Deadline: 19th April, 2025
Halcyon accelerates the impact-driven future of business. They believe there’s a competitive advantage to having a social mission in your DNA, and that impact-driven businesses represent a powerful opportunity to drive equity and inclusivity in the workplace and society.
Halcyon is the community supporting impact-driven businesses and their founders through space, community, and access. Our programs offer fellowships for impact-driven founders and funding vehicles to help them scale their ventures.
SectorsÂ
Solutions leveraging technology to close equity gaps in education and the workforce. Sub-sectors include:
- EdTech: Solutions that leverage digital tools and technology to improve teaching and learning outcomes, enhance accessibility and educational access, and remove financial barriers to education.
- EdTech solutions span K-12, higher education, corporate training, and lifelong learning, integrating AI, data analytics, and immersive technologies to enrich educational experiences.
- Future of Work:Â Technological solutions that expand job market access for all communities, and technologies that enable individuals of all abilities to thrive in the workplace.
- Future of Work solutions include upskilling and reskilling tech, as well as technologies and business models that enhance workforce analytics, collaboration, and well-being, often leveraging AI, automation, and digital platforms.
Program StructureÂ
- The cohort is selected of up to 8 ventures from across the U.S. and the globe
- Ventures receive training in Halcyon’s methodology on product-market fit, investment readiness, and leadership Â
- The program is delivered through:
- A virtual kickoff meeting
- An eight-week, in-person residency week at Halcyon in Washington, DC
BenefitsÂ
- $10K in Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) credits
- $10K equity-free stipend per venture
- Professional advisors
- Workshops with experts in leadership development, investment readiness, and product-market fit
- Networking with investors and varied stakeholders
- Pro bono legal support
- A global community of nearly 600 impact-driven entrepreneurs
- And more
Eligibility
They are looking for (for-profit) startups that are building scalable solutions that are tackling challenges in EdTech and Future of Work.
- Location:Â Global
- Stage: Must have a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that has the potential to scale. Must be working on your venture full-time.
- Team:Â
- May apply with up to one co-founder
- Applicant must be the CEO and/or hold primary decision-making power
- Must be fluent in English
- Must be at least 21 years of age by the start of the program
- Program Engagement:Â Must be able to participate in all activities and programming sessions
- Impact: Must be developing a product and venture which contributes towards 1 or more of the UN’s 17 SDGs
In addition to eligibility, Halcyon scores each application based on 4 criteria: Impact, Scalability, Innovation, and Talent.
Selection CriteriaÂ
- Impact – To what extent will the solution, if scaled, have a meaningful impact on society and/or the environment?
- Scalability – Could this venture scale to reach hundreds of thousands or millions of users in a 5-10 year time horizon?
- Innovation – Is the solution a novel approach to tackling the issue in their context?
- Talent – Is the team uniquely qualified to tackle the challenges they’ve identified?
For more information and application