The Idea Village

Founded in 2000, The Idea Village formalized in 2002 as an independent 501©(3) nonprofit dedicated to engaging our community to embrace innovation, entrepreneurship, and new thinking. The Idea Village has established itself as a globally recognized leader in developing place-based entrepreneurial ecosystems. VILLAGEx is our industry-leading, mentor-driven accelerator program for venture-scale startups on the path to raise at least $1M in the next 24 months. Over a focused four-month period, a highly-selective cohort of startups hustle towards their journey to scale. VILLAGEx leverages the passion and expertise of executive-level mentors, startup experts, business professionals, and mentors across industries and around the globe to provide Gulf South founders with the connections and resources needed to scale rapidly. Seed-stage startups are selected for the program based on a venture’s ability to prove it is: ▪ Rapidly scaling ▪ Serving a new or niche market in an innovative way ▪ Incorporating technology to solve a problem or improve a process ▪ Offering a new or unproven business model with the potential to revolutionize a particular industry ▪ Planning to take on at least $1M in funding in the next 24 months.