Buerk Accelerator Program

Application + Selection

The Buerk Accelerator is a 6-month program that runs annually from July through January.

Applications are reviewed by the core committee of Accelerator mentors. 10–12 companies will be invited for an interview. The companies will be notified within 24 hours after their interview if they have been accepted into the program.

The program will kick off with a series of business development workshops. At least one team member must attend each workshop, though full participation from the entire team is preferred. Additional workshops may be offered monthly through the duration of the program.

Startups will deliver a final pitch to the full Accelerator mentor group as well as investors and entrepreneurs from the Seattle community in a Demo Day event.

Teams also sign a Memo of Understanding (MOU), which outlines the milestones and key dates agreed upon by the team and the Buerk Center director.

Coaching and Mentoring

Each team is assigned a committee of four or five experienced mentors who will work with them for the duration of the program. Accelerator teams will meet with their mentors monthly to review the progress towards their milestones, ask advice, request introductions, receive guidance, etc. The role of the committee is to keep fledgling companies moving forward.

McAleer Early Start Fund

The Buerk Accelerator offers the McAleer Early Start Fund to provide small awards to teams (up to $1,000) to help with on-demand expenses, e.g., patent filing fees, payment for initial inventory, web development fees, etc.

This fund is not for personal expenses. All receipts must be tracked by the team and submitted at the end of the program for reconciliation. Teams will also submit a statement on how they used the funds which will be provided to the donor. For more on the McAleer Early Start Fund, click here.

Award Information

Note for 2025: Due to funding cuts the Buerk Center is unable to provide seed funding this year for participating startups. If, however, new funding is made available within the program timeline, the Buerk Center may award seed funding at the end of the program following the guidelines below.

Teams have six months to accomplish their milestones. Each company will present its accomplishments to the full group of mentors and the Accelerator core committee at Demo Day. The core committee will recommend a monetary payout for the teams that have accomplished their milestones, or no payout for the teams that have for one reason or another failed to make progress.

Each company must have three months of operating funds in the bank at the end of January to receive an award (i.e., if a company meets its milestones, but is out of money, an award will not be made).

Awards are paid to companies, not individuals. The purpose of the award is to provide additional funding for the start-up and is not for personal use.

The Buerk Accelerator is not an academic program – it is designed for recent graduates and students who are 100% committed to launching their company and intend to put full-time effort into running the company. Teams with currently enrolled students should be prepared to explain how they will balance their coursework and graduation requirements with the demands of starting their company.

Teams must be based in Washington state and intend to launch their business in Washington.

Teams who entered the Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge, Environmental Innovation Challenge or Dempsey Startup Competition are eligible apply, provided that their home university or college is based in Washington. We also welcome applications from students who are involved in entrepreneurship activities at the University of Washington, including:

• Entrepreneurial coursework such the health, environmental or business plan practicum courses;
• Major or Minor in Entrepreneurship;
• Extracurricular programs such as the Lavin Entrepreneurship Program.

Teams must have students or recent graduates in key leadership roles. To be considered a “recent graduate,” the student must have graduated in summer quarter 2024 or later to be considered. Recent graduates and/or current students must be in good standing in their most recent quarter of instruction at an accredited college or university program.

Teams must also be prepared to commit to the six-month program beginning with the Welcome Week. Committee meetings will take place the third week of each month, August through January (See SCHEDULE below for this year’s dates).
Teams with a single member may apply but are discouraged from doing so unless the entrepreneur has a serious plan for expanding the team appropriately.

Teams that participate in the Accelerator Program will not be eligible to compete in any of the Buerk Center competitions, including the HIC, EIC, and Dempsey Startup following the program completion. Therefore, teams with students enrolled in the 2025-6 academic year should seriously consider whether the timing is right for them to participate fully in the Accelerator, or if they would benefit from the feedback, mentorship and advice that is gained by going through the competition season (January–May) and applying for the Accelerator in 2026.

For all eligibility questions, please contact Yuko Oaku at [email protected]

Each company will submit the following information:

• Buerk Accelerator Program Application
• A 12-15-slides pitch deck
  • The guidelines for what should be in your pitch deck can be found here under the question, “What should be in my investor pitch deck?”
  • Include a slide explaining why your team would be a great fit for the program.
• A 5-7-page executive summary
  • Examples of executive summaries can be found on the Dempsey Startup Competition website under “SUBMISSION RESOURCES.”
  • You may include a cover page for a maximum of 8 pages.
  • Teams that applied to the Dempsey Startup Competition should update their original competition submission to reflect their current status.
• A draft of the 7–10 milestones that your company plans to accomplish during the six-month program, in addition to the three required milestones (see Milestones section below).
  • Click here to download the Milestone Template document to submit your proposed milestones.

Questions about your eligibility or the process? Contact Yuko Oaku at [email protected]

For early-stage companies, milestones work! It’s too easy for startups to get caught up with the “fun” stuff—ideation, creativity, logo design and networking events—and put the tough details on the back burner for another day.

In the Accelerator, teams develop 7–10 reasonable, but measurable milestones they need to accomplish during the six month program. Since the Accelerator is designed for teams who are committed to launching their company as a business, we expect the bulk of your milestones to be under Business Development. Possible milestones include:

• negotiating a license with UW CoMotion (UW tech transfer office);
• applying for and receiving additional research grant funding;
• producing a manufacture-ready prototype;
• collecting proof of concept data;
• launching a public beta model of the product/service;
• getting letters of intent from prospective customers;
• raising seed funding from investors, etc.

Milestones are not tasks! Milestones are major markers in your company’s development that indicates progress. While each milestone may have a series of associated tasks, you will be measured on your progress towards the milestones, rather than the completion of your to-do list.

There are three required milestones for all teams:

1. Submit a draft 12-month finance + operations plan in September
2. Submit a final 12-month finance + operations plan in January
3. Fundraising: this can take a variety of forms from revenue, grants, or actually starting the process to raise capital. All teams must have 3-months operating funds in the bank by the end of the program.

Click here to download the Milestone Template document to submit your proposed milestones.

Click here to see an example of milestones from previous teams.

Note: We will assist you with refining and completing your projected milestones before you begin the program.

We admit one cohort per year into the Jones + Foster Accelerator Program. Teams meet with their advisory committee (program coaches/mentors) once a month for six months from August through January. The meetings are scheduled by the Buerk Center office and usually take place the third full week of each month on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.

2025 Timeline

The coaches/mentors for the Accelerator program are a dynamic group of entrepreneurs, investors and service providers from the Seattle entrepreneurial community. We have a committed group of mentors on the Accelerator advisory committee who have worked with the program since its inception. New mentors are added each year depending on the expertise needed for each start-up team.

Accelerator Core Committee

The core committee works with the Buerk Center staff to select the teams to participate each year. The core committee consists of:

• Brian Glaister, Axon
• Geoff Entress, Pioneer Square Labs
• Jesse Proudman, Betterment
• Ken Horenstein, Pack VC
• Lisa Hjorten, Pacific Edge Properties
• Liz Callahan, Limeade
• Troy Cichos, Madrona Venture Group

2024 Accelerator Mentors

• Adam Matherly​ Karr Tuttle Campbell
• Alejandro Estrada Catorce Ventures
• Alex Day Grid Partners
• Andrina Bigelow Fran’s Chocolates
• Andy Boyer
• Ben Straughan Perkins Coie
• Bill Bromfield Fenwick + West
• Brian Glaister Axon
• Brianna McDonald Keiretsu Forum
• Chris Howard Medical Sensor Systems
• Dan deWolff Luto Vhum
• Dan Smith Recipe 33
• Dani Cone Cone & Steiner General
• David Smukowski
• David Coven Scholar Fund
• Elizabeth Webber Madrona Venture Labs
• Erik Baserman Ackley Capital Corporation
• Geoff Entress Pioneer Square Labs
• Greg Newbloom Membrion
• Jamie Johnson Perkins Coie
• Jesse Proudman Betterment
• Jilyne Jarvis Zgirls
• Jonathan Shallow Miller Nash
• Kathryn Gardow Gardow Consulting
• Ken Horenstein Pack Ventures
• Kerra Melvin DLA Piper
• Kirk Van Alstyne Evolution Capital Advisers
• Lisa Hjorten Pacific Edge Properties
• Liz Callahan Liz Callahan Consulting
• Loretta Little WRF
• Mark Hamachek Acclaro Growth Partners
• Marty Roberts Brightcove
• Melanie Asher Omicle
• Scott Kushino
• Sean MacLeod FenoLogica Biosciences Inc.
• Steve Ruby McKinstry
• Suki Mulberg Altamirano Lexington Public Relations
• Troy Hartzell Evolution Capital Advisors
• Troy Cichos Madrona Venture Group
• Volha Hrechka Innovyz USA
• Yves Mizrahi

The Accelerator is made possible through the generous support of the Seattle entrepreneurial community—mentors, advisers, donors, and sponsors.

In addition to private donors who provide seed funding to the companies that successfully complete the program, the following have provided sponsorship for further program development:

• Bill McAleer of Voyager Capital provides funding for the McAleer Early Start Fund.
• CoMotion Lab’s Startup Hall provides drop-in coworking access for Accelerator teams.
• The AWS Activate program provides $5,000 in AWS Credits (valid for 2 years).
• The University of Washington is an approved HubSpot for Startups partner. Eligible teams can apply to receive startup-friendly pricing to HubSpot’s growth stack software package and their education portals.

In past years the Buerk Center has been supported by generous funding from the Herbert B. Jones Foundation, which provided seed funding awards to the startup companies that successfully completed their milestones. With the retirement of the Jones Foundation’s fund in 2024, we will not have seed funding available for the 2025 – 2026 cohort.