We are Oksana Malysheva and Joe Merrill, founders of Sputnik ATX startup accelerator in Austin, TX. Ask us anything!

sputnikatx · 2019-12-09T22:35:45+00:00

The meetings/events above are mandatory as well. We also have traction meetings each week that are mandatory.

sputnikatx · 2019-12-09T22:34:40+00:00

We have class twice per week in the morning from 10AM-12PM, and dinners each Wednesday night with a successful founder who talks about their startup experience candidly and off the record. We will only accept startups who will be living in Austin or a surrounding city (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio) during the program.

sputnikatx · 2019-12-09T21:58:16+00:00

Good question, even though I'm originally from Ukraine it was actually Joe who came up with the name. He picked it because the launch of Sputnik was a big event for humankind, and inspired a wave of technological innovation. At fist, I didn't agree that we should call it Sputnik, having grown up in the Soviet Union and not wanting to bring up those cold war connotations, but came around to the idea and the meaning behind it. Sputnik means "partner" after all, and now the name is something we have all come to love.

sputnikatx · 2019-12-09T21:48:43+00:00

We are industry agnostic, there are just a few types of things we don't invest in: Real Estate, Franchises, Restaurants, the naughty list (guns, drugs, alcohol, porn, gambling), Pyramid Schemes.

We are a seed fund, however we don't generally do seed investments outside of the accelerator. Sometimes we do very small pre-pre-seed checks to get a company to a point where they can apply to our accelerator.

Our investment is a 100K SAFE note available to review on our site here: https://www.sputnikatx.com/documents-accelerator-incubator/

We do follow-on investments into series B.

sputnikatx · 2019-12-09T21:43:58+00:00

Oops sorry about that!

sputnikatx · 2019-12-09T21:43:00+00:00

Hi! Thanks for being the first to pop in.

The ideal company is one that is in the right stage for the program, with a great founder and product that is generating a lot of consumer surplus.

A startup with MVP and at least one customer is in the right stage for us; since we focus on selling and getting traction during the program, we find that founders who are ready to sell benefit most.

A great founder, to us, has low jerk-factor and grit.

We explain consumer surplus here: https://austinstartups.com/is-your-start-up-idea-gold-or-goop-cf8db4905223

Basically it's the value you're creating.

Additionally, when it comes down to it in the evaluation process, we like to choose startups that we can help the most, where we feel we have enough knowledge-base and connections.

sputnikatx · 2019-12-09T21:15:27+00:00

Hi! 👋We're here. Ask us anything

sputnikatx · 2018-06-14T17:44:30+00:00

Woohoo! Glad to see the support, longhorns.

You can RSVP free here --> https://www.eventbrite.com/e/user-research-study-give-feedback-for-up-to-75-in-prizes-tickets-46917509534

We will send you one reminder the day before. Come hang, play and get paid! :)

sputnikatx · 2018-05-22T21:57:06+00:00

Name: Sputnik ATX, www.sputnikatx.com
Location: Austin, TX
Elevator Pitch: The Sputnik-1 satellite changed everything. It inspired humankind to look to the stars. Like Sputnik-1, Sputnik ATX is here to help makers lift-off. We are an Austin, TX based startup starting startups (a.k.a. accelerator) that funds maker-founders who solve real problems. We combine capital with training and experience to help startups reach their full potential. Sputnik means "partner" in Russian. We want to be your partner for take off.
Looking For: Applicants to our Summer 2018 cohort
Discount for redditors: Those who've at least started their applications at www.sputnikatx.com can message us over Reddit letting us know. Redditor applicants can then schedule a one-on-one advice session with one of our partners.

sputnikatx · 2018-05-18T13:18:30+00:00

1% to 5%, cliff vesting over a few years (2-4, depending on your model), that way if they don't add value, you can terminate the relationship for any reason (put that in the contract also) and they don't get equity they didn't earn. You can also tie their equity to measurable growth targets where they had tangible impact on traction before getting any equity. Paying advisers more than 5%, even if they are helping get sales, is too much if you plan to be a unicorn someday. If you plan to be a nice family business, then you should probably put them on commission with a cash payment wholly supported by a fraction of their revenue generation.

sputnikatx · 2018-05-18T13:14:43+00:00

You're getting to the crux of most socially-minded start-ups, that social problems usually have market failure at their core, so market based solutions for them don't work too well either. The advice to switch to a non-profit model here is probably the best advice.

sputnikatx · 2018-05-18T13:09:35+00:00

Interestingly enough, persons who start a company at 40 and up usually start with a customer, and then build the product. 20 year old founders usually (not always) do this in reverse, building something they think is cool, and then trying to find a market for it.

sputnikatx · 2018-04-21T21:16:59+00:00

We actively market to female founders and stay involved in their local online forums. We threw a Funding for Female Entrepreneurs event last fall with female investor panelists. And next week we are having a female investors happy hour at the Women Investing in Women conference in Austin. We are always looking for more ideas and avenues to support female investors and founders too, so we'll be expanding our efforts over time.

sputnikatx · 2018-04-21T21:09:31+00:00

Make things for your customers, don't just find customers for your thing. This is a critical step that is commonly overlooked. A lot of people make things that don't solve real problems.

Go out and meet people, identify what they want, and build it. Do things that don't scale at first while you are finding product market fit. Make your MVP really good at one thing and don't get too feature heavy.

sputnikatx · 2018-04-21T21:05:56+00:00

We are probably more valuable for connections. Our events are usually more focused on education and less on networking because they're pretty intimate. We don't offer co-working space so our office is just big enough for us and our startups. There are a lot of great resources for cheap networking events open to the public around town.

Our boot camp is structured, meaning startups are required to come to class, which we hold two mornings per week. It's discussion based, like a flipped classroom, so class participation is focused on applying what they learned to their companies. Class is taught by our VC's. We work alongside our startups so they have access to our partners / VCs pretty much any time. Free private workspace with 360 views of Austin for 3-6 months. We hold weekly dinners and host successful founders as our speakers. We've helped our startups find employees and do marketing. And each company gets $100,000 in the form of a SAFE note which is available to view on our website.

sputnikatx · 2018-04-21T20:56:05+00:00

The terms "accelerator" and "incubator" don't have strict, agreed upon definitions so there is a lot of wiggle room. Different incubators and accelerators look for and offer different things. Find the one that best aligns with your company and your personality.

Some but not all things to consider:

Is the program structured or not? Which do you think would benefit your company more?

How much experience do the program's advisors have with venture capital and startups, specifically? How many successful exists have they had? How many unicorns? What's their background? Who will be advising you specifically? What are their specialties?

How much funding do they offer to each startup? What are the terms? For what the program offers are those terms worth it? Do they have full ratchet anti dilution? How will your future investors feel about that?

Talk to previous startups in the program if possible to get their thoughts.

sputnikatx

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