Michelson Runway EdTech Accelerator

As I am building the programming for the unbank.ventures program, I get the opportunity to speak to friends and colleagues. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak with Joe Vasquez who is the Director of the Michelson Runway Edtech Accelerator. Here is what I learned.

EdTech Focus

In talking to Vasquez, there is no doubt he has a passion for the education space. But, it is not all about passion. Vasquez explained that focusing on a vertical allows him to locate the best founders in the space. Focusing on a vertical allows him to create programming that is specific to the needs of the companies he works with. This focused approach allows him the ability to build a best in class program and find the best entrepreneurs in the space.

Investment

In the first class, companies were given a range of investment. This investment ranged from $50,000 to $125,000. This investment was spread over 5 companies and totaled $300,000. Vasquez said that the terms were favorable for the entrepreneur.

Our guiding star is simple: All students around the world should have access to an affordable, equitable, and high-quality education that leads to a meaningful career.

Unbiased Selection

You would not know it looking at Vasquez but he is a minority with a disability. He has used these challenges to make himself great. In the selection of companies, he gives special attention to minority founders, but ultimately chooses the best founders for his program.

Many investors in Silicon Valley believe that young entrepreneurs have the best potential. From his experience, he has found that the best entrepreneurs are more experienced. These entrepreneurs have experience that gives them a competitive edge. Michelson Runway is a program that is truly equal opportunity regardless of race, religion or color.

Location

Although, Runway has a beautiful space participants are not required to be located in San Francisco. Vasquez has found that the best entrepreneurs are more established in there lives and not able to relocate. Participants are required to attend 3– 3 day programs over the course of 4 months. This is similar to Village Capital’s program.

The Intangibles

Vasquez is working on building a community. He uses tools like Slack and text to engage his companies. Vasquez has found that community building does not just happen. As a program manager you have to be proactive. Vasquez actually texts his founders everyday during the program. I have spoke to many program managers from the best accelerators in the world. I have never met one that was as engaged as Vasquez.

Unique Challenges of EdTech

The EdTech space has unique challenges inherent to its market. Vasquez said that the market is opaque and it is not always clear who the customer is. It is not always clear who your investor will be. The sales cycle is painfully long and the industry is plagued with political issues.

Secret Sauce

Money and space are commodities. What Michelson Runway brings to its founders is much more. The program has built a network of buyers, which in this case are Universities. Access to buyers is essential for the success of EdTech startups. Universities will often not make a decision without academic research to support it. Vasquez has brokered a deal to provide each of the program’s companies with a mini-research report. The estimated value of this research is upwards of $250,000.

Keys to Building a Great Program

“Actively engage founders and be extremely transparent with them.” Vasquez

If you are in the EdTech space I would highly recommend joining the next class of Michelson Runway.