ACRE doesn’t believe that there is a one-size-fits-all approach to supporting startups. Therefore, we don’t have a heavy-curriculum, cohort-based approach. Instead, we do a deep dive with you across 7 key areas of your business, then take a very bespoke approach to supporting the specific needs of your company.

Applying to the Urban Future Prize Competition is the best way to get into the ACRE incubator. Competition winners are accepted into the incubator and we often invite several of the finalists. If there is not an open call for startups for the competition, you can still apply to ACRE on a rolling basis. We give preference to referrals and evaluate applications quarterly.

A: Below are the criteria we look at when evaluating startups:

1.) Founder Strength – Does the founder describe a compelling vision for the future? Are you confident the founding team will deliver on their vision? Does the founder show a deep understanding of his/her customers?

2.) Product Potential – Does the proposed solution have a clear value proposition to the customer? Does the company solve an existing customer problem?

3.) Competitive Landscape – Does the product have defensible IP? Are barriers to entry high? Are there many potential or existing competitors in the market? Are you confident the team can beat their competition?

4.) Market Potential – Does the go-to-market strategy appear feasible? Is there a large enough market to support a business?

5.) Sustainability Potential – At scale, does the product – whether in its direct use or indirect impact on behavior – lead to reduced GHG emissions, or greater environmental sustainability?

6.) Social Impact Potential – At scale, does the product – whether in its direct use or indirect impact on behavior – lead to a meaningful and positive change in the health and well-being for a community, access to education, alleviation of poverty, gender and racial equality, peace and inclusivity? Other definitions of “social impact” may apply.

The base membership fee for ACRE is $450/mo. This comes with a hot-desk in our office (if needed) and access to all of our support services. This membership fee is what allows us not to take equity in our startups. Each physical desk you need beyond the base membership fee is an additional $450/mo.

ACRE takes 0% equity from all companies accepted into the program.

Companies stay in our program an average of 2-3 years.

No, we don’t require your physical presence in New York. However, given that we are New York-based incubator, we expect that your business will eventually have a some sort of impact on the New York market.

We do a “milestone meeting” with you every 6 months where we take a deep dive into key areas of your business, make sure you are on track to reach milestones, and define how the UFL team can support you.

Between milestone meetings, you will meet every month with a program manager for check-ins.

We have workshops, expert sessions, lunch and learns, and founder meet and greets at least once a month. We also host several community events across our programs. Attendance is not required but is highly encouraged.

In general, we expect that you will be an engaged member of our community: joining the events you can, supporting other founders if applicable, and being responsive to the introductions we make on your behalf.