Bethesda Green’s Accelerator is the cornerstone of Bethesda Green’s Innovation Center, an expansive suite of programming designed to support entrepreneurs through all stages of their business life cycle. The Accelerator is currently on hold for 2024.
The Accelerator program is a fast-paced, high-touch, 4-month intensive curriculum. Each cohort utilizes an online platform to manage curriculum, and facilitate mentor engagement and feedback to entrepreneurs. We welcome companies with a coachable, committed, founding team with a rapid growth mindset, and a demonstrated problem/solution fit.
Bethesda Green seeks to build a cohort that reflects the diverse population of the region and encourages applications from people of color, women and non-binary founders, and members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. Bethesda Green does not discriminate based on age, sex, race, religious creed, sexual orientation, disability, or ethnic or national origin.
Areas of Focus
Bethesda Green welcomes founders working on innovative solutions to elevate sustainability and promote environmental and social impact throughout the economy. If your solution will enable lower emissions, less waste, cleaner water, cleaner air, less dependency on extracted materials, fewer pesticides… well, you get the idea… we want to hear from you!
- Environment: ClimateTech / BlueTech / Natural Resources / Circular Economy / Sustainable Fashion
- Sustainable Food Cycle: AgTech / Food & Beverage / Packaging / Manufacturing / Distribution / Retail
Program Benefits
Program Timeline
The Accelerator usually runs for a 4-5 months each Spring. The bulk of curriculum content will be accessible on the virtual platform at any time and participants should expect to attend curriculum workshops and networking events throughout the program. The Innovation Center incorporates some in-person events, including networking events, happy hours, and, if possible, the end-of-program pitch event.
Applications
Candidates are invited to contact the Innovation Lab team with any questions prior to completing the application.
Want to review the application ahead of time? Check out the Application Questions for the Innovation Lab
Minimum Requirements
- Applicant must be registered as a for-profit entity.
- A focus on environmental sustainability should be a priority of each participating company.
- Companies can be either pre- or post-revenue.
- Companies should be post-idea stage.
- Companies should have at least 6-8 months runway.
- Participating companies must have at least one full-time employee.
- Entrepreneurs should be coachable and ready to hustle.
- Entrepreneurs should be growth focused via sales and/or seeking investment within 6-12 months.
- Entrepreneurs should be able to attend all Accelerator programming.
- Entrepreneurs from anywhere in the United States are welcomed to apply. Strong preference will be given to ventures headquartered in the DMV region, and specifically Montgomery County, MD.
Want to learn more?
Let’s work together toward a sustainable future. Contact us today to discuss how you can get involved.