WHY AWSM EXISTS
Using startups as a way to shift the status quo.
We believe design, digital, data and diversity are the superpowers of the 21st century that if expanded to more people, could produce extraordinary outcomes to help realize... A World Serving Many (AWSM).
100
million startups created each year
$137
billion invested by venture in 2019 in the US
90%
of all venture-backed startups fail
1.8%
# of venture-backed startups led by a Latinx founder (1.0% for Black founders)
No one succeeds alone. To help underrepresented founders close their skill gaps AWSM offers coaches, education and capital access to pre/seed-stage teams to help them move faster, smarter in identifying A Way to Startup Mastery (AWSM).
WHAT AWSM MEANS / FOR FOUNDERS
Counsel to escalate vs. merely accelerate.
Your success champions
As a community, AWSM curates a peer network with 1:many sessions to address needs as they arise and share strategies from serious founders succeeding against the odds.
Active accountability coaching
Helping high potential founders clear obstacles (from within and without) with day-to-day, week-to-week virtual sessions and tools to aid scaling.
The talent & capital access to scale
AWSM combines talent, concept and capital together through introductions to professionals and demos with angels, family offices and seed funds dedicated to dual-bottomline returns.
WHAT AWSM MEANS / FOR FUNDERS
Born to help grow & spread your angel wings.
Leveraging experience to realize value. The smartest founding teams know the benefit of support to address growth needs as they scale. With AWSM, Angels have an opportunity to learn how to de-risk opportunities leveraging their operational knowledge as an unlock to growth.
Build investor insight
Identify opportunities, assess potential and be additive to founders without the overwhelm. Be a great investment partner and learn how to protect yourself from downside risk (within reason).
Increased access to impact opportunities
As a curated network, AWSM brings together emerging tech investors eager to learn with high potential founders & teams serious about creating the next generation of world-class technology companies.
Quality introductions & capital access
AWSM combines potential, concept and capital together by offering introductions to and demos with progressive angels, family offices and seed funds dedicated to dual-bottomline returns.
Even the most brilliant of founder teams can use support to aid growth needs as they scale. On the end, there are increasingly more funders seeking impact-driven startups with meaningful ideas to support.
MEMBERSHIP = MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS
Linking driven 'pre-founders' with the product support, capital and resources to scale
Membership FAQs
How does AWSM support startup founders?
AWSM serves as a conduit and bridge to the key things that founders need to be successful, a community of like minds willing to strategize, accountability coaching and real access to capital to fuel their world changing ideas.
Is AWSM a venture capital fund?
We work more as a “venture catalyst“ organization connecting founders, talent support and the investors without predetermination of equity or any obligation.
What is cost of membership in AWSM?
What do I get as member?
Does AWSM work with outside investors?
How does AWSM help investors?
AWSM de-risks opportunities and provides a layer of validation for seed/early-stage investors using a design-centered framework coupled with a structured approach to achieving sustainable traction. Through the AWSM membership, we create various opportunities for founders and funders to organically connect. From our newsletter to virtual showcase events, and angel bootcamps—at our core AWSM helps impact investors discover high-potential founders and teams.
How does AWSM differ from an accelerator?
Can AWSM help me (as a founder) raise capital?
Is AWSM US based only?
What is process to join AWSM? Do I need to be funded to join?
WHAT AWSM STANDS FOR
Driven by four AWSM beliefs...
1. Networks matter, ecosystems improve outcomes
Simply put, you can't be AWSM alone. We believe extraordinary founders and investors recognize the need to meet and stay connected to other smart, ambitious peers to build traction to increase the potential of successfully scaling from idea to product and product to company.
2. Growing up is > starting up
We believe how you grow is more important than where you start from. AWSM stands for an impact driven, human-centered approach to scaling coupled with purpose to create sustainable growth models that holistically aid the performance of founders and teams.
3. Maintain an extreme bias toward action
With a myriad of decisions to make from team to strategy to product we believe the best opportunities require a decision frameworks fed by data and intuition based on external input. We aim to push ourselves as an organization and support the teams we work with knowledge, resources and feedback to help them do the same.
4. An Agile-based approach to performance
While lean, rapid and agile oftentimes are to apply to products, we leverage the accountability and velocity gaining benefits of these methodologies to help founders learn quickly and run their operations nimbly to best solve for (or at least adjust for) an ever changing landscape.
WHO WE ARE
A team created to support what's next...
Resources & News
February 27, 2019
Untapped Opportunity: Minority Founders Still Being Overlooked
January 28, 2019