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Miner founder match event people talking

Faculty are very busy as they teach courses, conduct research, mentor undergraduate and graduate students and post-docs, write grants, publish papers and participate on committees. These researchers are interested in growing their fledgling startups by adding skills which complement their own and will help to propel their startups to new heights.

If you are interested in participating, please plan on attending either in person or online. Stay tuned for the next Miner Founder Match.

Early-stage Accelerator, September 17 to November 19, 2026, all cohorts full

Early-stage Accelerator Pitches Spring 2026
Two women, one holding a microphone and presentation clicker are starting their pitch.
A student with glasses is holding a microphone getting ready for his pitch.
Five judges , two men and three women sitting at their table are listening closely.to a pitch.
A male student, wearing a ties and glasses, is holding a microphone giving his pitch.
Three students, two holding microphones are giving their pitch.
A male student wearing a polo shirt, is holding a microphone and presentation clicking giving his pitch.
A student wearing a suit and hat, is holding a microphone is reading out his paper, giving his pitch.
Two students wear polo shirts and are both holding microphones are giving their pitch.

Early-stage Accelerator Awards Spring 2026
Two males students posing with a check with the judges.
A female student posing with a check with the judges.
A male student in a blue blazer posing with a check with the judges.
Two male students in polo shirts pose with a check with the judges.
A female student poses with a check with judges.
A male student in a blue blazer posing with a check with the judges.

Early-stage Accelerator Finals Fall 2025
ESA Pitch Day Photos
ESA Pitch Day Photos
ESA Pitch Day Photos
ESA Pitch Day Photos
ESA Pitch Day Photos
ESA Pitch Day Photos
ESA Pitch Day Photos
ESA Pitch Day Photos
ESA Pitch Day Photos
ESA Pitch Day Photos

Early-stage Accelerator, Fall 2026

Early-stage Accelerator-Curriculum Schedule and Learning Objectives

Week/Date Curriculum
Week 0 - 9/3/26 Miner Founder Match
Week 1 - 9/8/26 Introduction, purpose, developing alternatives and strategic alternatives pathways; Learning objectives-create alternatives and strategic alternatives pathways for your startup
Week 2 - 9/15/26 Evaluate competitors; Learning objective-create lists of potential competitors and identify them as direct, indirect and potential competitors
Week 3 - 9/22/26 Create MVP, key milestones; Learning objectives-create minimal viable product and key milestones for each market/product combo
Week4 - 9/29/26 Assess market(TAM/SAM/SOM), market ramp/share, both top-down, bottom-up; Learning objectives-estimate market share, ramp for each market/product combo using top-down and bottom-up tools
Week 5 - 10/13/26 Develop timelines; Learning objectives-estimate timelines for each market/product combo
Week 6 - 10/20/26 Analyze costs; Learning objectives-estimate costs for each market/product combo
Week 7 - 10/27/26 Identify and assess risks; Learning objectives-estimate risks for each market/product combo
Week 8 - 11/3/26 Summarize value creation of each alternative; Learning objectives-summarize values for each alternative
Week 9 - 11/10/26 Craft strategy, decide path forward, determine valuation; Learning objectives-devise new paths and create strategy
Week 10 - 11/18/26 Wrap up and share path going forward, Pitch competition

For more information, please contact ckarslake@mst.edu.