What is CO.STARTERS?
CO.STARTERS Core is a eleven-week, cohort-based program that equips entrepreneurs of all kinds with the insights, relationships, and tools needed to turn business ideas into action.
Who is CO.STARTERS for?
You! The only real prerequisites to joining the program are
How does it work?
Participants enter into a facilitator-led, collaborative process with a small and supportive group of 10-15 like-minded peers. Brandon Hennessey and Katherine Beale of the Longwood SBDC are our current facilitators. Working together, participants develop and fine-tune their ideas, critically examining every part and determining next steps through real-time feedback from people in the community, using a simplified version of the Business Model Canvas.
What are the benefits?
The CO.STARTERS approach enables entrepreneurs to rapidly uncover flaws in their concepts and find viable models more quickly. Participants leave the program with a deeper understanding of how to create a sustainable business, articulate their models, and repeat the process with the next great idea.
Details
All applicants who are accepted into the program will receive a full scholarship, thanks to the support from our funding partners. The value of the program is $500 per person which includes the eleven-week training and all course materials.
An online application is required to participate in the program. Once you apply, we will follow up with you with any questions we have and we’ll let you know if you are accepted into the program by two weeks before the program start date.
Our CO.STARTERS Get Started Workshops and 11 Week Cohorts will be delivered in a virtual format, using Zoom. Participants will need access to high speed internet and a personal device (ex. computer or tablet) with the ability to share video. The ability to share video and view the speaker’s shared screen is critical to getting the most out of this program.
Get Started Workshop
We also encourage you to attend a free Get Started Workshop in conjunction with your application. The workshop is a one-day, three-hour, online training that will give you a preview of the full eleven-week program. Visit our training calendar to register for the next Get Started Workshop.
CO.STARTERS Virtual Cohort
Southern Virginia Region – Next Cohort Begins March 15th!
Our second regional, virtual cohort begins on Tuesday, March 15th, 2022 and runs each Tuesday evening on Zoom from 6-9pm for 11 weeks. The last evening will be Tuesday, May 24th. The cohort is open to anyone in Southern Virginia interested in starting or growing a business in our region. The application deadline for this cohort is Monday, February 25th, 2022.
This 11 week cohort is being delivered in a virtual format, using Zoom. Participants need access to high speed internet and a personal device (ex. computer or tablet) with the ability to share video. The ability to share video and view the speaker’s shared screen is critical to getting the most out of this program.
The application is live!
The application for the virtual spring 2022 cohort is now open. The deadline to apply for this cohort is Monday, February 25th, 2022.
Presented by
Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, George Mason University, and local host institutions. The Virginia SBDC is nationally accredited by America’s SBDC.
This project was also funded in part by GO VIRGINIA, a state-funded initiative administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) that strengthens and diversifies Virginia’s economy and fosters the creation of higher wage jobs in strategic industries.
Supported by
