Cohort 3: Ask Us Anything Recap
Answering additional frequently asked questions from founders about the upcoming cohort and applications.
Last Thursday, 26th of August, we ran our first Ask Us Anything webinar for Aerospace Xelerated — a Boeing-led aerospace accelerator programme supporting world-class startups in the Autonomy and/or AI fields.
Aerospace Xelerated, formerly the ATI Boeing Accelerator, is a 3-month funded programme for exceptional autonomy and AI startups striving to advance the future of aerospace.
The cohort will run from January — April 2022 and offers a £100k equity investment per startup from Boeing as well as firsthand access to Boeing, their industry partners, subject matter experts, and much more.
This webinar was hosted by Nichola Bates (Managing Director), Jacqueline Davidson (Programme Director), and Ksenia Kurileva (Programme Manager).
We had a range of questions from the audience, so read on for the responses!
Webinar recording
As a recap for the AUA webinar, we’ve documented answers to the most frequently asked questions from founders. If your questions are not answered, check out the whole webinar recording below, our programme FAQ article, or book in an office hour to chat through with the programme team.
Applications
What’s the best way to fill out the application so I stand out?
- Be aerospace specific and make it easy for us to envision what you’re looking for from a POC perspective (and the route(s) to that POC — what business unit do you want to work with, which person(s) will lead it etc).
- Make sure you’re really talking about the solution you have for this industry.
- If you’ve got customers in aerospace (or adjacent industries), talk about your learnings from working with them and how that’d help to work with a company like Boeing.
- Highlight why this accelerator is strategically important for you and what you’d like to get out of it.
- If you’re interested in the programme investment, talk about what’d you’d spend the £100k on.
If you think you’re potentially competitive with any of the teams from our previous two cohorts, please take a look at our portfolio and outline how you would differentiate yourselves from them or how you could work with them.
Would a project that has grant funding, but no revenues, qualify for the programme?
Not having revenues isn’t a barrier at all, what we’re really interested in is your long-term potential. So, demonstrate any traction that you have, even if it’s not in aerospace, we want to know what you’ve done in other sectors and what you’ve learned from those projects/ contracts etc.
What TRL level do companies need to be at?
Short answer: TRL three and above.
However, even if it is outside of that, and you think you have a real pain point to solve, then apply! We have taken companies that incorporated three weeks before the programme start date, through to teams with 30+ employees on their way to a Series A round. So focus on the applicability of your solution and the pain point you’re solving for the aerospace sector today.
Is the accelerator focussed on software, hardware or both? Is a software business with hardware elements in scope?
For this programme, we’re looking for software businesses because of the accelerator’s duration. The programme is 12 weeks long and we want to start exploring POC opportunities within this timeframe. That said, there have been software startups with some hardware elements that have applied previously.
If you think you fit under the themes, but you have some hardware elements, do apply, we want to see your application. You can also query with the programme team via Office Hours.
How advanced should the Proof of concepts be? Do you expect a functioning prototype?
No, not necessarily. We’re not just looking for proof of concepts in the sense of being able to deliver a trial or a POC to an end customer.
Boeing has such a range of opportunities! They have the Research and Technology group that look at very early stage concepts. Whether you want to test the technology with support from Boeing experts or you have something ready to go, Boeing and the programme team are happy to support you and make the necessary introductions. Regardless of how small or how big the POCs are, there’s really no limitation.
I feel like I’m a bit early for this programme, should I still apply?
Yes, whether you’re not quite seed stage or TRL three, we want to see your application. We’ve accepted really young companies so please do get in touch if your product is really interesting. We want to support and accelerate you during the 12-week window — so think about what you want to achieve in that window and what we could do to help you.
Even if you don’t get a spot on the accelerator, we’d love to help you as we can introduce you to the wider ecosystem to see if there are opportunities elsewhere.
Programme
What does the £100k safe note investment from Boeing mean?
The £100k equity investment is structured as an uncapped SAFE note — a simple Agreement for Future Equity (with a 20% discount on the share price of your priced next investment round). In terms of the timeline, we hope to get the investment transferred to you in the first few weeks of the programme.
Once you receive the Boeing investment, you will also be loaded into their supplier database, which means easier access to proof of concepts, strategic and commercial conversations from technical experts at Boeing and industry partners.
You can still participate in the programme even if you don’t want to take the investment.
What strategic and technical support can I expect from Boeing and industry partners? Which teams and departments are involved?
This programme gives you full access to Boeing. The accelerator facilitates introductions to Boeing employees across the world from every part of the business available for you. If you want to chat with a Boeing expert in a very niche technology, we can find them. It’s down to you to tell us and help us prioritise where’s best to spend your time during this programme!
Beyond the industry partners on the programme, will I have the chance to connect with other aerospace companies?
We want to use this programme to supercharge your network so we will provide you access to as many people across the industry as we think is relevant. We’re very conscious of trying to help you but also not wasting your time with a lot of conversations. So if you can say “we want to talk to this company at this location”, or “we want to talk to this individual”, just let us know. We’ll be able to reach out and find the best way to get you connected to those people.
What are things I could tackle during the accelerator?
Our champions will come in and share their pain points with you, so you will get direct access to insights from subject matter experts that are working on real-life applications.
We don’t want to send you on a roadshow and pitch to numerous different stakeholders. We want to bring the stakeholders to you, have them tell you their pain points so you can do what you do best and that’s innovating.
Does Boeing do follow on investments?
Yes, and there are two options on how this can be structured. One is a very simple extension of the SAFE and the other is a full equity investment.
Which option is used really depends on the situation. The key thing is the more specific you can be in the process the better it is for everyone. We need to very quickly get you traction within The Boeing Company to make sure your technology is something the business can’t live without.
Insights and advice from alumnus Simon Morris
Simon Morris is an alumnus from Cohort 2, which ran in Jan 2020 and focused on sustainability. He is the Chief Commerical Officer of HiiROC, who are developing exciting technology for clean generation of hydrogen from hydrocarbon.
How was your experience during the programme? Are there any highlights that you want to share?
This was vastly different from the accelerators I’ve been on before which hadn’t really accelerated anything. This was full-on. You are exposed to people who you normally wouldn’t get the chance to talk to. It was real interest and real engagement and it really worked.
Advice to potential applicants
If you’re going to apply, take it seriously. Once we took the decision that we were going for the accelerator, it became a high priority. There’s no point going at it half-heartedly. If you’re going to do the application, really think and work at the application; make sure you give it everything. Otherwise don’t bother because the competition is so high. You’ve got to give it your best shot. And then when you’re on it, you’ve got to give it your best shot again.
As a company, we had at least two or three people in every session and they got a lot out of it. If you’re going to do it, go full tilt — don’t hold anything back. And we really enjoyed it! I’ve made a lot of very good friends through the process as well. So I would definitely recommend it.
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