Fledge is a global network of conscious company accelerators and investment funds, helping entrepreneurs create impactful companies and co-ops at scale through intense, short programs filled with education, guidance, and a massive amount of mentorship.
Each city runs (up to) one session per year. Each city’s program is a bit different from the others’, but all are focused on mission-driven for-profit companies, and all invest in their fledglings.
Th educational curriculum is based on The Next Step books and online classes, taught to fill in any gaps in the key skills entrepreneurs need to know to succeed: strategy, financials, marketing, sales, funding, etc.
All our cities share a global network of hundreds of mentors, who share their experiences, advice, and connections in 1-on-1 meetings with participants.
Every day, week after week, we push the participants forward, iterating business strategy, financial models, marketing and sales plans, funding options, and investor and sales pitches, plus we put a special focus on storytelling. The result is intense and creates lasting value for years after the companies return home.
We have been refining this service since 2012 and, to date, have helped hundreds of companies from dozens of countries. We’re eager for more. Our goal is to help foster a wave of companies that make a measurable impact in the world, collectively improving the lives of everyone on the planet.
We invest $15,000 (Peru), €15,000 (Europe), or $20,000 (U.S.) into each company we invite to participate, using revenue-based equity, which aligns our interests with the founders, avoids any pressure to “sell out”, and lets us invest in just about any market segment and most any country in the world. Plus, we make introductions to impact investors and make follow-on investments from our family of seed funds.
In America, childcare costs more than college, more than rent, and too often, more than the job pays a new mom who is trying to reenter the workforce. The “solutions” for this are far from perfect: high-interest credit cards, dipping into savings, or worse, postponing a career and giving up future earnings. Fledge9 proudly introduces Bridge Care Finance, a new consumer lending platform lowering...
Talking about doing your business, Americans take for granted how simple it is to “do your business”, flush, and get on with the day? Not the case in Uganda. The dirty truth is that only 6% of 36 million Ugandans have access to safe, clean sanitation facilities. The 3 million people in Kampala share just 1,000 flushable toilets. Fledge9 introduces Joelex, a Ugandan startup with a mission to not...
One of the exciting outcomes from Fledge is the discovery of a new, better business model that an entrepreneur never gave a second thought. For Fledge9, this extra exciting, as the Biogen Kenya applied four times with a business making biodiesel, and we fully expected them to leave the program with that business. Five weeks later, we have a new name, Zijani, a new logo, but more importantly, a...
Do accelerators really help is the second most asked question in the industry after how do I apply? That would seem an odd question almost twelve years after the birth of the modern business accelerator, except for the fact that there were hundreds of useless business incubators back in the dot com boom. This is an industry with a multi-decade history of big promises. And industry with...
How Fledge helps startups varies from company to company. One of the best stories from Fledge9 is BioGen Kenya. They applied (three times) with a plan to turn used cooking oil into biodiesel. They launched and are operating that business in Nairobi, expecting to come to Fledge to learn how to raise money to expand. Digging into the opportunity, we learned that last year Nairobi passed a law...
The fledglings are back in Seattle, from Monday, April 10th through Friday, June 9th. Six exciting startups from five different countries: [hr] Africa Business Radio is a multi platforms digital radio combining the power of the traditional online with mobile and social media to reach a wider community of businesses, corporate organizations, platform, entrepreneurs, institutional elders, venture...
Fledge is excited to announce its third city: Barcelona, Spain. For 2017, Fledge9 is in Seattle April-June, Fledge10 back in Lima July-September, and Fledge11 in Barcelona September-November. Applications for Fledge Peru are due April 15st and as soon as we’re done reviewing those, we’ll open application for Fledge Barcelona. €15,000 per team, hundreds of mentors, and the same...
Fledge is now more than just an accelerator, it is a family of seed investment funds. This new structure came about after talking to hundreds of impact investors, nearly all of which have specific areas of interest, either by geography and/or sector. With a large collect of funds, those investors can allocate their capital to the topics that best match those interests. To start with, all of...
After receiving (and reviewing) almost 2,000 applications, it seems long overdue to provide some guidance to the applicants on how to best apply to Fledge. 1. Do some homework Read the about page, the details, and the FAQ. Watch the video explaining What Happens at Fledge. For even more homework, pick up a copy of The Next Step, which is the core of the classroom material taught within Fledge. 2...
Fledge8 is the first session of Fledge in Lima, Peru (and the first of many upcoming sessions outside of Seattle). Eight impactful LatAm startups based in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico.
Sustainable fashion, sustainable agriculture, clean water, clean homes, and an amazing traditional spirit. See how the best way to do good for Latin America is through business.