The Mill is an accelerator headquartered in the heart of downtown Las Vegas that is designed to help entrepreneurs evolve. The team has two programs — one for people to test ideas and one for seed stage startups.
The seed stage startup program, The Mill Startup Accelerator, is designed to help seed-stage companies focused on developing a strong culture and exceptional customer service. The program team and mentor network work together to accelerate growth and get startups to the next level.
Applications for Cohort 1 are due February 26, 2015, and the first cohort runs from April-June. The second cohort runs from September-December 2015.
“We decided to continue The Mill idea accelerator because we felt it had a positive impact on the startup community and provided resources to help entrepreneurs test out their ideas,” said Sara Hill, Cofounder & CEO. “We created the seed stage startup accelerator for 2015 because we noticed there was a gap in support for this stage of startup and felt a more structured program could be really beneficial to some teams.”
The program provides startup founders with an extensive network of mentors, which include Tony Hsieh
(CEO of Zappo), Damien Patton (Founder and CEO of Banjo), Rob Meadows (Partner and CEO at Originate), and Jen Consalvo (COO & Co-founder of TechCocktail).
“We have kept our group of mentors relatively small,” Sara Hill explained. “We were really strategic in picking mentors that were consistent with our culture, diverse in background and experiences and could mentor on the topics we’re focusing on in the curriculum.”
In addition to the network of mentors, teams in the program receive $25K, free office space, and a 3 month program of classes. Startups who enter the program are asked to give 5% and 3k program fee and work out of The Mill HQ in downtown Las Vegas. At the end of each cohort, there will be a pitch event where investors and angels will be invited to listen to the teams present ideas.
“We are looking for seed stage teams – still relatively early stage but ones that have an MVP and are focused on building a strong culture to provide exceptional customer service,” Sara Hill said. “The company does not have to be based in Vegas, however the founders must be residential for the duration of the program (3 months). Teams will be at seed stage, most will probably have raised a little money already (friends / family / angel round). We’re mostly looking at consumer based products and the quality of the team.”
Those interested in applying can visit the team’s Angel List page to submit an application.