Draft pitch to the Small Business Administration's accelerator challenge.

1. BURLINGTON GENERATOR
Accelerating entrepreneurship at the intersection of
art, science and technology.

2. MISSION & VISION
• Generator provides tools, expertise, education and opportunity
that enable all members of our community to create,
collaborate, and to make their ideas reality.
• Generator is an idea translation laboratory: we turn ideas into
new products and support new ventures around those
products. Our approach is unique for the breadth of skills and
businesses that we support and the inclusive, cross-disciplinary
and collaborative culture that we breed.
• Generator’s accelerator initiative is led by founding Chairman of
the Board Michael Metz who brings demonstrable private sector
success and Director Lars Hasselblad Torres who has built
innovation pipelines in the public sector and research university
settings. We are support by a 14-member board, 3 part-time
staff and 27 volunteers.

3. MARKET OPPORTUNITY
• Generator’s geographic market is concentrated in the greater
Burlington region (Chittenden, Essex and Addison counties)
with a catchment area of approximately 30 miles radius.
• Generator serves recent college graduates, independent
designers and fabricators, moonlighters, and mid-career
professionals looking to launch their own enterprises. New
ventures are built around products developed or produced on
site using Generator’s shared facilities and equipment.
• Generator accelerator will principally serve companies
founded by our members that demonstrate a readiness for
accelerated growth and movement along the venture
development pipeline.
• Generator is unique for our hybrid “accelerator within a
makerspace” model. There is presently no accelerator
program in Vermont targeted toward arts, design and
consumer product innovation.

4. COMMUNITY PROFILE
The Generator community is composed of nearly 150 members of
the following types:
• 49 Exchange members - participating colleges, makerspaces
• 31 General members - daily access to all equipment, facilities
• 28 Volunteers - work in exchange for reduce member fees
• 19 Affiliate members - modest fee for directory listing, paygo use
• 17 Studio residents - private studio work space, 24 hour access
A recent survey of members found that:
• 65 percent of respondents are men, 35 percent are women
• 41 percent are 25 to 44 years of age; 30 percent are 18-24
• 44 percent of member households earn less than $36k per year;
23 percent earn between $36-86k; 30 percent earn $86k and more
• More than 50 percent of respondents work a full-time job
• 30 percent of respondents own and manage a small business

5. ACCELERATOR MODEL
• Generator members and new ventures will apply to be a part
of Generator’s accelerator program and ranked against three
criteria: 1) the scope and scale of the opportunity they are
addressing, 2) the context or market for their solution, and 3)
benefits of the solution or product itself.
• Accepted new ventures receive: 1) free membership for nine
months during which they are assigned a mentor, 2) are
assigned staged tasks designed to prepare them for
investment-readiness, and 3) are surrounded by support
mechanisms to hone their company structure, their business
plan, and their go-to-market strategy.
• At the end of their nine month acceleration period new
ventures: 1) are assessed for progress, 2) have the potential
to receive an additional three months, and 3) are entered into
the LaunchVT business plan competition.

6. • Generator today is a community of nearly 150 designers,
students, engineers, craftsmen, jewelers and artists.
By December 2015 increased to > 200
• Generator members pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors
today represent about 10 percent of our community.
By December 2015 increased to 20 percent
• Generator entrepreneurs who have incorporated a business in
Vermont account for about 5 percent of our community.
By December 2015 increased to 10 percent
• By the end of 2015 Generator will have graduated half of our
current new ventures (between three and four companies).
By December 2016 increased to 8 to 10
GROWTH METRICS

7. BUDGET SUMMARY
SBA funds toward the Generator accelerator will be used for 16
months of activity including:
• $30k to hire a part-time accelerator manager
• $10k in contracts for workshop designers, facilitators
• $5k toward general administrative costs
• $5k toward participants conference, travel, misc training fees
SBA funds will be matched with:
• $25k Generator G&A and volunteer staff contributions
• $15k in on-site event, workshop programming fees
• $10k in-kind, ongoing support from area partners

8. IMPLEMENTATON
1. Organization / Sept to Oct 2015
Hire a part-time accelerator manager. Top priorities are:
- Recruit accelerator advisory board
- Translate accelerator business plan into a work plan
- $75k to match venture fund and administration
2. Implementation / Nov to Dec 2015
Develop annual program cycle, begin marketing, recruit
mentors, and establish partnerships essential for program
delivery including:
- Corporate structure, incorporation
- IP roadmap, patenting
- Investment readiness
- Go to market strategy
3. Execution / Jan to Sept 2016
- Select first cohort of 3-6 acceleration-ready ventures
- Host orientation and mentor match-making activities
- Deliver accelerator curriculum, workshops

9. PARTNERSHIPS
1. Corporate structure, incorporation
Draw on participating law firms and business advisors to
provide a structured incorporation clinic to advise ventures on
corporate structure, valuation and shares.
2. IP roadmap, patenting
Engage patent attorneys and related intellectual property
experts on IP stewardship and commercialization workshops
3. Investment readiness
Tap local investors and legal authorities on various forms of
capital alternatives and pathways and implications to prepare
a company for appropriate investment type and terms.
4. Go to market strategy
Work with experienced entrepreneurs, investors, economic
development experts and marketing professionals to work
ventures through structured exercises that generate go to
market strategies for products and companies.

10. SUCCESS METRICS
1. Formation
By the end of 2016 Generator accelerator will annually
support 4-6 new ventures in diverse markets, from business
services to consumer products.
2. Leverage
Accelerator resources will be leveraged 5:1 through local
support systems including the city, non-profit, university and
private sector partnerships.
3. Durability
Of accelerator businesses, 90 percent will successfully
complete their incubator year and 70 percent will make it to
their third year.
4. Growth
Based on current projection data, accelerator businesses will
create 15 jobs over the next 18-24 months and expand the
volume of contract work by 2x