Apply Today for Entrepreneur Academy
Five One Labs is pleased to announce that we are launching the applications for our Entrepreneur Academy in Erbil, Iraq!
The Entrepreneur Academy is a training course that takes place every Sunday and Tuesday evenings (5:30-7:30pm) from December 3rd - February 6th. The Academy is a highly selective, focused, and energetic program for people who are planning to launch their own businesses or who have launched their business within the past year.
We are recruiting strong entrepreneurs from diverse communities including refugees, internally displaced people, and locals. If you are passionate about a startup idea and want to learn the skills to turn it into a business, this program is right for you!
The full two-month training program costs $250, however limited financial scholarships are available. SPECIAL PROMOTION: If you apply before November 7th, you get $100 off of the full price (if accepted).
The application is here. Applications are due by Thursday, November 23 at 11:59pm.
Please read below to learn more about the program, the application process, and whether you are eligible to apply:
The Program
Five One Labs is a startup incubator in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) that aims to empower entrepreneurs to build successful businesses. We are launching a two-month Entrepreneur Academy for entrepreneurs, professionals and students from November 26-January 28. (The program will have a two week break from Dec 24-Jan 6).
The Entrepreneur Academy is a twice-a-week course that teaches you the skills to take your business from idea to launch. You understand your customers, define your value proposition, build out your business and financial models, and build and improve your prototype.
You will go through intensive business and entrepreneurship training, and will be connected with legal, marketing and other advice to help you think through your business. Winners of “competitions” throughout the program may be linked to world class mentors or provided additional support for launching their business. Finally, all Five One Labs entrepreneurs are welcomed into a community of likeminded entrepreneurs, both in their training and through optional networking events.
What Do You Get From Joining the Entrepreneur Academy
We want to give you the resources you need to grow your business. This could mean a number of things:
Practical training to help you learn the fundamentals of starting a business
Connections to the business community, investors, and champions
Connections to marketing, design, and technical advice as you develop your product or service
The full support of a world-class team of trainers, advisors, and friends at Five One Labs who will push for you to succeed
Access to social events and an entrepreneurial family to share the experience with!
Who is Eligible to Apply?
All Five One Labs entrepreneurs must be committed to attending the full two months of training (from December through early February). The training will be held on Sunday and Tuesday evening from 5:30-7:30pm.
The program will be held in English, so candidates must have good written and spoken English ability in order to apply. This means being able to converse easily and understand business terms.
You:
Are an aspiring entrepreneur with a creative idea for a new business
Have strong self-motivation and professionalism
Possess a good level of English speaking and writing skills
Are willing to work with a diverse group of people in a multicultural environment
Are able to attend the incubator in-person in Erbil each Sunday and Tuesday from 5:30-7:30pm
Your business:
Is innovative and has a high chance for success
Has a scalable model for growth and income-generation
Is in the idea stage or later of business development (ie, you already have a set plan and strategy, and just need to implement it)
Finally, we are looking for candidates from very diverse communities, including locals, refugees, and internally displaced people in Iraq. If you are not sure you are eligible or have any other questions, please email us at applications@fiveonelabs.org and we will respond immediately!
Program Cost
The cost of the program is $250. The cost will include two trainings per week for eight weeks (for a total of 16 training sessions), access to advisors and potential additional support, and individual advice from the Five One Labs training team during “Office Hours” every other week.
We welcome diversity in our program and encourage all individuals to apply. In order to ensure that those who are interested can participate, we have a limited number of scholarships available to cover some or all of the cost for entrepreneurs on a needs-based system. If you are not able to participate without financial support, you can apply for one of our scholarships using this link.
SPECIAL PROMOTION: If you submit your application by the early deadline of Tuesday, November 7th at 11:59pm, the cost for you will only be $150! (Note: You still must be accepted to the program.)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What is an incubator? An incubator is an organization that helps entrepreneurs start businesses. Incubators help entrepreneurs develop their business and solve problems they might face while launching.
What is an entrepreneur? An entrepreneur is someone who is starting a new business to solve a problem in a creative, innovative way.
What level of English is required? The program will be held entirely in English. This means that you have to be able to converse freely and to feel confident about presenting and pitching your startup idea in front of an audience in English. But don’t worry: there will be special sessions for startup, business and financial terminology as part of the training, and entrepreneurs will be encouraged to work together and help each other.
What if I don’t speak English? Don’t worry, we’ll be running Kurdish and Arabic programming in the Spring and next Fall!
What will our schedule be each week? Over the course of 8 weeks, there will be an curriculum that will cover topics related to launching a businesses, such as customer discovery, defining your value proposition, building business and financial models, and strategy, among others.
There will be two training sessions per week at the Five One Labs coworking space in Erbil, along with opportunities to put into practice what you learn and to get feedback from your trainers. Over the course of the incubator there will be a few sessions of office hours with the trainer, who will be available to answer any questions you may have about the topics covered or the development of our business