December 01, 2020
This post is the first written document about what became DubHacks Next, UW’s first startup incubator. The name changed quite quickly much to my dismay, but a lot of the ideas in here still exist within Next today…
The Dawg Park provides access and support for the next generation of student founders at the University of Washington, with the goal of increasing the collective entrepreneurial output, to help UW reach its potential in the world of startups.
The Dawg Park will be set-up similar to that of a typical startup incubator, where UW students will have the ability to both apply to join as an Entrepreneur-In-Resident (EIR), or as an incubated company with an existing organization.
EIRs:
EIRS are high-achieving individuals, who are looking for a community to incubate and prototype ideas with. The Dawg Park will provide mentorship, dialogue, and various idea testing services to support the EIRs as they attempt to find a problem space, and then build out a solution + team to solve that problem. EIRs have 2 quarters (Winter + Spring) of support in The Dawg Park, until they are required to apply again for sustained support.
Incubated Companies:
Incubated Companies will receive support in all the ways EIRs do, in addition to the opportunity for limited funding (TBD amount), as well as introductions to local Venture Firms. Incubated Companies have a runway of 1 year within The Dawg Park, until they must either graduate or petition the leadership team for an extension. Follow on funding is also an opportunity, depending on the financial state of The Dawg Park at time of raise.
Organizational Structure:
The Dawg Park is a subsidiary of DubHacks, and inherits its non-profit status. The organization will initially be lead by 2 Managing Directors, and have a 3rd General Partner. Additional associates may be hired as needed.
The Managing Directors will be in charge of all organizational decisions, from admittance to investment decisions, to brand development and speaker organization - they act as a catch-all and must do what needs to be done for the success of the organization. Most importantly , they will define the vision of the organization, and make key/important decisions, to grow the organization.
The General Partner will be in charge of curriculum development for Incubated Companies and be the main point of contact for the EIRs when it comes to rapid prototyping.
Equity-free Funding:
The Dawg Park will provide initial bit of funding for our companies, without requesting any equity in return.
Mentorship:
We connect founders with experts in each company’s space to provide guidance and build a lasting co-beneficial relationships.
Curriculum:
The Dawg Park will have weekly workshops, to share common pitfalls and strategies to help our founders grow their businesses as fast as possible.
Community:
The Dawg Park will connect you with not just other founders, but also academic and professional experts to help you as you build your business.
Legal/Banking Information:
We’ll partner with local Legal and Banking institutions to simply the incubation and all legal processes for our founders.
Fundraising Guidance:
We’ll be there every step of the way with you, helping answering any questions and providing guidance as you raise your first rounds of funding.