Summer Launch Incubator
About the Program
The Georgetown Entrepreneurship Summer Launch Incubator (SLI) is Georgetown’s exclusive startup incubator program designed specifically for Georgetown students and current year graduates who want to launch a new venture. Many of our most successful student-led ventures have participated in the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Summer Launch Incubator. Several have gone on to gain admission to other regional and national accelerators, or receive other offers of investment and support.
Participants Receive
- A $5,000 stipend for living expenses during the incubator,
- Leadership from Entrepreneur in Residence, Amy Millman, who ran a wildly successful, private incubator for 20 years.
- Invitations to exclusive networking events, and opportunities to present their ideas to the vast network of Georgetown Entrepreneurship’s global ecosystem,
- Dedicated support from Georgetown mentors, faculty, staff, experienced entrepreneurs, and peers during and after the incubator,
- Exclusive access to pitch at the Fall 2025 Rocket Pitch Competition, and
- Direct path to become members of the Venture Lab at WeWork’s 200 Massachusetts Ave location.
Cohort Structure
Entrepreneurs commit to working full-time (~40 hours/week) to incubate the development of their ideas, gain traction with customers, and build a case for investment with seed funders, if necessary. Using “lean startup” principles, participants work in concert with mentors on the components of their business model and collect the data to validate whether their idea has growth potential. Entrepreneurs must be available to attend all content, mentoring, showcase, and pitch sessions.
The program will be conducted predominantly over Zoom (virtually), with some in-person sessions at the Georgetown Venture Lab @ 200 Mass Ave, NW, DC.
We’ll kickoff on campus with a required, ALL-DAY orientation in late April/Early May on a weekend. Content delivery will run weekly from June 2 through July 31.
Each venture will be assigned 2 mentors relevant to their business to meet weekly, to be done hybrid on a case by case basis.
Incubator Showcase in early August (date and time TBD) where you exhibit your progress to the Georgetown Entrepreneurship community.
Participation in Fall Rocket Pitch in September 2025.
Application Process
When to Apply
The process will open in late January 2025 and priority is given to those that apply before February 21st. After that, applications will be considered on a rolling basis, if space remains. NOTE: The application process is competitive and we annually receive many dozens more applications than there are spots.
Decision
The selection process is highly selective. If your application advances, you will then be contacted to schedule an interview shortly after you apply. In-person interviews will be conducted during the day on either Feb 26 or Feb 27, 2025. A final admission decision will follow 1-2 days thereafter the interview.
FAQs
- Who is the SLI Program designed for? The incubator program is designed for very early stage ventures; businesses do not have to be revenue-generating in order to apply, but should have a well-defined concept, including a revenue model. Similarly, non-profits are permitted, but will be expected to have a proposed model for achieving financial sustainability.
- Who qualifies for the SLI? Student entrepreneurs currently enrolled in any Georgetown degree programs are eligible to participate, as well as students graduating in the current calendar year.