We’re leveling the playing field for innovative Black- and Latino founders.
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The average pre-seed round for white founders is $105K. For Black and Latino founders, that number is $35K.
As founders ourselves, that didn’t sit well with us. So we built an accelerator model that allows Black and Latino-led startups to scale without compromising their ability to build wealth or give back to communities they love.
We’re closing the gap for overlooked founders by investing the difference. This $70,000 disparity maximizes your potential for success.
We know building takes time and interest can pile up. We don’t take any interest so you can grow faster, untethered to ballooning numbers.
We aren’t interested in owning your company. We are interested in eliminating predatory terms so you can get to work.
We’ve done this a few times now. We know what it takes to cross the finish line.
You know how to follow through and love to follow up. You own your mistakes and aren’t afraid to have difficult conversations.
You understand the sacrifices and challenges necessary to turn your dreams into reality. You want to be here in Tulsa, willing to persevere through the process.
You put ego to the wayside, openly communicating and taking feedback like a champ. You have a willingness to change for the better and won’t give up easily.
If this doesn’t match up with you, that’s cool.
We’re just not the right fit.
The ACT Accelerator is an immersive experience from the get. In Tulsa, home of “Black Wall Street,” you’ll be surrounded by a flourishing ecosystem of diverse and innovative founders. In the program, you’ll engage in hand-crafted workshops with lifelong toolkits. Do you have what it takes learn and adapt?
Learn the tactics and foundational concepts of how to build a successful business.
Show us what you learned and grow from a founder mindset to an executive mindset.
When you’re a part of ACT House, you’re building so much more than a business. It’s darn near impossible to spend 6 months with a group of inspiring individuals without also building lasting bonds with your cohort and the ACT team. We trust you’ve got this, but this is a lifelong journey. Expect regular invites to Demo Days, VC Days, and any ACT House networking event. Our door is always open.
We’re gonna be honest — the ACT Accelerator is a big commitment. But we’ll tell you this, when innovators choose to take this leap of faith, they walk away with priceless skills, tools, experiences, and networks to change their world.
Apply to Cohort 6 →This program runs for 6 months. It’s required for you to be in person at the Tulsa location for the first 3 months of the program and the final week of the program to prepare for Demo Day. The other times, we operate with a hybrid model.
Applications closed for our fifth cohort on August 1st, 2023. Tune in this winter for another opportunity.
Our accelerator cohorts consist of 7-9 of the most promising startups around. We are currently in our fifth cohort in Tulsa. We run 2 cohorts a year accepting up to 16 startups each year, so if this cohort doesn’t work for you, stay tuned for Cohort VI.
ACT will invest $70,000 into accepted companies. This investment will come in 2 parts: an initial investment of $35,000 at the start of Phase I and a second investment of $35,000 at the start of Phase II. The $70,000 investment carries 0% interest and 0% equity, 1x payback of the $70,000 is triggered by revenue/capital raised milestones so that another founder can have the same opportunity we gave you.
We exist to raise the bar for Black and Latino founders and not only increase the value of your company but increase your ownership in it as well.
The accelerator runs for 6 months, with workshops, programming, and mentorship taking place each week.
The first 3 months are focused on incubation and acceleration while the last 3 months are focused on implementation and growth.
The accelerator is highly immersive, expect to commit 8 hours+ a week toward your company in this program.
The fifth cohort for the ACT Accelerator kicked off in October 2023 and runs for 6 months. The cohort will consist of 7-9 of the most promising startups around. ACT Tulsa runs 2 cohorts a year accepting up to 16 startups each year, so if this cohort doesn’t work for you stay tuned for Cohort VI later this year.
This program is open to Black and Latino-led startups. The accelerator program is best suited for pre-revenue to early revenue-generating startups. (Add more descriptive explanation of how the majority of the company MUST be at least 50% owned by Black or Latino founders).
Selected companies should have a founder and appropriate team members who are available to join all program elements of the ACT Tulsa cohort and are located in or can relocate to Tulsa, OK for the first 3 months of the program.
In Tulsa, ACT House has partnered with i2E, Build in Tulsa, the Biolchini Family Foundation, Coretz Family Foundation, and several other local and national groups to accelerate entrepreneurship and raise the equity bar for Black and Latino founders.
Housing stipends of $3,000 will be provided to each company by our partners at Build in Tulsa to assist with rent and moving costs.
Yes, we provide office space for you and your team for free! Office space is located in the 36 Degrees North Incubator Space in Downtown Tulsa! We also pay for parking. We want to make sure we remove as many barriers as possible so you can get to work on accelerating your company.
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