Key highlights:
- Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal is the brains behind Beacon.
- Core contributors will help run the team.
- The program takes founders through 12-week coaching.
A group of web3 founders has launched Beacon Accelerator, a new startup accelerator that aims to help web3 startups succeed. Founders and operators with extensive experience in web3-specific areas, including finance, legal matters, security, and operations, will be at the helm as the company gets off the ground. Sandeep Nailwal, the co-founder of Polygon and Symbolic Capital, assembled the team. In addition to Nailwal, Beacon is managed by a small group of “Core Contributors.”
Former DCG Chief Security Officer Uri Stav, former Sequoia Capital Vice President Prateek Sharma, and Symbolic Capital Co-Founder Kenzi Wang are among the tiny cadre of ‘Core Contributors.’ Beacon’s founders will have access to a network of dedicated mentors who will hold sessions to provide guidance on everything from GameFi and DeFi to Infrastructure and Consumer App initiatives.
What sets Beacon Accelerator apart from other web3 initiatives
Nailwal is capitalizing on his experience as a founder to set Beacon apart from competing accelerators by developing custom software to manage the program’s internal workings. Over 300 of the most influential web3 investors will be in attendance during the live broadcast Demo Day for Beacon’s inaugural program in January. Beacon’s Demo Day is currently invite-only. However, interested investors can request to be put on a waitlist. Also, applications to join Beacon’s 2023 cohort are now open to founders.
Founders accepted into the elite program spend twelve weeks receiving continuous individual mentoring from Beacon’s core staff and listening to weekly speeches from top builders in web3. The founders are learning marketing, community building, project launches, etc., in the web3 sector from their mentors through weekly workshops and hands-on coaching.
This group understands the distinction between Web2 and Web3 ecosystems and brings a fresh perspective to the table as they manage the startup. Over 30 entrepreneurs from 15 startups in DeFi, Infrastructure, Gaming, and the Metaverse started the program in October. The first Cohort of the program includes founders from 12 locations in 9 different countries, as the program was designed from the ground up with remote access in mind.
Sandeep Nailwal, the founder of Beacon Accelerator, says: “Having gone through an accelerator before (Binance Labs), I found that the greatest resource in any accelerator is the other founders going through the program alongside you. We think that as our alumni network grows, the overall quality of projects being built in web3 will increase as founders help each other find success.”
In order to facilitate interactions between investors and the entrepreneurs they’re interested in speaking with, Beacon has developed a customized platform for them to browse projects, watch video pitches, research founder biographies, and so on. Its ultimate goal is to become a comprehensive platform offering a wide range of services to founders and investors.