About the program

In partnership with the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization and Loreen Arbus Foundation, 2Gether-international created a three-month accelerator program to support women entrepreneurs with disabilities.

Throughout the program, participants are given tools and guidance to develop and strengthen their pitch with the program ultimately culminating in a pitch competition where entrepreneurs can earn funding for their business. This opportunity takes a strengths-based approach to helping participants significantly improve their pitch and business model, as well as help them to perceive their own disability as a competitive advantage rather than a weakness. Throughout the duration of the program 12-15 disabled women will be competing for $5K seed funding in addition to having access to the following services:

• A series of business workshops, tailored to the unique experiences of people with disabilities, during which entrepreneurs learn business skills, including the basics of the Lean Startup Methodology.
• Peer-to-peer discussion groups, which allow entrepreneurs to crowdsource their business ideas and receive feedback from each other as well as connect with guest speakers.
• Access to one-on-one coaching services where entrepreneurs can make progress towards their business goals.

The program will run from March 28th - June 6th

The application deadline is March 1st, 2022 at 12:00 AM ET. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and finalists will be announced by March 7th.

What can the selected startup expect?

• A series of startup workshops tailored to the unique experiences of people with disabilities.
• Access to custom one-on-one coaching from accredited leadership coaches. 
• Peer-to-peer founder discussion and networking groups.
• World-class speakers and mentors in the entrepreneurship and/or disability sector.
• Connections to investors and support fundraising both during and post-program.

*Since launched in 2020, graduates of other 2GI Accelerator cohorts have collectively raised over one million dollars in funding and revenue.

What startups are we looking for?

• The startup must be led by at least one woman with a disability. See how we define disability here.
• Must be working on a high-growth business.
• Must have a product that's in the market - an MVP is okay.
• Must have availability to meet and attend: classes, peer-to-peer sessions, speaker series, and coaching sessions (tentative schedule below).
• *Note that startups do not need to be working on accessibility technology to apply.

Tentative Schedule

• Accelerator Bootcamp Sessions: Tuesdays from 11:00AM-1:00PM EST
• Speaker Series: Wednesdays from 1PM-3PM EST
• Coaching sessions- As determined with your coach (at least once a week, for 10 weeks)
• Week of June 6th Pitch Competition.

Questions? Please email keevin@2gether-international.org

Meet This Year's Facilitators: Keevin O'Rourke & Sofia Seitchik

Current Partners