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No. Startup Ventura is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 39-2204612). It has no shareholders, does not sell stock, notes, or any other security, and does not pay financial returns. If you want to fund the program, that is a tax deductible gift or sponsorship through our Give page. If you want to invest, you invest directly in the independent companies that come through the accelerator, on terms you work out with those founders. Startup Ventura is not a party to those investments.

No. The program takes no equity in cohort companies, charges founders no tuition and no fees, and receives no fee, carried interest, or success payment tied to any investment. It does not run a fund or a special purpose vehicle, and it does not pool or syndicate investments. Operating costs are covered by the City of Ventura, grants, sponsors, and donors.

Every cohort ends with an in person Demo Day in front of investors. Demo Day is by invitation, and invitations go to people with investment or industry experience based on what you tell us on this form. After Demo Day, tell us which founders you would like to meet and we pass the request along. Founders decide whom they meet. Startup Ventura arranges introductions and nothing more.

Not to join this list, attend Demo Day as an invited guest, mentor, or judge. Whether you may invest in a particular company is decided by that company and its counsel under the securities exemption it uses, and most early stage rounds are limited to accredited investors. Startup Ventura does not verify accreditation and does not decide eligibility for any investment.

We introduce, convene, and educate. We do not recommend investments, provide investment, legal, or tax advice, evaluate companies for investment merit, negotiate or structure deals, hold or transmit funds, or receive any payment when an investment closes. Selection into the cohort reflects our program criteria and is not an endorsement of any company. Nothing on this site is an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Do your own diligence and consult your own advisers.

Each company does. Startup Ventura does not set, negotiate, or publish any company’s round terms. Because the program takes no equity and charges nothing, there is no accelerator instrument on the cap table. We ask about your typical check size, stage, and sectors only so the introductions we make are useful to you and to the founders.

We make no representation about any company’s prospects or about returns. Early stage private investments are illiquid, information is limited, and you may lose the entire amount you invest. Our first cohort launches in 2027, so we have no alumni outcomes to report yet. What we can point to is the program design, the operators on our board, and our partners, Plug and Play and gener8tor. Once results exist we will publish factual cohort figures with dates and sources.

Yes. Investor mentors hold office hours or short sessions with cohort founders in the sectors they know, on a schedule they set. Demo Day needs judges and attendees. Sponsoring Demo Day is handled separately from investing, through sponsor@startupventura.com and the Give page. None of these roles requires accreditation.

Mentors and judges keep founder information confidential and disclose any existing or contemplated financial or personal relationship with a cohort company, and they step back from scoring that company. Any investment conversation is between you and the founder, in your personal capacity.

No. Giving and investing are separate. Donors and sponsors receive recognition and community: name or logo placement, impact reports, and event invitations. Access to founders is based on what founders need and is open to any qualified investor regardless of giving. Gifts to Startup Ventura are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.