Nuevo Labs is a Chicago-based business accelerator program trying to develop Latino entrepreneurial talent. Co-created by Patricia Martinez and Juan Hernández, applications for businesses and entrepreneurs open soon.
Business accelerator programs such as Nuevo Labs provide a three-month intensive mentoring program for early-stage ventures. Business accelerators also create the opportunity for the investor community and local industry experts to interact with the startups in the program.
We are looking to connect with interested entrepreneurs with startups or ideas, please share your story with Nuevo Labs here. Check out our Q&A and consider applying.
MW: Who are you and what is your background? How did you get into tech? Into entrepreneurship?
Nuevo Labs: Patricia Martinez is a social entrepreneur and brings over five years of economic development experience with community-based organizations where she applied her expertise in organizational consulting, policy analysis, and strategic development. She’s devoted her time to policy solutions and analysis by working on a number of projects including microfinance initiatives, addressing the needs of the Latino community through policy development, and planning large scale policy conferences in sectors such as public finance and economic development.
Juan Hernandez is a serial entrepreneur with 12-plus years of software development, business technology and strategic management experience, most recently as the co-founder at Couture Circle, a social shopping platform for women. He’s actively involved within the Chicago startup community and is a mentor in various entrepreneurial training programs for students, including the LEAD program, the Future Founders Foundation and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE).
MW: What is Nuevo Labs? How did it come about?
NL: Nuevo Labs is a business accelerator program focused on bringing new resources and talent into the startup ecosystem. Through our three-month “entrepreneurial bootcamp” we provide seed capital, mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs, access to a top startup community, shared workspace, and support and services to a select group of entrepreneurs and startup teams.
We developed Nuevo Labs based off of an assessment of the broader startup ecosystem. Nuevo Labs is focused on an emerging community of entrepreneurs and consumers because we saw a significant gap in the market and an opportunity to build something incredible in the startup ecosystem. We are determined to discover and invest in this emerging group of high potential entrepreneurs to bring forward their high growth business ventures to market.
MW: What do you hope people will get out of it?
NL: The mission of Nuevo Labs is to improve the probability of success of early stage companies and to foster economic growth and development within the startup ecosystem. For our participants, we strive to provide them with the resources they need to become successful and launch and scale their companies.
For our mentors and advisors, we aim to connect top talent and high growth startups with these industry experts and community and business leaders to develop an even larger and more innovative ecosystem. For the greater community, we aim to connect resources and opportunities to a large and growing entrepreneurial group.
MW: How can people be involved?
NL: We are looking for applicants, mentors and advisors. Ultimately, people who want to contribute their knowledge, resources, and time to a group of early stage entrepreneurs are all welcome and encouraged to become involved at all levels. All the pieces are here, we are simply bringing them all together and for that reason support and insight is needed at all levels.
MW: When does the program start? What are the deadlines?
NL: The first program class is scheduled to start in Spring 2013 in Chicago. Applications will open in Winter 2012. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to us and sign up for our mailing list to stay up to date on the latest news and events. If you’re an entrepreneur and you’re interested in learning more about the program, we’re more than happy to talk and see how we can help you out!
The key elements of a successful business accelerator program include:
- Seed Capital – Each entrepreneurial team will be given up to $25K in exchange for a specified percentage of equity.
- Expert Network – Access to network of experienced professionals with a variety of relevant industry and business expertise.
- Mentorship – Mentorship along with classes taught by experts in topics needed for early stage business success.
- Collaborative Workspace – For the 3-month accelerator, entrepreneurs will develop their ventures at a shared co-working space.
- Investor Day – An organized event designed to give each team the opportunity to pitch to a large group of potential angel and venture capital firms.
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