Is your startup ready to take the next step? 

Stop waiting for the pieces to fall into place and get the support you need to launch and succeed. 

TAKE THE LEAP

The Indy Startup Challenge is a 10-week startup bootcamp designed to guide potential founders and their teams through the process of building and validating a sustainable business model based on their idea.  

Build your startup

You will create a Business Model Canvas and build out your business using Lean Startup Principles.

R

Validate your business model

Our mentors will provide you with guidance and resources to ensure your sustainability and cash flow so you can stay in business for the long-term. 

&

Launch

All participants join our alumni, and four select startups are given the opportunity to pitch to a panel of local Investors.

Entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint of heart

Making the best decisions and having the right resources is the difference between a thriving business and going back to the drawing board.

The Indy Startup Challenge will help you:

  • Validate your business idea so you know you have a potential winner
  • Develop the business model that will keep you going 
  • Gain clarity for yourself and your team 
  • Earn the trust of potential investors with a solid plan 
  • Compete with other startups and grow together 

we are different

Think of it as the opposite of a business plan competition. Instead of creating huge documents and proformas, you will create minimum viable products, validated learning and pivots. 

Hackathons – We believe hackathons are a great way to learn how to code, but you aren’t focused on developing a new business or on validating a business model with real customers.

Startup Weekends – Startup weekends are a great way to learn about how to start a company. Unfortunately, due to the short time frame, there isn’t enough time to validate your learning and pivot.

Business Plan Competitions – These competitions look at startups as minature big corporations, which a startup is not. Big corporations are about executing a business model, while a startup is about searching for a business model.

The Indy Startup Challenge Alumni

Codelicious

Codelicious uses a Curriculum-as-a-Service subscription model to provide instant access to an interactive, comprehensive, and teacher-led curriculum. Codelicious builds confidence in educators and students.

Pierce Aerospace

Remote identification of drones is the linchpin to enabling advanced and complex operations in airspace systems throughout the world. Pierce Aerospace’s Flight Portal ID provides a secure authentication system for remote ID for both civilian and military applications. 

ShopperKraft

ShopperKraft VR is an omni-channel retail solution for retailers, wholesalers and mall owners. 

Snapshyft

Instantly connecting food & beverage and hospitality operations with reliable, qualified workers when they are short-staffed, and need capable, competent help. SnapShyft provides on-demand and advanced shift coverage at a 90% success rate, making it the most effective solution for handling understaffed instances.

Ready to leap?

This challenge is perfect for you if you: 

  • Lead a pre-revenue startup 
  • Are ready to launch your startup as part of the challenge 
  • Want support, resources, and guidance to launch successfully and sustainably 

Eligibility

The competition is for new, independent ventures in a seed position:

Ineligible companies include:

Booked Revenues – Existing companies that have booked revenue are not eligible to enter the competition.

Professional Investment – Any existing company or idea that has received angel or venture capital financing is ineligible for this competition. Funding from personal sources, including “family and friends,” is allowed for competition applicants as long as its less than $100,000.

Venture Type Exclusions – The following ventures are generally excluded from the competition: buyouts, expansions of existing companies, real estate syndications, tax shelters, franchises, licensing agreements for distribution in a different geographical area, and spin-outs from existing corporations

One year from now, will you still be at the drawing board or will you be chairman of the board?  

 Fortune favors the bold and we’re here to help you take a bold step in the right direction.