Accelerator Prep School
The Bronco Venture Accelerator's Prep School offers the opportunity to experience a supportive, dynamic, hands-on environment that will spark innovation and prepare you to push your venture forward. You will learn how to take your business idea and expand it through roadmapping, problem solving, and pitch development. Accelerator Prep School will help you get ready to apply to the full Bronco Venture Accelerator or other great Silicon Valley accelerators like Y Combinator, Alchemist, or 500 Startups.
Apply now for our next cohort starting on March 13, 2025! Applications are due February 21, 2025.
Accelerator Prep School is industry-agnostic: we accept applications from companies in all industries. The Bronco Venture Accelerator is open to all members of the Santa Clara University community. This means students, staff, alumni, researchers, visiting scholars, and faculty are all welcome to apply.
No, Santa Clara University and Ciocca Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship take no portion of your company.
No, there are no application fees or tuition costs.
- We offer expertise in building your product or service fundamentals as you prepare to apply for an accelerator.
- Our mentor network leans heavily on Santa Clara graduates and other experienced Silicon Valley veterans. We can help you create a compelling application. We are an official Santa Clara University program, and Santa Clara has a vibrant and powerful network in Silicon Valley. We can help you tap into that network effectively.
- From a fundraising point of view, Accelerator Prep School will help prepare you to raise funding from friends and family or angel investors.
- We also love deep science founders. As a member company here, you can access engineering resources and the Maker Lab.
Yes. For an application to be considered, we require a team of 2 or more. This doesn’t have to be your final team - you have the freedom to add members as time permits.
Applications are reviewed by a committee consisting of BVA team members, SCU faculty, SCU students, SCU alumni, and industry representatives. Concepts must be well-planned and laid out comprehensively in your application. Teams are selected based on the quality of their idea, which will include viability, desirability, and feasibility.
MORE QUESTIONS? Contact Cristina Cismas Florea at ccismasflorea@scu.edu.