting operational milestones and setting up a larger Series A level raise. We have a proven track record for supporting funding rounds from pre-seed through Series A.

+ PITCH COACHING

Once you have the right story, a great pitch will help you sell it. We work with professional pitch coaches who support founders while they hone pitch narrative and materials.

+ DECK DEVELOPMENT

Founders finish the accelerator with a refined, compelling pitch and pitch deck to bring to any meeting with an investor or customer.

+ DEMO DAY

Our accelerator program culminates in a company showcase called Demo Day, where founders are given the opportunity to demonstrate their company growth to-date and potential for future success. Demo Day is attended by investors as well as members of our community looking to support local startups. See below for more on Demo Day.

“The Idea Village has been extremely valuable to my company. From the staff to the **mentor network**, the **connections I have made have gotten me further in the past 4 months that I would have imagined**. I'm grateful to have been selected for the accelerator and I **HIGHLY recommend it if you're serious about scaling your company.**”
– Sydni Raymond, Founder of Bomb Ass Fro

SELECTION CRITERIA

VILLAGEx seeks companies who have demonstrated clear strength in at least two of the following areas. The goal of our program is to work with companies over the course of the accelerator to successfully fill in the areas where there may be gaps.

**We work with startups that have built an innovative and functional product with a clear strategic direction.**

**We value strong and fully committed teams with demonstrated leadership and domain knowledge in addition to well-rounded skills and experiences.**

**We seek teams that have found initial success by exhibiting proven traction demonstrated through sales, users, or capital raised.**

Our startups demonstrate substantial knowledge of their market. We look for startups tackling meaningful problems in markets with the size, scope, and attractiveness to build a highly scalable startup.

MOMENTUM FUND

In 2023, The Idea Village launched a new affiliated venture capital fund called the “Momentum Fund” to invest in breakout alumni of the flagship VILLAGEx accelerator program.

The Momentum Fund was launched with $6.7 million in committed capital from 24 individual investors and family offices, including some of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast’s leading founders. Private capital is complemented by state investment through Louisiana Economic Development’s SSBCI (State Small Business Credit Initiative).

The fund, which is connected to The Idea Village but separately managed and governed, will allow The Idea Village as a 501c3 non-profit to support accelerator companies over the long-term through capital investment and to ultimately participate in the company’s success through a carried interest of profits via the investment fund.

DEMO DAY

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As part of the culmination of each VILLAGEx program, founders have the opportunity to showcase their company at Demo Day. This annual event brings together over 300 people from the regional startup community to witness founders presenting their startups. This celebratory event offers all attendees valuable connections and a sense of community.