ROCK ACCELERATOR Teams 2019-20 (STAGE 1)
AllSpice
Kyle Dumont SEAS/HBS ‘20
Valentina Toll Villagra SEAS/HBS ‘20
AllSpice is a git-powered software that enables hardware engineers to automate their development process and collaborate on their designs, so they can focus on creating their next amazing product.
Almapact
Tess Michaels HBS ‘20
Chris Scazzero
AlmaPact lets students pay for school within 5 years with a much more flexible, affordable form of financing - Income Share Agreements.
ArtRoom
Alexandra Groot HBS ‘20
ArtRoom is a booking platform for at-home, private chamber music performances.
Borrow
Katie Peck, HBS ‘20
Erin Kaivan, HBS ‘20
Borrow is a baby clothing rental service delivering complete closets in one simple box.
Breen Technologies
Mollie Breen SEAS/HBS ‘20
Breen Technologies is an IoT-specific firewall that provides smart, reliable security so you get the productivity from IoT, not the vulnerability.
Cloud Store
Cathy Han HBS ‘20
Zander Sebenius HBS ‘19
CloudStore is a platform that matches brands with product to stores that have space, like an Airbnb for retail.
Excalibur.ai
Christine Keung HBS ‘20
Junho Kim
Tony Grue
Excalibur.ai helps companies monitor and prevent abuse on their platform.
Finauta
Oscar Gonzalez HBS’20
Finauta is a digital wealth management advisor for young Latam professionals that provides automated financial plans and access to financial experts.
First Cabin
Taito Ohe (HBS ‘20)
Emily Gould (MS/MBS ‘20)
George Zhang (GSD ‘21)
Inspired by traditional Japanese hospitality and modern capsule hotels, First Cabin offers a tech-enabled, sophisticated, and affordable stay.
Found
Kait Stephens HBS ’20
Zack Morrison HBS ’20
Found is a virtual lost and found solution that uses QR code tags to provide a seamless experience for returning lost items.
Gryps
Dareen Salama HBS ‘20
Amir Tasbihi
GRYPS is an AI powered platform that extracts and categorizes information from construction documents to unlock its value for construction and property owners and operators.
Heidi
Stan Chang, MS/MBA ‘20
Sabareesh Chinta, MS/MBA ‘20
Ethan Tennier-Stuart
Heidi is a personal productivity tool that helps you supercharge your network.
Hucklebee
Robinson Greig, HBS ‘20
Laura Kier, MIT Sloan
Hucklebee is a marketplace for farmers to confidently buy cover crop seed that best meets the needs of their land.
June
Sophia Richter HBS ‘20
Tina Beilinson HBS ‘20
Julia Cole HBS ‘20
June is an on-demand support service for expecting mothers, providing personalized care at home and online throughout pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood.
Koodos
Jad Esber HBS ‘20
Tom Evans HBS ‘20
Koodos is building a content curation engine on top of messaging platforms, using emojis as a language for search and discovery.
LeverEdge
Nikhil Agarwal HBS '20
Chris Abkarians HBS '20
LeverEdge helps students minimize the cost of education from the day they take out their 1st loan to the day they finish paying it off.
Livewell Interactive
Qian Zhang, HBS ’20
Steven Han
Ashley Whillans, HBS faculty
Livewell is the first machine learning-powered digital platform that helps you achieve any long-term goals, starting with your next five minutes of free time.
microsprout
Avis Atkins HBS ‘20
Matt McCalpin HBS/HKS ‘20
MicroSprout is a web application that helps parents and students access community resources to save for college and take on less debt.
Nom Pot
Ed Arthy HBS ‘20
Zach Keeling HBS ‘20
Kasey Le HBS ‘20
Neha Mathur HBS ‘20
Nom Pot delivers healthy, fully-prepped, frozen meals that are easy to cook in one pot.
OnRamp
Ross Lerner HBS ‘20
OnRamp is a customer- and vendor-facing project management tool specifically designed to help B2B SaaS companies provide world-class onboarding to new customers.
Place Prints, Inc.
Chris Payne HBS'20
Place Prints creates custom artwork out of activity data as a way to commemorate activities and major events.
POSSIBLE Health
Kaitlin Freedman HBS ’20
Pavi Anand HBS ’20
Allison Park HBS ’20
Saumya Singh HBS ’20
Karishma Thawani HBS ’20
Elan Stahl
POSSIBLE Health is a holistic telemedicine platform for abortion pill access, and emotional support services.
Punto Partes
Nicolas Manes HBS’20
PuntoPartes is a community where construction companies can centralize and manage their supply chain and assets.
Roost Coffee Company
Olivia vonNieda HBS ‘20
Roost Coffee Company is passionate about building beautiful brewing devices that make the perfect cup of coffee.
Si Silk Scarves
Lily Wang, HBS ’20
Megan Karande
Andrew Lu
A direct-to-consumer brand that reinvents the silk scarf for the modern woman.
Shelf Life
Lillian Cartwright HBS ‘20
ShelfLife is a production hub for high-growth food and beverage brands, offering sourcing, production oversight, and inventory management on a comprehensive platform.
Steep’t Cocktail Co.
Chloe Aucoin HBS '20
Alison Nathanson HBS '20
Steep’t Cocktail Co. allows you to make restaurant-quality cocktails at home in 2 minutes or less.
The Vow & Co.
KAlizeh McClelland HBS ‘20
Soracha Prathanrasnikorn HBS ‘20
The Vow & Co. is a wedding platform that provides inspiration and personalised options for booking vendors across the Pan-Asia region. The platform offers a transparent marketplace that makes it easy to discover vendors, collaborate with family-members and manage the planning process.
Thousand Deep
Carson Lee HBS ‘20
Wendy Tsu
Thousand Deep is a lifestyle brand for the electronic music community.
Treq
Michael Reidler '20
A B2B app for travel companies that makes it easy to coordinate a trip with hundreds of participants and keeps everyone on the same page.
Vale Technologies
Corey Passarella HBS ‘20
Gabriel Unruh
Village
Nicole Ivey HBS’20
Village builds wholehearted daycares where both little ones and parents can thrive. This looks like beautiful, Reggio Emilia childcare centers that have support services (meals, dry cleaning, laundry, errand running) and community events for parents and families.
Rock accelerator Head Coaches 2019-20
- Ralph Folz
- Adrien Nussenbaum
- Javier Segovia
- Satish Tadikonda
ELIGIBILITY:
One or more EC students from HBS who are currently working on a venture and who are part of the founding team. To be eligible, teams must be actively building and testing a solution beyond customer discovery. Their current focus is building the MVP and are acquiring beta customers.
HOW TO APPLY:
The Rock Accelerator 2019-20 application window is now closed. Application deadline for the program was September 10, 2019 at 12 noon EST.
Please click here to view sample application template and here here to view the rubric used for reviewing the applications.
An applicant they must read ReviewR’s Terms and conditions and Privacy Policy before registering to submit their application with ReviewR, a third party website. When using this platform, a participant is agreeing to ReviewR’s Terms.
Please go through this Info Session presentation to learn more about the program.
Program Overview
The Rock Accelerator (RA) consists of two stages that allow for an increased level of access for all applicants and a review period for continuing teams.
Stage 1
During Stage One (S1), teams will be categorized by stage: Concept Exploration, Solution in Development, and Solution Testing. A team’s category may change at any time during S1 at the review of the Coaches, Rock Team, or RVPs. The time duration for this stage would be from September to December.
A final review and optional pitch day (required for a continuing team) in December will assess the current stage of the team and their readiness to continue on into Stage Two (S2). Teams may opt out of the RA programs; however, those who desire to continue will undergo scoring, demo day, and RVP assessment for additional funding.
Stage 2
In Stage Two, teams receive additional funding and heightened support from coaches. In addition to developing their business, teams are preparing for a state at which they can pitch to venture investors. The time duration for this stage would be from January to April.
More ABOUt THE ROCK ACCELERATOR
The Rock Accelerator (RA) program is intended for HBS students who are serious about pursuing a business idea and are interested in taking it to the next level. This program offers a structured environment for you to build skills, receive feedback, and have the support you need to successfully progress through your entrepreneurial journey. Details include:
- Community of HBS Founders - A select number of startup teams with at least (1) HBS student will be selected for this highly rigorous and rewarding program.
- Validate, Build, and Test - The RA program offers structured opportunities to students that allow them to make significant progress on their startup while in school. To be accepted, teams must be at the stage where they would like to test their business model assumptions and validate their value proposition or test their go-to-market strategy.
- Pitch Practice - The RA program offers extensive pitch practice. There are opportunities to pitch to investors and gain valuable feedback on your idea, business model, go-to-market strategy, and your overall pitch.
- Funding - Accepted teams may receive funding for their venture. Participants will have the opportunity to pitch for feedback and funding to validate their business model assumptions. Those who have already raised significant capital may not be eligible for the funding aspect of the program.
- Coaches and Champions - Teams will be assigned a group of Rock Coaches (alumni entrepreneurs, industry advisers or subject matter experts) and tech experts.
- Exposure- Teams demonstrating early traction will be selected to pitch at Demo Day.
FAQS:
Not everyone on my team is from HBS. Can they still participate?
We expect all HBS team members to attend the mandatory events. Outside team members are also welcome and encouraged to attend, but it is not mandatory. There will be one designated HBS lead per team. It is up to the lead to spread the word about events and opportunities for their team.
Can I be part of both the Rock Accelerator and i-Lab VIP program?
Yes, we encourage you to also apply to the VIP program to take advantage of the additional opportunities, resources, and workspace. While there may be some overlap with the program elements, our Rock Accelerator offers funding and is designed specifically for HBS MBA students.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us: rock@hbs.edu.