WHO SHOULD CONSIDER HOSTING AN AD ASTRA WORKSHOP OR RETREAT?
Short answer…anyone who cares about supporting female founders! We have shared the Ad Astra Method with partners including venture capital firms, startup incubators, entrepreneur symposiums, college campuses, and corporations. Our workshops are tailored to address the interests and needs of each audience. And of course, this includes our male colleagues and collaborators from all walks of life!
WHO IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT AD ASTRA?
Ad Astra Ventures’ north star is equality; we invest for equality because we have seen first-hand that it’s in short supply. Our investment takes many forms—time, money, experience, relationships, heart—all in an effort to close the gap and get to even.
We seek to help female founders become aware of their strengths & unique skillsets to leverage efficient startup growth. We aim to inspire confidence in female founders by connecting them to a like-minded tribe of fierce female leaders, from their own bootcamp cohorts to the mentor-investors who are part of our programs. We are passionate about getting to even, equipping & empowering BOTH women founders and investors; know we are the “anti-accelerator” of sorts because we slow down to accelerate startups. The Ad Astra Ventures bootcamps for founders and investors are a high-energy, intensive virtual experience over the span of 2-4 curriculum days with pre- and post- work, small group break-out sessions and 1-on-1 meetings. In our founder bootcamps, we dive into the STRENGTHS and superpowers of each founder, the hard and soft skills these fabulous female founders bring to their startup, and we equip them to neutralize bias with investors, customers & their extended network, to THRIVE! In our investor bootcamps, we build awareness with each investor around unconscious bias, based on research in the field; then allow them to practice new tools, like asking more promotion-focused questions, with stellar female founders.
We deeply care about getting to even. We break the mold of supporting female founders & growing a community of values-aligned and impact-driven leaders.
Female founders play a huge role in economic growth in their communities, nationally and globally; A McKinsey Global Institute study found that advancing women’s equality could add $12 trillion to the global economy by 2025. Female founders also outperform their male counterparts by 63%, a study by First Round Capital.
HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL BE IN FOUNDER BOOTCAMP?
The bootcamp will have a maximum of 15 founders (12 companies) and a portion of each day will be spent in a mini-cohort of 4-5 people intentionally grouped by stage and/or industry. We set our standards extremely high, and are constantly blown away by the quality of applicants we receive.
HOW MUCH DOES THE FOUNDER BOOTCAMP COST?
We are offering our virtual founders bootcamp at a reduced rate of $499. Because we want to make this accessible for all women, if this creates a financial hardship please contact us.
You can feel good knowing that proceeds from this bootcamp go to our sister organization, Stella Labs, to help support a brand-new female entrepreneur.
There will be no guaranteed investment, and Ad Astra will also not take any equity in the companies that go through the program.
WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT AD ASTRA FOUNDERS?
Our curriculum is specifically tailored to female founders. Why? Because the research (and our own experience) shows females are at a disadvantage when it comes to founding a startup. Our team has assembled the latest research on this topic and developed a proprietary framework to support women entrepreneurs.
In addition to vital business fundamentals, with the Ad Astra Method you will learn to understand gender biases, assess how these obstacles affect your business and practice tactics for neutralizing bias to succeed personally and professionally.
HOW DO I SUPPORT AD ASTRA AS A MENTOR
At Ad Astra, we are always on the lookout for experienced entrepreneurs who share our values of integrity, humility, others before self, and transparency. Each of our highly accomplished mentors have made a positive difference in both Ad Astra Ventures and our portfolio companies. Please contact us at info@adastra.ventures if you are interested in becoming a mentor.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FOUNDER BOOTCAMP?
This bootcamp is an intensive program designed to help YOU and your business get investor ready. By selecting no more than 12 companies to participate in each cohort, Ad Astra ensures an experience that helps transform the way you see yourself and your business.
Sessions include:
Session 1: “The Making of a Female Founder”
Session 2: “Re-thinking Entrepreneurship”
Session 3: “Confronting Implicit Bias”
Session 4: “Rotations: Product-Market Fit / Fundraising Strategy / Storytelling”
Session 5: “Fundraising Simulations with Investor Mentors”
WHO IS A GOOD FIT FOR THE FOUNDER BOOTCAMP?
You have grit, determination and courage. You were uniquely destined to start your company and there is nothing in the world you are meant to be doing right now other than seeing your company to success. You are humble, authentic and also a little crazy, in a good way! You know how hard being at the top is and could use a little help from other founders, the community and the AAV team.
That being said, most of our bootcamp founders have been in the early stages of their business (pre-seed / seed funding). Our founders range from recent college graduates to single moms to executives turned entrepreneurs and all have years of experience relevant to their startup.
In addition, we encourage applicants to have 3 of the 6 following criteria:
