The UpRamp Fiterator, backed by CableLabs, was designed to connect radical entrepreneurs to the most powerful network in the world. We look for established, later-stage startups that are changing how the world connects and guide them to finding product-market fit in the cable & broadband industry.
Name of Accelerator: UpRamp
Location: Louisville, Colorado
Website: www.upramp.com
CEO / Managing Director: Scott Brown
This article is part of our Startup Accelerator Spotlight featuring accelerators from around the world. We hope these spotlights will assist the entrepreneur should they consider attending an accelerator.
In two sentences or less, tell us about your accelerator and its objectives?
The UpRamp Fiterator, backed by CableLabs, was designed to connect radical entrepreneurs to the most powerful network in the world. We look for established, later-stage startups that are changing how the world connects and guide them to finding product-market fit in the cable & broadband industry.
Why is your accelerator program unique? Please describe the benefits of participation in your program.
Unlike most accelerator programs, which culminate with a demo day, our goal is to finish the three-month program with commercial deals for each team with an enterprise from the CableLabs member community. That means when startups join the Fiterator, they are working towards actual, sustainable customer traction.
What is the most difficult part of working with startups?
We love working with startups! All UpRamp team members have been founders or early employees at startups previously, so we understand the challenges that startups face. One of the biggest challenges that we face is serving as translators between the startups and our corporate partners. It is just a different language. When we cross that bridge and get them working together, the results are magic.
What do you enjoy the most; what do you find most appealing about working with entrepreneurial startups?
Startups are the best source of innovation on earth. We love seeing how passionate the founders we work with are about the changes they are making in their industry, and we love seeing their grit and determination to make things happen. Since we have all been startup founders or early-stage employees ourselves, we understand the journey and really appreciate what they are going through.
Tell us about your success stories; Which are the most interesting companies to have participated in your program?
In 2017, Spanish startup Teltoo was part of the Fiterator cohort. They had already participated in one of our Innovation Showcase events (another UpRamp program), and had some involvement with our industry, but wanted to get in deeper. Since graduating from the Fiterator one year ago, they have had high-level engagements with several of our members, and have moved their headquarters from Madrid to Denver to be closer to the concentration of connectivity companies in the area.
Across the UpRamp Fiterator cohorts, we have found that every startup has graduated with at least 5 commercial engagements across the industry in 4 months. Upon completion of the program, our startups have continued to grow their book of business in the industry. There is no other program in the world that will guarantee commercial deals and help you shrink the enterprise sales cycle times to 3 months.
What are the three most important factors startup entrepreneurs should consider when contemplating attending an accelerator?
- What they want to get out of it? Funding or customer traction? Pivot or growth? Knowing immediate and long-term goals is crucial to making the right match.
- Think about choosing an accelerator with a specialty. Most of the bigger names are generalists. This means they will work with startups from across the board, but as your business progresses, you should think about whether having access to specialized knowledge would be beneficial.
- Consider whether you want to be part of an accelerator housed within a corporation, or backed by an entire industry. Corporate-backed accelerators can be useful, but we believe that startups will only find product/market fit by working across an entire industry.
What else would you like to share?
We want to support entrepreneurs worldwide! UpRamp has created programs to help startup founders at every stage in their journey; from idea to IPO. We are happy to share our knowledge and access to the $500B connectivity industry with founders who believe that people, companies, and communities thrive when networks connect. Visit UpRamp.com to learn more, or drop us an email at hello@upramp.com and let’s go change the world together.
Are you familiar with accelerators you believe should be spotlighted? If so, we would like to hear from you. Tell us about them in the comments below.
Sandra Sloan
Sandra has previous supply chain and business operations experience which she is leveraging as an author with FundingSage focused on spotlighting entrepreneurs and their startup efforts.
