On Monday, November 13th, the Fall 2017 cohort of the UGA Idea Accelerator will complete an 8-week program with a pitch competition in front of a panel of local judges at 5:30pm at the UGA’s Broad St Studios in downtown Athens. Finalists will pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges in hopes of winning $5,000 while, past and current Idea Accelerator participants will be on hand to talk about their entrepreneurial ventures, including previous winner Vestigo and Reservoir.

Sponsored by the Advanced Technology Development Center, the UGA Entrepreneurship Program, Athens Clarke County Economic Development, and Fulcrum Equity Partners, the seventh cohort of the Idea Accelerator program began in September with 66 original teams from UGA and the local Athens community. Over the course of the 8-week curriculum designed by ATDC, the initial 66 was whittled down to a final cohort  based on key startup success areas such as Customer Discovery, Financial Literacy, and Investor Readiness. In the final pitch competition, judges will assess each idea’s business viability, the problem being solved, whether the solution actually solves the problem, and how suited the team members are to the task. The panel of judges will include Jack Berube, Ashley Steele, Jacob Thomason, and other local entrepreneurs.

The Idea Accelerator is operated by local economic development nonprofit Four Athens in partnership with the program’s sponsors, and representatives from each sponsoring organizations serve as subject matter experts, mentors, and guides for the participating teams. Applications to join the Spring 2018 cohort will open December 1st at fourathens.com/accelerator.

Since its first round two and a half years ago, the Idea Accelerator has awarded $30,000 to six winning business teams, including the winners of the Spring 2017 class Puppyfax and Fall 2016 class Nedza’s Waffles.  Other participants, such as Fee Favor and Reservoir, have gone on to generate significant revenue, hire initial employees, and raise rounds of funding. Other previous winners include eleez, a concert ticketing startup, and the first cohort winner, Athens-based adventure sharing platform Vestigo.