At Accelerating Asia, we’ve worked with over 40 startups for our Amplify program. Founders who are thinking of joining Amplify, often have a few questions - so here are some FAQs to help you decide if Amplify is the right fit for you.

Why do Founders join Amplify?

Every startup is different and most come into Amplify looking for 1-2 key outcomes and find they finish with a better understanding of running and growing a successful startup. While every Founder is different, all signs (feedback from our startups) point to some common reasons why Founders join Amplify.

1. Pitch Coaching Session: we have a group session where startups pitch and get 1-1 feedback from the Accelerating Asia team and steps on how to improve the pitch, most go away and instantly implement the feedback which leads to outcomes - 2 of our Amplify startups have been finalists and won in the Tech in Asia Pitch competition.

2. Our Fundraising process: the modules on fundraising deliver a structure to raising investment that startups can follow.

3. Live Q&As with our Entrepreneurs in Residence where startups can ask questions on any topic from product, growth, incorporating in Singapore and marketing to pitching and fundraising.

4. A community of fellow founders across the region and a brains trust because being a founder can be lonely and you get ongoing access to Amplify startups.

5. It’s an A to Z program that prepares startups for that first institutional investment or accelerator program - our alumni have raised from SOSV, Plug n Play, Bangladesh Angels Network & more

Who is eligible for the program?

Anyone...but really Amplify is designed specifically for early-stage Startup Founders so we recommend that ultimately it’s the founders that participate in the program.

My startup is already launched and we have customers, is there value for later stage founders?

Yes, Founders and Startups come in different shapes and sizes and we’ve designed Amplify to support a wide range of early stage companies.

We find there’s two types of startups who join and benefit from Amplify:

1. MVP in market: you’ve launched your product, have some early signs of traction, maybe raised your first cheque from family/friends. But you’re not quite advanced enough to join an accelerator program or raise institutional investment.

2. MVP about to launch: you’re about ready to go with your product and you actually plan to launch during the Amplify program.

Startups get the most value when they go through the modules in order, completing 1 per week and joining all the live sessions to learn from your fellow startups.

Is there a limit to the number of founders who can participate in the program?

Right now, up to 3 founders per startup can join the program. Why 3? Well we find it’s the average number of founders but also it’s about making sure that the cohort has the right mix and number of founders - not too little, not too many, just right to enhance the experience.

How many hours do I have to commit to Amplify?

There’s no minimum hour requirement, as Founders we get that you need to be focused on building your startup. Amplify is a flexible program that allows you to work through modules at your own pace.

Most weeks you can finish the modules and lessons within 1-2 hours. Then every fortnight there’s the live Q&A sessions, which is 1 hour (we cover a lot!).

So all up, you should be able to finish Amplify within 20 across 8 weeks and implement your ideas in real time to your startup.

How is the program structured?

There’s 2 main parts to the program - the on-demand modules and live Q&A sessions.

Live Q&As

Each fortnight, we host live Q&As with the Accelerating Asia team.

These feature:

• A pitch coaching session with live feedback

• 2 x 1-2 hours Ask Me Anything sessions with your fellow cohort and the Accelerating Asia team

• Every Wednesday from 5pm Singapore time

There’s 6 core modules each featuring:

• Lessons run by the Accelerating Asia team and key topics including fundraising, metrics, product and growth.

• Case Studies and interviews with experienced founders who have been in your position, successfully raised capital and expanded plus made a few mistakes along the way.

• Extra resources and recommended reading.

• Exercises to help you implement the learnings from your startup.

Each module is:

• 2-3 hours if you complete everything, but we find startups can get what they need out of it in 1-2 hours.

• Available on-demand so no pesky scheduling or interrupting you running your startup, it’s when it works for you.

If I’m already running my startup, why should I bother with this?

Well if you’re a first or second time founder, chances are there’s a lot you just don’t know about running a startup, raising investment and pitching your idea.

It can help to get advice, input and help from people who have done it before and aren’t involved in the day to day of your startup.

Plus, our Founders consistently tell us that being a startup founder is lonely and having fellow founders or people who have done it before makes it seem a little less lonely.

How does this relate to Accelerating Asia’s flagship program? Does it replace it?

Amplify is its own program, it’s not meant to replace Accelerating Asia’s flagship program. We’ve designed Amplify for startups who are usually 6 months away from being advanced enough to make it through to the flagship program.

While being a part of Amplify does not automatically improve your chances of getting into Accelerating Asia, it does help your startup grow and become more successful. Plus it gives you direct access to the Accelerating Asia team who make investment decisions and choose the startups for the flagship program.

How long do I have access to the platform?

You have full access to Amplify for 8 weeks from the start of the cohort and ongoing access to the Founder community to ask your questions.

Any other questions or want to say hello?

We love talking with startups, answering their questions and more. Reach out to Rohana

Doors are now open to join Amplify, our 6 module online program for startups that covers the A to Z of what you need to know to fundraise, pitch and scale your startup plus connects you to a network of founders and the Accelerating Asia team.