Virginia RIoT is accepting applications for its fall cohort
Many innovators have great business ideas and inventions. Some have the skills to produce a prototype or test their early-stage products. While many entrepreneurs possess the knowledge to be successful, resources and connections can be hard to make.
Stafford County, Virginia is home to the Virginia RIoT Accelerator Program (VA-RAP). This is a 12-week intensive entrepreneurship program offered to anyone who is developing a technology-based business or is interested in incorporating technology into their current business practices. The program is designed to guide businesses to bring their products to market or to take their business to the next level. The VA-RAP will help entrepreneurs advance sustainable business models with innovative products.
As we are in a technology era, the ever-changing global business market nurtures more technology-focused ideas and solutions. RIoT, a national non-profit organization, embraces this philosophy and acts as a conduit between the IoT community and opportunities for start-ups.
RIoT’s VA-RAP provides one-on-one mentorship, and a supportive community-centric experience. Those who join a cohort are paired with an industry expert who can provide intensive guidance, hands-on training, and connections to a globally-led technology network. The beauty of being in a cohort is the mixture of instruction, individualized coaching, and being around like-minded entrepreneurs – focused on evolving their own business ideas into sustainable business options.
The VA-RAP fall cohort will run from Wednesday, October 5, 2022 through Thursday, December 22, 2022. VA-RAP is different from your common “incubator” or accelerator model. Here is why:
RIoT has access to a diverse business network of over 90 industry partners. These industry partners help new cohort participants connect to critical business development and marketing resources. Entrepreneurs will have the opportunities to connect with companies and people through various event and conferences around the world. This means that RIoT’s VA-RAP allows cohort participants to be on the front lines of cutting-edge technologies, products, and companies.
By going through an accelerator program, entrepreneurs are put in a better position to move to the next level. RIoT provides what they have termed “Wrap-Around Services,” meaning that they are able to find the gaps in your business goals and fill them. Whether it is in marketing, technology production, or basic business planning, RIoT has access to leading industry professionals to get your product or idea off the ground.
With the connectivity of RIoT, entrepreneurs will not only experience a community-focused environment with cohort peers, they’ll have a RIoT representative coaching them from start to finish. It is RIoT’s first priority to support business growth and innovation. When joining a collaborative and community-centric experience like VA-RAP, participants have the opportunity to better understand the industry of each participants idea and how to best move forward in their unique business process.
Start-ups in the VA-RAP represent a wide variety of industries and backgrounds and come from all over the region. RIoT just concluded their first VA-RAP program in Virginia as part of the summer 2022 cohort. Here are the innovators and businesses who just finished the program:
One of the opportunities available to the members of the cohort is the involvement in a Pitch Night where each entrepreneur gets in front of business leaders and industry experts to pitch their business idea and show the work they have done in the 12 weeks of the program. This pitch night gives cohort participants the exposure they want while also giving them an opportunity to win a cash prize. The winner of the last pitch night was Latticet and they won a prize of $5,000.
The VA-RAP program is currently accepting applications for their Fall 2022 Cohort. Applications close on Friday, September 16, 2022. Apply on RIoT’s website at www.Riot.org/Startup-Accelerator/ and view their application form.