Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Quick Tips for Your ATVL Application
Try to meet someone who participated in the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) or ATVL as a mentor or a venture and reach out to the American Technology Venture Lab organizers after you finish your application, review the FAQ’s and other material on our website.
• Be concise, avoid jargon and buzzwords, and use plain language.
• Look for ways to show momentum or upward trajectory.
• Don’t oversell past business experience, and don’t undersell your other impressive achievements. if you or your co-founders have demonstrated excellence in any domain (sports, arts, military service, science, engineering, etc.), make sure to describe it in your application.
• Explain why you are passionate about solving the problem you aim to solve.
• Be honest about your venture’s challenges.
1. What is the ATVL Program
The American Technology Venture Lab “ATVL” is a non-profit organization that delivers a next-generation objectives based mentoring and educational program for scalable, early stage, science and technology-based ventures. ATVL is a place for founders of science and technology-based ventures to come and receive feedback on business strategy and tactics from credible mentors with a history of building, scaling, investing in, and advising startup ventures. The program is designed around 4 full-day objective setting sessions where mentors work with founders to help refine the 3 most important objectives to accomplish over the next 8-week interval. Between sessions, mentors who volunteer to work with a venture have agreed to spend four hours assisting the venture in completing their objectives. Put another way, ATVL is a rich community of entrepreneurs, investors, scientists and industry experts that collectively volunteer their time to support promising early-stage tech companies as they refine their business and investment strategy as they work to become a successfully scalable company.
2. How do I get into ATVL? What do you look for in ATVL applicants?
ATVL is a technology and market driven program designed for ambitious founders seeking mentorship from a network of credible advisors. Our team looks for ventures with technology that is novel, and defensible or which creates a new large commercial concept, leveraging the state-of-the-art technology which are scalable with an exciting potential market, and a team that is well positioned to commercialize the success of that technology into the emerging markets.
3. Do I need to have links to a university or college?
No, while we look for strong technology and market opportunity, originating from a college or university is not a pre-requisite.
4. Can I join ATVL if I am enrolled in another accelerator/incubator program?
Yes, ATVL is complementary to other support networks for early-stage ventures such as incubators or accelerators and you can participate in ATVL concurrently to other programs. Our program is geared towards feedback on key business decisions from a rich network of industry, technology and market advisors with startup venture experience every 8 weeks. The program also provides four hours of volunteer mentor engagement with your venture team following each session. When you graduate from ATVL, you will be paired up with one or two mentors, who will continue to work with your venture as a part-time member of your executive team and transition into a paid advisor when your venture reaches a level of revenue and investment where it can afford as a reasonable level of compensation. Your participation in the ATVL cadre or the follow-on mentor/advisor engagement will not ask any equity from your venture.
5. I have no experience in business, can I be a founder?
Yes, ATVL is designed to excel at helping founders with deep technical expertise and market innovation find the right business models and products for their innovation while learning to operate their ventures and assemble their management team.
6. What if I don’t have a co-founder?
Having a co-founder is not strictly required but is advisable. Most ventures we expect to admit to the ATVL program will have 2 or more co-founders.
7. I just started. Is my company too early?
ATVL will admit companies that have advanced beyond the concept stage and that have developed or are working on a prototype or proof of concept. Demonstrating that you are committed to building a product or service is important to unlocking interest and support from mentors and future investors.
The most opportune time to participate in ATVL is when you are transitioning from purely technical goals to more foundational business objectives such as your go-to-market strategy, defining your minimum viable product, market selection and customer discovery, product-market-fit, business model and value proposition, and planning to raise capital.
8. What are the fees to participate?
There are no fees for venture participation in ATVL. The cost of ATVL is time and expenses to come to the event and stay as long as two nights depending on your travel distance. Refreshments and meals served during the meetings are provided at no charge to the venture. ATVL is a non-profit organization funded by sponsors and philanthropy.
9. How does the selection process work?
All ventures must submit an application through the ATVL Website. Ventures will be informed whether they have been shortlisted for the interview stage. Shortlisted candidates are interviewed, and admission decisions will be made by the selection committee, consistent with the cadre schedule.
10. Can I start a company based on my PhD/master’s research?
Yes.
11. Am I too late if I’ve already raised a seed round?
No, we are interested in companies that are raising a seed round or an A round financing in the next 12 months.
12. Is it ok to be pre-revenue?
Yes.
13. Do I need to relocate?
No, however at least one of your founders and as many as three founders are expected to attend all four sessions.
14. Are interviews held remotely?
Yes.
15. How much funding will I receive?
ATVL does not directly invest in the participating ventures. However, you will have an opportunity to meet angel and venture capital investors who might find interest in your company. ATVL will provide instruction for your venture pitch, financial proformas and preparation to meet and talk to investors. You will be provided access to the investors known to ATVL, that are qualified angels or venture capital firms that are interested in your area of business. ATVL will also request that when you have a successful exit, that you will come back to ATVL and consider participating as mentor, angel investor, or sponsor for future cadres.
16. What happens on an ATVL Session day?
You are expected to attend a scheduled virtual meeting a few prior to the event and arrive at the venue in time to participate in the full day meeting.
You are expected to attend a scheduled virtual meeting a few prior to the event and arrive at the venue in time to participate in the full day meeting. On the day of the full day meeting, we will start with breakfast followed by small group meetings (SGM’s) where you will be assigned to meet and tell mentors about your venture. Later there will be large group meetings (LGM’s) where the mentors, investors, and corporate participants will review the objectives for your venture in a moderated format. There will be a break for lunch and when all ventures objectives have been reviewed during the LGM, ventures then will be asked to leave the room and the mentors, investors, and corporate participants will decide on which ventures they will v work with for next 8 weeks.
Most ventures will have 1-3 mentors and most mentors will volunteer to work with 1-3 ventures. After the private LGM if no mentor raises their hand to work with your venture for the next 8 weeks, you will be informed you are dropped from the program. Graduation from ATVL requires that a venture attract at least one mentor per session. At the end of the private LGM there will be a short afternoon break, and everyone will reconvene with a reception and the participants may make their own plans for dinner for further networking and continued discussions.
17. What is the logic behind the objective cycle? What happens if my team falls short of the objectives?
The two-month objective cycle was constructed to reflect the changing and challenging nature of building a start-up. If your team fails to achieve all the objectives during an 8-week cycle this will be a topic of discussion between you and the mentor as you prepare for coming to the next session. We will seek to understand whether the objective was reasonable or whether the result was outside of your control.
18. What kind of support is there for Venture Founders in between ATVL Sessions?
Upon entering the program, each venture is assigned a Venture Manager who serves as the gateway for the ATVL network to facilitate introductions, referrals, and monitor the relationship with the mentors who have volunteered their time to support the venture. A venture continuing through the ATVL processes is dependent upon on a mentor raising their hand at each session and there may be two or three mentors who volunteer to work with you through an 8-week cycle. In addition to tracking that the mentors are following up with your venture, the Venture Manager may coordinate the assignment of a student to assist with research assignments related to analysis, marketing, or technology that will enhance the ventures on their journey through the ATVL sessions. The student activities will be coordinated by collaboration between the Venture Manager and the primary founder participant from the venture.
19. How can my organization benefit from participation in ATVL?
ATVL provides participating ventures with access to the ATVL Ecosystem, a world-class network of experienced entrepreneurs, mentors, angel, and venture capital investors, cooperate executives, academic and subject matter experts supported by a team of students and volunteers.
20. Can you offer tips to prepare for an interview?
During an interview, tell ATVL staff why you are passionate about your work and why you are the team to accomplish the goals you have set out for yourself. Be honest about your weak spots and consider how our mentorship pool can support your company’s growth through their extensive expertise and experience. ATVL is positioned to support ventures confident enough to be vulnerable about where they need support. As a mentorship-first program, there needs to be interest in engaging with our mentors to be a strong fit with the program.
21. Why is there an 8-week cycle and what happens after graduation?
An 8-week cycle of objectives setting allows us to plan 4 sessions in a school year and accelerates the quarterly planning and reporting period used by most companies and is familiar to most investors. When the mentor(s) raise their hand to work with you after graduation, during the 8-week period your founder’s team and the mentor may decide to continue the relationship. At this time the mentor can transition into a fractional executive as a senior member of your management team. It usually will make sense to evolve into a quarterly planning and reporting cycle where you will adjust the objectives to be achieved for the coming quarter and get prepared to work with your board.