Yes - as long as you fall within the funding guidelines at the time of your application, your startup is still eligible.

This is designed for DAC startups at TRLs 3, 4, and 5. (TRL = Technology Readiness Level.)

No - you must be a team of at least two individuals or a company (e.g., corporation or LLC), although to receive the award at the end of the competition, you will need to be a company and provide a W9 form.

No. However, a legal entity (corporation, LLC, or similar) or Canadian / Mexican equivalent must be established before receiving any prizes (we can't write checks to individuals). Any such legal entity must have an ownership structure typical of an independent startup. An IRS Form W-9 or W-8 will be required.

No. There is no fee to participate. However, you will need to make your own arrangements to attend the Bootcamp and the Finale. 

No. You do not give up any equity to participate in the DAC Academy. 

One of our basic requirements is that there needs to be a minimum of two people per company. However, the second company member doesn't have to participate in the program full-time. Most often, only one company member needs to attend most events. If you are really pressed for a second company member, check out sites like AngelList.co or CoFoundersLab to find other entrepreneurs, or try to enlist an advisor/mentor to join your team.

As with most activities, you will get out of the DAC Academy what you put into it. We've tried to design the program so that it integrates into your schedule rather than taking time out of it.

We expect that you will spend about 5 hours per week on DAC Academy-related activities at any given point during the accelerator. Participation is required in the Bootcamp (October 16 in New York) and Finale (December 10 in Boston) events.

We hear frequent concerns on both sides of this issue (see below). A big part of our program is focused on understanding the DAC landscape, finding and speaking with customers, learning about their needs, and determining how your company and technology can fulfill those needs. The DAC Academy is about accelerating the most promising DAC startups that put in blood, sweat, and tears and are primed to take advantage of the massive opportunity that our program provides.

We love great ideas and motivated entrepreneurs! We will have to see who else applies and who is the best fit for the DAC Academy. If you're on the earlier side, you may consider applying to the Cleantech Open in the next round. If you're more advanced, you may be able to take advantage of the NECEC Navigate program. 

Great - then the DAC Academy is perfect for you because it is all about growing your business! Our volunteers give up a huge chunk of their free time because they care about companies like yours. The volunteers are there for you -- to make sure that you have the tools you need to progress to the next stage of development along the path to commercialization.

We have been running the Cleantech Open Northeast since 2005. This region is the a model of what is possible. Our Cleantech Open Northeast alumni will tell you that the exercises that they went through in the Cleantech Open were what they would have had to do anyway, just on a structured time frame with guidance from mentors. This is not an academic exercise or a passive program of lessons.

Cleantech Open is a structured, in-depth, and COMMUNITY-DRIVEN process where we expect you to come out with a stronger and more primed company on the other end. The core of the program can take as little as 10 hours each week, but you'll find that the accelerator's ongoing intangible benefits reach far beyond that. If you don't put your company out there, you'll miss out on the serendipitous, unexpected connections that can occur as a program participant.

The DAC Academy is taking a page from the Cleantech Open Northeast. The approach is similar.

The DAC Academy is a bargain. Not only is it free, but you will receive a $10,000 cash award upon completion. Startups that participate in the Cleantech Open have told us that they saved 2-1/2 years! Hopefully, you will have a similar result.

Our large community of professionals are all contributing their time pro-bono to create value for your startup. The value that's added, the jobs that are created, and the millions in funding that are raised by our startups all come because of the massive investment in time and expertise of our community.

This is the first time we are running the DAC Academy. We do not yet know how many applications we will receive for the five (5) spots. 

It may take a few minutes or a couple of hours. If you have applied for grants or other accelerators in the past, the DAC Academy application should be a breeze. Most of your time will be spent editing down to our character limits.

The accelerator runs from mid September to mid December. 

Applicants will hear back from Cleantech Open Northeast by early September at the latest as to whether or not they have been selected to participate in the accelerator. 

Virtual programming in September will mark the official starting point of the accelerator. The conclusion is the Finale at Greentown Labs in Somerville, MA on December 10.