Building a Regional Startup Ecosystem at UC Merced
Founder Institute partnered with the University of California, Merced to build a regional startup ecosystem in California’s Central Valley through a special accelerator program.
The Challenge
University of California Merced’s newly launched Venture Lab was looking to engage non-student entrepreneurs from across the California Central Valley and build a strong regional startup ecosystem on their campus. The Venture Lab needed a partner who could not only support their vision but also help them engage a wider audience, including non-student founders, and create community programming to foster relationships with founders from the entire region.
The Central Valley region had been historically underserved in terms of entrepreneurship support and lacked a comprehensive infrastructure for startups. Founders in the area faced challenges in accessing mentorship, funding, and relevant educational resources to help them grow their businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic further complicated the situation, as it required a pivot to a fully online model while maintaining the engagement and community building that was critical for the program’s success.
Given the geographic spread and varied levels of entrepreneurial development across the region, the challenge was to engage and support founders who were isolated from the larger tech ecosystems. The goal was to create a sustainable, inclusive, and accessible program to help them overcome these barriers.
The Solution: FI’s Central Valley Accelerator
FI addressed these challenges with a tailored solution aimed at building a strong regional startup ecosystem while overcoming the constraints imposed by the pandemic. Actions taken included:
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1Recruitment and Training of Local Leaders
FI sourced, hired, and trained 3 local entrepreneurs from the Central Valley to run the accelerator. These local leaders not only understood the regional needs but also provided much-needed hands-on leadership to engage local startups.
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2Virtual Pivot
With the onset of COVID-19, FI rapidly transitioned the program to a fully online format, ensuring that the accelerator remained accessible to entrepreneurs across the entire Central Valley. This flexibility allowed the program to expand its reach but maintain the same level of support and structure.
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314-Week Incubator Program
FI launched a free, 14-week incubator designed to bring together mentors and founders building businesses within UC Merced’s Venture Lab. This program included educational sessions, networking opportunities, and actionable feedback, helping entrepreneurs validate and grow their startups.
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4Founder Institute's Entrepreneur DNA Assessment
FI used its proprietary DNA Assessment tool to identify high-potential entrepreneurs, ensuring that the best applicants were selected for the accelerator. This tool helped match founders with the right resources and mentorship, ultimately driving success in the program.
Key Takeaways
The partnership successfully launched and sustained a virtual accelerator program that met the challenges posed by the pandemic while engaging a diverse set of regional entrepreneurs and helping them scale their businesses.
Results
UC Merced and the Founder Institute delivered impactful outcomes for the Central Valley's startup ecosystem.
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Expert mentorship -
Virtual first program
- 200+
- Educational Events Attendees from the Central Valley Region
- 45
- Entrepreneurs Enrolled
- 15
- New Businesses Created
- 20+
- Mentors from FI’s Sacramento, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley Chapters
- 9
- Companies Successfully Completed the Program
So many of the entrepreneurs are, right from the beginning, trying to figure out how to give back to the community. That’s just a wonderful thing to experience.
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More About Founder Institute
The Founder Institute (FI.co) is the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator. Since 2009, we have helped tens of thousands of employees and new/ idea-stage entrepreneurs validate, test, and launch startups worth an estimated $30BN+. Our mission is to activate and empower talented and motivated entrepreneurs to build meaningful technology businesses worldwide
The Founder Institute is the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our structured accelerator programs have helped over 7,800 entrepreneurs raise over $1.85BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.
