Introducing

Startup Academy for Women

Beta Boom and Womenpreneurs will be jointly running a 6-month startup academy for female founders of early-stage software startups that are looking to hone in on product-market fit, grow their startup, and raise funding for their company.

The application period has closed.

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Beta Boom and Womenpreneurs are both committed to supporting female founders. We believe in developing founders for the long-term and removing the barriers that they face.

This partnership forges their experience creating programs that are uniquely tailored to support women in their founder journeys.

About the Academy

6 Months of Daily Coaching from Expert Coaches

Founders that are accepted to Beta Boom’s semi-virtual startup academy receive daily coaching from product, marketing, and fundraising experts.

Beta Boom product and marketing coaches guide founders as they execute a customized strategy to find product-market fit. They work hands-on with founders as they develop skills and implement various tactics to build a fundamentally strong high-growth software company.

The academy has selective admissions, and tuition is based on a 3% stake in your company.

Primary Focus Area

Perfecting Your Product and Marketing

In the earliest stages of a startup, the key goal is to build a great product and sell it to the right customer. Unfortunately, many promising startups get this wrong and underperform or fail.

4 of the top 10 reasons why startups fail are related to poor product-market fit.

Our academy helps startups hone in on product-market fit by providing daily tailored coaching to identify the perfect customer, find an effective way to market to them, and deliver a superior solution.

Academy Scope

Developing Strong Entrepreneurs

The first few weeks of the academy are focused on laying the groundwork, including baseline measurements of product-market fit.

In the remaining weeks, founders use a growing toolset to continually measure progress, speak to customers, run marketing experiments, and enhance their product.

In the final couple of weeks, founders get ready for fundraising. Additional coaching, mentorship, and introductions are provided once teams are ready to raise.

What to Expect

Over the course of 22 weeks we will cover:

What Really to Expect (No BS)

We will make a 3-year plan for reality rather than the fantasies that are propagated by media.

Measuring Product-Market Fit

Your team will put in place, with our guidance, analytics and other data recording tools to measure a baseline of your product-market fit.

Positioning and Marketing Experiments

You will run weekly experiments to hone in on your messaging and marketing channels to reach your ideal customers.

Product Enhancements

With feedback from customers, you will also make and test weekly enhancements to your product.

Leadership Training

Women face unique challenges and dynamics. We will help you transcend them and become the best leader you can be.

Fundraising

In the last few weeks of the academy, we will prepare you for raising capital to grow your startup.

Typical Week

A typical week at the Academy looks something like this:

Monday

Group workshops; sprint planning with your coach.

Tuesday – Thursday

Daily check-in with your coach; run marketing experiments and make product enhancements; talk to and survey prospective and current customers; executive coaching sessions.

Friday

Sprint review and retrospective with your coach; group retrospective to share best practices.

Founders should expect to speak to customers, make product changes, and run marketing experiments on a weekly basis.

APPLICATION AND ACADEMY TIMELINE

February 16, 2020

Early applications are due at 11:59PM MST

March 1, 2020

Final applications are due by 11:59PM MST

March 6, 2020

Invitations for interviews sent out

March 9-12, 2020

Interviews with selected teams

March 13, 2020

Final decisions sent out via email by 6PM MST

April 6, 2020

Academy starts

September 3, 2020

Culminating celebration!

FAQs

Some More Details You Should Know

Q. How much does the academy cost?

A. We take a 3% stake in your startup instead of a cash tuition. We do this both because we know early-stage startups are always very resource-constrained as well as to give us skin in the game, so we keep working toward your success in the long-term.

Q. Do you provide funding or a stipend?

A. We are not making investments in admitted startups although it is possible that we may invest in your startup at the completion of the program.

Q. Do I have to move to Chicago or Salt Lake City for the program?

A. No. We function like an executive MBA, and you will be required to spend 3 one-week periods spread across the program in Chicago or Salt Lake City. Founders can work with our coaches remotely for the rest of the time.

“[Beta Boom] was the first yes for Fiveable, back when it was just a little baby spark of a company. Since then, [the partners] have been daily thought partners through every plot twist and I couldn’t be more thankful “

– Amanda DoAmaral, Founder of Fiveable
“The Raise by Womenpreneurs helped give me a much clearer picture of the options for funding my business, both where I am now and in the future. This is a tough road, full of lots of unknowns and [their] knowledge, in an arena that few of us have experience in, was invaluable.“

– Jamaica Trinnaman, Founder of Hello!Bulk
“[Beta Boom] really helped us find what our grand vision was for our company and our product. And that is the probably the greatest thing.“

– Halston van der Sluys, Founder of Pyramid Security
“Attending the Womenpreneurs course gave me the courage I needed to make the next bold step in my business. I can’t quantify how valuable it has been to understand the entrepreneur’s financial landscape before there’s stress to make big decisions. This course is a must“

– Jeanette Snyder, Co-Founder of Profound

Connect With Us

Want to get involved?

Mentors

Mentors are important to supporting our teams based on their specific domain experience and interests.

Select ‘Become a Mentor’ below to tell us more about yourself and who you’d like to mentor.

BECOME A MENTOR ❯

Investors, Press & Inquiries

If you would like to be an investor or have a general inquiry, please reach out using the form below.