Applications are open for Loyola’s Baltipreneurs Accelerator

Loyola University Maryland‘s Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship is looking to bring together a group of Baltimore entrepreneurs (virtually) for the second cohort of its accelerator program.

Baltipreneurs Accelerator applications are open until September 30, with an info session that can be attended virtually coming up on September 21.

The Loyola University Maryland-run accelerator has pivoted to fully virtual in the pandemic. They’re looking for up to 12 ventures in this accelerator with every participant receiving a $2,000 stipend along with other awards, providing a minimum of $35,000 in funding.

“If you go through Baltipreneurs you’re like an alum for us,” said Wendy Bolger, founding director of the two-year-old Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Loyola. “The network is where you’re going to find your funding, where you’re going to find the hires that you need, and just find what you need to grow.”

Open to entrepreneurs from across the city, the accelerator accepts both business and nonprofit ventures. This year, it’ll accept up to a dozen ventures. Programming includes 10 virtual sessions, and a demo day in early spring.

The accelerator is seeking entrepreneurs that are willing to teach as well as learn. The Baltripeneurs accelerator believes that some of the most valuable information can come from fellow entrepreneurs. As the old adage goes, a shared problem is a solved problem.

With this peer-to-peer model, Bolger said the idea is that people coming out accelerators will say, “Yea, you know the speakers were good. My mentor was good. But my biggest impact was learning from other entrepreneurs. We’re in the same place we have so much to teach each other. We’re trying to acknowledge that and make it an important piece of what we’re doing.”

 

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Donte Kirby is a 2020-2022 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.