Curious About The Mint?
The first cohort of our fintech-focused accelerator, The Mint, wrapped in October with 7 companies, and it was a huge success...
So, we're prepping to do it again in March!
Curious about The Mint?
A little background on why we decided to launch an accelerator and what it is:
The Mint is a 3-month long, in-person, structured “choose your own adventure” program. With resources curated for each company in the cohort, we offer a weekly focus on things core to company building, such as product, GTM, and building a killer team.
We have regular cohort-wide talks, learning sessions, fireside chats, and weekly 1:1 IRL work time with mentors and the BTV team. We encourage founders to take what they need - everything is optional; spend time on what your business needs most that day.
The 1st cohort (Spearmint!) featured off-the-record fireside chats with CEOs of prolific companies like NerdWallet, Dropbox, Flexport, Mercury, Albert, and Ramp. Plus, 1:1 office hours with seasoned operators from companies like Affirm, Airbnb, Google, Plaid, and Square.
Each company was paired with a seasoned fintech operator who served as their mentor throughout the program. Mentors met the teams 1:1 every week, helped set ambitious targets, and held them accountable for their progress.
3 insights we emphasize:
1) The importance of an execution-oriented mindset.
2) The value of being + staying super-scrappy.
3) The power of community; the companies got a lot from each other and continue to rely on each other.
Why did we do this?
1) Past success: We ran 5 cohorts of an accelerator from '16-'18; of 35 companies, 3 cos became unicorns in <5 years
2) We felt like there was a gap in the market for a fintech specialist offering hands-on IRL experience
3) We simply love this stuff. It's SO fun to work with founders at the earliest stages.
We want to be a magnet for fintech talent and the 1st call for people thinking of starting fintech companies.
The accelerator gives us the chance to work side-by-side with founders at the earliest stages to improve their odds.
It's been our internal mission for a while.
We’re already planning and accepting applications for the next cohort, which starts in early March. Send us your favorite pre-seed founders, you can learn more and apply on our website.
