Ignite: The San Francisco Accelerator for Northwestern Alumni

The Garage San Francisco is on a mission to mobilize Northwestern’s 16,000+ alumni in the Bay Area to fuel community-driven innovation, The Northwestern Way.

That’s why we’re piloting Ignite, a six-month accelerator designed to help early-stage alumni founders scale faster by connecting them with the right alumni—the ‘Who’ that fuels the ‘How’ of entrepreneurship.

Why Ignite?

Unlocking Growth Through the Right ‘Who’s’

You’ve done the hard part—launched your product, gained early traction, and maybe even closed a round of funding. Now you’re staring down the real challenge: how to scale.

That means building a world-class team, landing your next customers, refining your product, and securing the capital to grow.

Too often, founders try to do it all alone. But growth doesn’t come from doing more—it comes from doing it with the right people. You go further, faster when you stop asking "How do I do this?" and start asking "Who can help me do this better?"

That’s where Ignite comes in.

Inspired by the Who Not How philosophy, Ignite connects Founders- in-Residence (FIRs), select alumni founders, with seasoned mentors, investors, operators, and early adopters——each playing a strategic role in helping you unlock opportunities, accelerate growth, and turn traction into scalable success.

You bring the “What” and the “Why.” Ignite helps you find the “Who” to unlock the “How.”