Project Skyway - Minnesota’s First Tech Accelerator Program

I just learned about Project Skyway, Minnesota’s first tech accelerator program. I've been interested in accelerators and acceleration programs for some time, and an email from them came at just the right time.

Here's what caught my eye, and what makes this program different:

First, Project Skyway is the only tech accelerator program that will accept single founders (at least from what I've found). 

Second, Project Skyway will accept non-technical teams. This part is huge. Huge. Two full-time software developers will be allocated per company throughout the three-month cycle (for free), which means having a "techie" on the team is not a must. Almost any other accelerator program will bounce you if you don’t have a tech co-founder as part of your team.  Project Skyway is seeking applicants with the ability to execute over the ability to code a viable and fund-able prototype themselves. 

Here are some of the entrepreneurial qualities they want in applicants. I like that they have SaaS and Mobile high on the list. Actually, those are requirements.

• Passionate, driven, persistent, and resourceful.
• Domain expertise -- meaning you’ve talked to so many of people in the space that you feel like you’re one of them
• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) or Mobile focus.
• Able to demonstrate a beta of the product or provide screen shots at a minimum.
• Willing and able to sell without being afraid of rejection.
• Willing to pay it forward and come back and help future Skywalkers (the term used to describe entrepreneurs who go through the Project Skyway program).

They are accepting applications through May 1, 2011 for the first cycle, which starts in August, 2011. The top 25 applicants will then be invited to participate in the second-round weekend boot camp being held June 10-12, 2011. In late June invitations will be sent out to up to 10 finalists selected to participate in the first cycle of Project Skyway beginning on August 1.

The 10 early-stage tech companies selected to participate in Project Skyway’s three month long, mentor-driven program will be offered seed funding ($6,000 per founder), mentorship, co-working space, dedicated software development, additional resources, and connections to other entrepreneurs, investors, and Fortune 500 executives.  Okay, so the cash part isn't huge, but the other parts make this a program worth checking out (and might be useful for those modeling out a similar program in other parts of the USA).

Early-stage companies interested in applying may do so at .

If you have an accelerator program, please drop me an email or visit my new TechBizTalk page on Facebook.