Building a founder community for collective climate action; Focus on the 2024 Ray of Hope Accelerator Cohort

In today’s fast-paced world, we all seek connection, a sense of belonging and purpose that ties us to something greater than ourselves. The connection between the startup founders in the Ray of Hope Accelerator goes beyond just launching a startup. The teams are scaling nature-inspired technologies to address urgent environmental and social challenges. This is no small feat, and many early-stage founders often find themselves working solo or with a small, close-knit team. Lacking a strong support network can be a major barrier for founders in sustaining the mental, emotional, and physical resilience needed when scaling these important climate solutions.

The Ray of Hope Accelerator is a six month program, facilitated by the Biomimicry Institute, with a mandatory in-person 4-day nature retreat. With sponsorship from the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and the Bentley Environmental Foundation, two founding or executive team members from each of the ten startups in the accelerator are able top attend the retreat. The mission is to help founders reconnect with themselves, their purpose, and the natural world, while laying the foundations for a lasting support network they can rely on throughout the accelerator and beyond.

Read the blog for an in-depth view of the program and the entrepreneurs it supports.