These founders are poised to push boundaries, disrupt industries, and redefine the future of technology. Join us as we embark on this exciting journey with the next wave of game-changing leaders. Allow us to introduce you to Cohort 9!

Meet The Founders

(Left to Right)

• Joevan Palmer // Saola Health // Saola Health is a mental health community platform that helps individuals with stress management, anxiety reduction, and suicide prevention by providing real-time mental health advisors.  
• Emmanuel Obodoechine // Eno // ENO is an automated savings app that helps first-time home buyers save money to purchase their first home. 
• Demontay George // Dizzbe // Dizzbe is an AI-powered personal stylist helping online shoppers simplify their online shopping experience by discovering clothing items and accessories across the web that best fit their style and budget.
• Dre Manning // SparQ Social // SparQ Social is a marketplace with ready-to-post video content helping marketing professionals access quality license-free content in one convenient location. 
• Treasure Goddard // Applicaster // Applicaster uses AI to simplify the job application process by allowing job seekers to bulk apply to multiple job openings at once. 
• Jeremy Knowles // Eryn // Eryn is an AI-powered enterprise software that aligns talent strategy with business goals. 
• Darrien Carter // Aonverse // Aonverse is a social network for gamers and cosplayers.  
• Brandon Hazzard // Fox Flock // Fox Flock makes in-person networking more effective by allowing professionals to identify fellow professionals located nearby.  
• Jaidan Hines // AuxBattles // AuxBattles is a music social networking game that allows friends to compare their playlists against each other with a community of music lovers determining the winner. 

How To Stay Connected

If you’re looking to engage, support, or follow the progress of this group of early-stage startup founders over the next 10-weeks, the best way to connect with them directly is to join our FREE online learning community HERE!

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As they embark on this transformative journey, they are poised to redefine industries, disrupt norms, and shape the future of entrepreneurship. Get ready to witness the birth of groundbreaking solutions and the rise of tomorrow’s industry leaders. Allow us to introduce the founders in Cohort 8! 

Meet The Founders

• Jamila Carrington Smith // Centric AI // CENTRIC is an AI-powered customer success manager that helps businesses create a high-touch experience for their customers that grows their bottom line.
• Luben Petrov // Alternative Systems and Technologies // Alternative Systems and Technologies is an AI-powered quant investing company that helps wealth managers increase their annual returns for their investors. 
• Abdul Diallo // Jootal // Jootal is a modern equity-crowdfunding platform that allows anyone from around the world to invest in real estate and organic farms based in the African diaspora.
• Deon Lumpkin // Goody’s 2 Go // Goody’s 2 Go is an on-demand shopping marketplace allowing convenient stores to increase their revenue by selling expiring or underperforming inventory at a discounted price. 
• Ray Arceneaux // Diabetes Healthcare Company // Diabetes Healthcare Company is an AI-powered diabetes care management platform for people who have recently been diagnosed with diabetes. 
• Victory Ogunbanwo // AsoebiBar // AsoebiBar is a One-Stop-Shop for finding and purchasing custom African Asoebi clothing. 
• Grace Simmons // Gluggler // Gluggler is an on-demand delivery marketplace for alcohol, tobacco and convenience goods.
• Jermey Vincent // GlobeKin // GlobeKin is an e-learning platform that enhances out-of-school learning for kids K-12.
• Ryan Marsh // Sidenote // Sidenote is a group chat app that helps with managing and planning activities with your friends and family.
• Sarah Lawrence // Tallymade // Tallymade is a gamified survey tool that increases survey completion rates by transforming surveys into interactive games.  

How To Stay Connected

If you’re looking to engage, support, and follow the progress of this group of startup founders, the best way to connect with them is by joining our Square One community HERE!

The post Unveiling Square One Startup School’s 8th Cohort! appeared first on Square One.

From a linguistic app powered by AI to a waste management platform reducing waste in a unique way, we are excited to introduce Square One’s 7th Cohort! 

Meet The Founders

(Left to Right)

• Hope Anusiem // Fashion Row Collective // Fashion Row Collectives is a professional social network for the fashion industry helping fashion creatives, brands, and providers seamlessly connect and collaborate. 
• Nadia Rivera // Fishwalk // Fishwalk is an AI-powered voice recognition technology tutor helping non-native English speakers learn and improve their speech, pronunciation and conversational skills.
• King Davis // Shwcse // Shwcse is an online marketplace that connects consumers directly to independent clothing brands.
• Miranda Terrell // Leisure Parking // Leisure Parking is a parking management platform that simplifies the parking reservation process. 
• Kirk Scott // Helix // Helix is a centralized platform helping student-athletes secure scholarships and NIL deals. 
• Lucas Scandian // Fishwalk // Fishwalk is an AI-powered voice recognition technology tutor helping non-native English speakers learn and improve their speech, pronunciation and conversational skills.
• Shonda Hobbs // ProfessionDeck // ProfessionDeck is an online gig work marketplace that allows educators to earn supplemental income by leveraging their freelance talents to support local business and school district needs. 
• Raven Campbell // Ape Recycling // Ape Recycling is a waste management software platform that reduces waste by helping construction companies divert, track, and sell recycled construction debris to contractors.
• Calvetta Phair // ReferAll // ReferAll is a recruiting platform that monetizes the referral process. 
• Dana Blades // INtv // INtv a television app that displays content based on the program that is being viewed in order to boost viewer engagement and provide critical metrics to advertisement companies.

How To Stay Connected

If you’re looking to engage and support this group of startup founders, here are 3 ways to connect with the Square One community and follow their journey: 

1. Subscribe to our Back To The Basics Newsletter to stay up-to-date 
2. Follow our Wisdom Wednesday Sessions to attend FREE events
3. Explore our Content Library for FREE courses and content

The post Meet Square One’s Lucky Number 7 Cohort appeared first on Square One.

From health and wellness apps powered by AI to smart contract platforms leveraging blockchain technology, we are excited to introduce Square One’s most advanced cohort to-date , Cohort 6! 

Meet The Founders

(Left to Right)

• Skania Florestal // HBCU Made // HBCUMADE is a professional social network designed to help corporations diversify their talent pipeline by connecting them to alumni networks at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
• Odie Gray // Spotlight // Spotlight is a web application that matches social impact services from non-profits with people in need within under-resourced communities. 
• Surayya Walters // Still Knowing // Still Knowing is a digital community and platform where Gen Z can gather to discover their faith, learn faith-based mental health practices, and interact with educational and community resources to support them in their journey toward blending spiritual and emotional wellness.
• Gavin Sharp // Interp // INTERP is a health tech company that provides on-demand interpreters for non-english speaking patients. 
• Torance Robuck Jr. // Handitova // Handitova is an on-demand delivery app that offers same-day delivery for small e-commerce businesses. 
• Janai Walters (Co-Founder) // inSIDEkonnect // InSIDEkonnect is a platform that seamlessly connects socially-disadvantaged business suppliers to corporate and government buyers using smart contracts. 
• Sean Graham (Co-Founder) // inSIDEkonnect // InSIDEkonnect is a platform that seamlessly connects socially-disadvantaged business suppliers to corporate and government buyers using smart contracts. 
• Dominic Pritham // Braghumble // BragHumble is an AI-powered personal fitness trainer that helps remote workers improve their at-home workouts to achieve their personal fitness goals. 

Getting On The Fast Track

This group of startup founders is considered our most advanced cohort to-date because the majority of them have functioning products, active users, and paying customers. Regardless of where they are in their journey, these founders will be placed on a fast track to reach their next major milestone over the course of 10-weeks. For non-technical founders looking to build their first product the “Build” Track will help them build an MVP. For pre-revenue founders, the “Sell” Track will help them build a waitlist of new customers. Lastly, for pre-seed founders, the “Scale” Track will help them prepare for a successful fundraising journey. 

How To Stay Connected

If you’re looking to engage and support this group of amazing startup founders in Cohort 6, here are 3 ways to follow their journey and connect with the Square One community: 

1. Subscribe to our Back To The Basics Newsletter to stay up-to-date 
2. Follow our Wisdom Wednesday Sessions to attend FREE events
3. Sign up to Become an Advisor to share your expertise

The post Square One’s Announces It’s Most Advanced Cohort, Meet Cohort 6 appeared first on Square One.

We are super excited to announce that applications to join Square One Startup School’s 6th cohort are officially open! Join a community of fellow founders this Spring to learn from some of the nation’s top startup experts to build the next profitable tech startup.

What’s New?! 

Our Brand

We are kicking off the New Year with a new look. Our new website has gotten a refresh and redesign to match the variety of pathways to success that founders can experience while being apart of Square One. Yellow highlights our “Build” Track which is for non-technical founders looking to build their first product. Green represents our “Sell” Track which is for pre-revenue founders looking to acquire new customers. Red represents our “Scale” Track which is for our pre-seed founders who are preparing to raise capital for their company.

Program Curriculum

We are switching from a theoretical curriculum to a practical curriculum helping founders walk away with tangible outcomes. No code is the future, so we’re implementing DIY software-building into our curriculum that will be integrated into all of our hands-on workshops! Instead of relying on a developer or contractor, our founders will learn how to build the most basic version of their product, sales funnel, and fundraising journey that will allow them to validate, automate, and delegate.

Alumni Spotlight 

Square One graduates have been busy making strides to advance their startups. Big shoutout to cohort 5 alum, Alex Edquist (Good Agriculture), who was recently accepted into the 2023 class for Techstars Impact by Cox Enterprises. Techstars Impact focuses on for-profit companies making a positive impact on underrepresented groups, underserved communities and environmental sustainability.

Cohort 5 alum, Elkanah Reed (WORKOPTI), is making his mark in the startup world! Since 2022 he’s been accepted into several programs including Deloitte ScaleUp Program 2022, TAG Connect, Microsoft Black Partner Growth Initiative, and Google’s Black Founders Exchange.

Applications Are Open

We are seeking to support the best overlooked early-stage startup founders around the world to join our 6th cohort over the course of 10-weeks. If you are a tech startup founder looking to accelerate your path to startup success be sure to submit your application to join a vibrant virtual startup community with world-class startup experts HERE.

Last year we were fortunate enough to give away 10 Fully-Paid scholarships to startup founders due to our ecosystem partners. The good news is that we are offering more scholarships for founders to participate in Square One for free or at a discounted rate (Check scholarship eligibility). If you support tech entrepreneurs and would like to be an official ecosystem partner learn more here.

What is Square One?

Square One is a fully-remote pre-accelerator program helping pre-product, pre-revenue, and pre-seed tech startups accelerate their path to profitability in 10-weeks. The program consists of a customer-first curriculum, close-knit cohort of fellow founders, and guidance from world-class entrepreneurs, mentors, and advisors.

The post Applications For Our Spring Cohort Are Open! 📣 appeared first on Square One.

Since launching in 2020, Square One has brought in over 50+ startup experts to train over 25 startup founders. We are super excited to add to our rapidly growing virtual community with the announcement of our largest cohort to date, Cohort 5! 

Meet The Founders

• Elkanah Reed // Workopti // WORKOPTI is a strategic planning platform that provides one-click business insights to increase productivity and reduce meetings. 
• Cortesia Oxford // The Branding Architect // The Branding Architect is developing a marketplace to discover digital assets such as video, photos, and illustrations with diverse representation for businesses to create inclusive marketing campaigns. 
• Melissa Brogdon // Fourth Party // Fourth Party is a scheduling platform helping mediators streamline the coordination and meeting portion of the meditation process.
• Naim Ali // Payote //  Payote is a Web3 marketplace for automotive merchandise. 
• Deniece Griffin // Grown & Fit Studio // Grown & Fit Studio is developing a menopausal health platform addressing the needs of women 40+ in a community format.
• Sheila Jordan // Knowledge Architects // Knowledge Architects is developing an AR/VR educational platform to upskill technicians in the industrial maintenance industry. 
• Alex Edquist // Good Agriculture // Good Agriculture is a platform uniting small farmers under one business umbrella to compete against industrial agriculture at scale.
• Vishwa Mudigonda // KemNu // KemNu is an engagement marketplace for educational institutions to improve student & community experience.
• Lauren Randolph // Kin Collective // Kin Collective is a subscription-box filled with Black-owned food & beverage products making it easier for conscious consumers to support Black-owned businesses.
• Shawanda Johnson // Picture Fresh // Picture Fresh is developing a modern air-purifier system to provide safe air quality for indoor environments.

Meet The Coaches

We have brought together a new batch of startup experts ranging from product development, legal, digital marketing, finance, and more to work 1-on-1 with our startups in Cohort 5 helping them reach their personalized goals for the program over the next 10-weeks. New coaches joining the Square One network include Sean Frazier, Managing Partner at 1731 MGMT and Brett Clanton one of the first hires and Lead Engineers for Calendly. 

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Wisdom Wednesday Sessions Are Back!

Last year we opened up our Wisdom Wednesday Series to the general public and had an amazing response and attendance from our Square One Community. For this cohort we are bringing in 3 new amazing speakers that consist of a Venture Capitalist, Executive, and Founder that forged their own paths in the startup world. 

Mckeever Conwell, Managing Partner at Rarebreed Ventures, Mandela Schumacher-Hodge Dixon, CEO at All Raise, Ben Chestnut, Founder of Mailchimp

How To Stay Connected

Missed the application deadline? No worries, we got you! Here are 3 ways to connect with the Square One community and follow the journey of the amazing founders in Cohort 5: 

1. Enroll in Square One: On-Demand to access a series of online courses
2. Follow our Wisdom Wednesday Sessions to attend FREE events
3. Subscribe to our Back To The Basics Newsletter to stay up-to-date

The post Square One Launches It Largest Cohort, Meet Cohort 5 appeared first on Square One.

The “Growth” Mindset

For years many venture capitalists have encouraged their founders to have a “growth-at-all-costs-mindset” meaning that founders should raise as much capital as possible and worry about being profitable later. 

“A growth-at-all-costs mindset is a recipe for out of control burn and topsy-turvy unit economics.” – Karen Rhorer  via First Round

The problem with a “growth-at-all-costs mindset” is that it’s unsustainable especially during a recession where founders have to cut costs, lay off employees, and try to raise more capital when investors are closing their checkbooks. Without a solid business model these “growth-at-all-cost” startups are usually the startups that crash and burn first because they run out of cash.

Cash Is King

Startups who have a “customer-first-mindset” and are profitable are most likely to thrive through economic downturns because…

1. Consistent cash flow with healthy margins allows you to scale up and back without jeopardizing the lifeline of your company.
2. Cash in the bank means you can operate your startup without sacrificing your company’s valuation in a down round.
3. You have the opportunity to hire great talent from larger tech companies who are doing mass layoffs.

Prepping For A Recession

Here are 3 things to consider when planning your startup for a recession.

1. Get familiar with a cash flow statement. It takes into account every single dollar, down to the penny, on how cash is moving in and out of your business.
2. Calculate Runway. Cash reserves divided by your monthly burn rate (monthly expenses) will give you the number of months you have left until your business runs out of money.
3. Operate as lean as possible. Do more with less, automate processes, and maximize productivity. Be a Minimalist Entrepreneur.

Helping Founders Become Recession Proof

In closing, the name of the game is survival and having a sustainable business model will help you thrive through an economic downturn. Profitable startups are commonly associated with slower growth but as the old saying goes “slow and steady wins the race.”

If you’re interested in building a recession proof startup apply to Square One Startup School’s next cohort to accelerate your path to profitability HERE.

The post How To Recession Proof Your Startup appeared first on Square One.

The typical startup journey looks like this… come up with an idea, build a product, launch to the public, and wait for your customers to come to you.

This formula has worked for some but not for many. Usually, there is a large spike of interest on launch day   and then a large drop-off the next day leaving founders disappointed.  

The Best Companies, Start Marketing Early

Pre-Launch Marketing is a strategy that allows you to raise product awareness, gain product feedback, and build anticipation around your product before the official launch date. 

The ultimate goal is to build a loyal community of customers before you launch so that when it is time to launch they’ll be ready to buy your product and spread the word.

Here are a few success pre-launch startup stories: 

• Robinhood gained almost 1 million users prior to its launch, all thanks to their pre-launch waiting list strategy
• Monzo generated almost 5 million users before the banking app was released
• Clubhouse built a waitlist of 10 million people before their product was officially released to the public

How To Run a Successful Pre-Launch Campaign?

The most cost-effective way to implement your pre-launch marketing strategy is to build an email waitlist using a method called Lead Generation which includes the following tactics: 

1. Building a Landing Page 
2. Attracting the right audience to your landing page by marketing on the right channels
3. Collecting email addresses and as much information about your email subscribers as possible 
4. Setting up email marketing campaigns that consistently sends personalized email messages to your waitlist that are educational, informative, and exclusive

The Importance Of a Waitlist

A robust waitlist will increase your chances of getting your first paying customers and will allow you to build a relationship with your early adopters to make them feel like they are a part of an exclusive community. Having a loyal community means you’ll have advocates telling others about your product and repeat customers.

Setting Up Your Pre-Launch Campaign

If you don’t know exactly where to start when it comes to your pre-launch marketing strategy, no worries, we got you! We created an online course specifically for you called The Day 100 List led by (Me!) Square One Startup School’s Managing Director, Justin McLeod. 

I’ll walk you step-by-step on how to build your waitlist to its first 100 subscribers from scratch in the quickest & most cost-efficient way possible by using no-code landing pages, automated email sequences, and highly-targeted marketing campaigns.

CLICK HERE TO ENROLL TODAY! 

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