Wildfire Pre-Accelerator
The Garage’s Pre-Accelerator program, Wildfire, aims to develop students as both leaders and founders by introducing new ways of thinking and problem solving.
The Wildfire Pre-Accelerator Program at The Garage seeks to accelerate student teams by giving them additional resources and coaching over a period of 10 weeks. We aim to help them to reach problem solution fit, and prepare them for the next phase of their ventures whether it’s customer acquisition, growth, fundraising, or applying to accelerators. Wildfire culminates with Demo Day, where students will present their proposal and gain feedback from established judges. This is a program designed to help early-stage ventures learn, grow, and overcome obstacles preventing the launch of their ventures.
Program
Wildfire is comprised of three vital pillars: development of the entrepreneurial toolkit, learning to sell yourself and your idea via pitch practice, and gaining an entrepreneurial mindset. Through thoughtful content workshops, team building activities, and one-on-one guidance, students learn the ABC’s of entrepreneurship, master the art of storytelling, and develop important soft skills like resiliency and the ability to have difficult conversations. Student teams are also offered a stipend to sustain their ventures through the summer.
After Wildfire wraps, student teams pitch their ventures at Demo Day, where a prize pool of $10,000 is up for grabs.
Eligibility
In order to apply, the team must include at least two members. The lead team member must be a full-time student (undergraduate or graduate, at any Northwestern school) during Wildfire. Priority is given to students that will still be enrolled in the following academic year. Teams can include members from other universities as long as all participating team members commit to the 10 weeks of the program.
To be notified when Wildfire applications open next year, sign up for The Garage’s newsletter here. If you have any questions, please contact us here.
Apply
Wildfire 2021 application dates are:
January 18, 2021 at 9 AM CT: First Round Applications Open
January 31, 2021 at 11:59 PM CT: First Round Applications Close
April 5, 2021 at 9 AM CT: Second Round Applications Open
April 18, 2021 at 11:59 PM CT: Second Round Applications Close
FAQ
Questions about Wildfire?
Please contact us at thegarage@northwestern.edu