Startup Springboard

Startup Springboard is an accelerator program organized by Perkins Coie LLP that aims to help create and facilitate long-term relationships and open doors for entrepreneurs and investors. We are building an emerging company ecosystem that will deliver relevant content and networking opportunities for founders of early-stage companies by collaborating with local leaders in the emerging growth community.

From first-time founders to seasoned entrepreneurs, our main objective is to encourage connections and manifest opportunities across our network of serial entrepreneurs; investors and board members; M&A advisors; established enterprises looking to foster the startup ecosystem; and legal, accounting, banking, employee benefits, and insurance service providers.

Program Objectives

  • Collaborate with local leaders in the emerging company ecosystem to deliver relevant content based on collective experience.
  • Invite founders of early-stage companies into the ecosystem so they can build a network of advisors.
  • Organize cohorts to foster peer-level relationships with other founders (sessions in person and hybrid).
  • Provided at no cost (and no equity) to qualifying companies.
  • Build an ecosystem to open doors for entrepreneurs and investors.

Topic Areas

Tailored to high-energy startups from seed to later stage, our programming will cover a wide variety of topics such as:

  • Co-founder selection and relationship structuring.
  • Product development, product-market fit, and IP protection.
  • Startup hiring, compensation, and benefits, including engaging a remote or international workforce.
  • Equity compensation, tax pitfalls, and cap table management.
  • Financial forecasting, building a pitch deck, and learning from “no.”
  • Board dynamics and responsibilities.
  • Growth through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.
  • Bootstrapping and nondilutive debt financing.

Cohort Profile

We will select 10-15 high-energy companies in each geography (initially Austin and Dallas) to receive eight complimentary sessions developed by serial entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, and seasoned M&A advisors. We will then organize cohorts to foster peer-level relationships with other founders in their city. Compared to other accelerators and incubators that often provide similar content and access to advisor networks in exchange for equity, Startup Springboard is offered at no cost (and no equity) to qualifying companies.

Cohort Selection Criteria

  • Eligible companies must have an established business plan, even if they are early in implementation.
  • Seed-stage, post-seed, and later-stage companies will find programming most relevant.
  • Industry agnostic, but ideally, companies will be in high-growth areas that require significant ($5M+) in external financing for expansion.
  • A target of 10 companies per city, with cohorts initially launching in Austin and Dallas.

Thank You to Our 2023 Sponsors:

 

 

Our Team

Contact Us [email protected]


Jill Louis
Corporate & Securities Partner and Dallas Office Managing Partner

Andy Smetana
Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Partner and Austin Office Managing Partner

Troy Foster
Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Partner and Firmwide Co-Chair based in Silicon Valley

Valeska Pederson Hintz
Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Partner based in Austin and Silicon Valley

Dan Austin
Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Partner based in Austin

Michael Glenn
Intellectual Property Partner based in Austin and Silicon Valley

Wendy Moore
Tax, Benefits & Compensation Partner based in Washington, D.C.

Ann Marie Painter
Labor and Employment Partner and Firmwide Chair based in Dallas

Logan Payne
Financial Services Corporate, Regulatory, Compliance & Transactions Counsel based in Austin

Paul Ford
Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Associate based in San Francisco

Ebony Morris
Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Associate based in Seattle

Kaina Pengilly
Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Associate based in Palo Alto

Andy Shawber
Senior Innovation Counsel

 

 

 

 

 

2023 Speaker Spotlight


Daniel J. Alvarez
JP Morgan

Natasha Arora
Carta

Philip Butler
Pharos Capital Group

Laurie Cercone
CTAN

Matrice Ellis-Kirk
Ellis Kirk Group

Eric Engineer
S3 Ventures

Scott Hartig
Real Work Labs

Kira Heizner
Eisner Amper

Creighton Hicks
LiveOakVenture Partners

Stephen Hoffman
Deel

Adam Houghton
Foreflight

Sid Jain
VTSRise

Paul O’Brien
MediaTech Ventures

Kerry Rupp
True Wealth Ventures

Katie Russel
Central Texas Angel Network

Jim Stone
Cascadia Capital

Keenan Williams
REZI Institutional Group