april 13, 2021
Announcing the Stacks Accelerator: Fueling Innovation on Bitcoin
We're thrilled to announce the launch of the Stacks Accelerator, an intensive, three-month program aimed at supporting teams building on Bitcoin via the Stacks blockchain. The program is led by Trevor Owens (entrepreneur and author, whose startups have raised over $100M in venture funding) and backed by the Stacks Foundation, Hiro Systems, Daemon Technologies, and Freehold. The accelerator has raised an initial fund of $4M USD to support over 100 early-stage startup teams.
Stacks enables scalable smart contracts for Bitcoin, offering builders a unique opportunity to create long-lasting projects on the most secure and valuable network among blockchains. In addition to experienced builders within the Stacks community, the Stacks Accelerator will invest in startup teams interested in leveraging the Stacks protocol to further innovate on Bitcoin. Startups at any stage and funding level with at least two co-founders working full-time will be considered. The program extends up to $50,000 in funding to participating ventures ($25,000 upfront and $25,000 as part of the funding round), with additional funding and mentorship for startups continuing indefinitely thereafter.
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With the Stacks Accelerator, we’ve created an offering that not only addresses the unique challenges of building in crypto, but also supports teams solving real-world problems for end users, which requires connections and knowledge from well beyond the crypto space too. With guidance from experts at organizations both inside and outside ‘blockchain', founders will have direct access to a diverse and deep set of top tier resources.
Mitchell Cuevas, Head of Growth, Stacks Foundation
The accelerator will take place online via a combination of workshops and bespoke, hands-on mentorship sessions. Currently, the mentor roster includes Eric Ries (author of the The Lean Startup), industry heavyweights like Meltem Demirors (CSO of CoinShares), and special appearances from leaders across crypto like Anthony Pompliano (Investor at Pomp Investments), Thomas France (Co-Founder of Ledger), Sergey Nazarov (Co-Founder of Chainlink), and more.

Additional mentors can be viewed on the website as they are announced, including from organizations such as Digital Currency Group, Princeton, Devpost, Gotenna, Techstars, Gitcoin, Startup Weekend, SOSV, Flipside Crypto, Dystopia Labs, and Internet Archive. Participating startups will also have access to a potential user base and follow-on investors through the Stacks network of over 300,000 token holders, including leading investors like USV, Lux Capital, Winklevoss Capital, and Zhen Fund.
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After years of network development, Stacks is giving way to decentralized apps that harness smart contracts to offer engaging experiences and powerful use cases. As a member of the Stacks Accelerator, DCG looks forward to supporting these projects and the wider effort to add functionality to Bitcoin. By building with Stacks, these teams are pioneering a generation of applications and services anchored to Bitcoin, expanding what was previously thought possible on the network and further unlocking the immense value in it.
Casey Taylor, VP of Network & Development, DCG
Trevor, who is the Managing General Partner of the Stacks Accelerator, founded the Lean Startup Machine, and was one of the first advisors to Muneeb Ali and Ryan Shea when they first founded Stacks in 2014. Currently, Trevor is focused on recruiting an international team of crypto and technology company-scaling experts to support the accelerator teams.
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Our goal is to build the best network of founders, mentors, investors, and partners in the industry to give early-stage startups an unfair advantage when they go to market. Stacks already provides an incredible development platform and developer experience, so we’re leaning into that heavily to get this program off the ground.
Trevor Owens, Author, Entrepreneur & Founder of the Lean Startup Machine
The Stacks Accelerator application is available at https://www.stacks.ac/. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until May 14th. Earlier applicants stand a higher chance of acceptance so get them in soon! There is also a 2,000 STX bonus for referrals of successful teams. If you have a referral, please email jenny@stacks.org.

Read more about the Stacks Accelerator on CoinDesk.

Jenny Mith leads ecosystem development for Stacks, focusing specifically on facilitating community programs, growing the Stacks Grants Program, and developing governance for the Stacks ecosytem.
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