Futures Accelerator: Entrepreneurship
Gold House is supporting and empowering industry-changing Asian and Pacific Islander (API) entrepreneurs. Through its start-up accelerator, Gold Rush, Gold House provides emerging business leaders with an intensive 12-week program offering targeted masterclasses, 1:1 advising, and a community of API founders.
How It Works
Founders receive:
- $150K investment via SAFE by Gold House Ventures, the definitive fund investing in API founders
- Fundraising support
- Masterclasses and workshops led by industry experts
- 1:1 advising with a dedicated Advisor, plus office hours with subject matter experts
- A tight-knit community of other API founders
- In-person founder showcase
Spring 2023
- Spring 2023
- Fall 2022
- Spring 2022
- Fall 2021
- Spring 2021
- Fall 2020
- Spring 2020
Founders
Beau Wangtrakuldee & Will McGinn
AmorSui
Alice Zhang & Nisha Desai
Anise Health
Tony Shu & James Parker
Parker
Zibo Gao & Paul Xu
Sincerely
John Chao & Tony Yin
Tresl
Advisors
Anjney Midha
VP of Platform Ecosystem, Discord
Annie Lee
CMO, Howl
Dominic Lau
Partner, Ripple Ventures
Emily Zhen
Investor, NEA
Felix Lung
Co-Founder and CTO, Zola
Jason Kwong
Chief Innovation Officer, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment
Jenny Sui
Principal, Craft Ventures
Paul Zhang
Co-Founder and CTO, Avant
Shawn Tsao
Co-Founder, Caviar
Teresa Tang
Strategic Advisor to CEO, Brightcove
Tony Wang
Founder, Office of Applied Strategy
FAQ
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We accept 8-10 companies per cohort, and at least one principal founder must identify as Asian and/or Pacific Islander.
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All required programming is held virtually and available to founders based anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, though our in-person events & meetups will be held in the U.S.
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Selected founders will be notified by the Gold Rush program leads after the Selection Committee has completed the voting process. Spring 2023 applications are due February 6th and finalists will be interviewed on a rolling basis through the end of February. The selected class will be notified by mid-March.
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Each Gold Rush company receives $150,000 in seed funding in exchange for 5% equity on a post-money Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), the “Gold Rush SAFE.”
When your company is admitted to Gold Rush, you’ll receive $150,000 up front and we enter into a participation agreement that includes guidelines around Gold House Ventures’ right to invest in future financing rounds.
When your company raises its first priced round, the Gold Rush SAFE converts into preferred shares representing 5% of the company. Other investors in that round will purchase shares at the price per share of the preferred stock being sold in the round. -
Our standard SAFE agreement can be found here. Tl;dr is that we invest $150,000 at an effective $3 million post-money valuation cap.
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If you’ve raised on terms that differ from the Gold Rush SAFE terms, we still encourage you to apply. If selected as a finalist, a member of our team will be available to discuss options for funding. Given the hands-on nature of our program, 1:1 time dedicated by our advisors, and long-term access to the Gold House network via Gold House Futures (a lifelong membership community that unites the next generation of top API entrepreneurs, creatives, and social impact leaders), we strive to meet our ownership threshold across all Gold Rush companies, and will find a way to work with you if there is mutual fit.
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In order to be eligible to receive the $150,000 in seed investment, your company must be structured as a C Corp (rather than an LLC or S Corp). Companies that are currently operating as LLCs may apply, but if selected must convert to a C Corp in order to receive investment.
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Over the 12 weeks, you’ll have access to a variety of community building and networking opportunities to meet other founders in your cohort. You’ll also be matched with an Advisor who you can meet with 1:1 weekly/bi-weekly. Throughout the program, we’ll host four deep dive sessions that are designed to increase your ability to build, scale, and fundraise. You’ll hear from subject matter experts and founders that are a few steps ahead as you deep dive into topics such as Brand (and how to articulate it), Fundraising (from pitch decks to term sheets), Company (how to approach product and growth hacking), and Leadership (how to manage the human aspect of being a founder). The program will culminate in a virtual demo day as well as an opportunity for the founders to showcase their products and services in-person to investors and the Gold House network.
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Approximately 2-3 hours per week. We like to think that the more you put in, the more you’ll get out of the program. In order to graduate and be eligible for Gold Rush Alumni benefits, we expect your participation in the majority of sessions and networking opportunities. Your active engagement with your advisor and other founders in your cohort is key to building the community that is core to the Gold Rush experience.
Apply Now
Applications for Fall 2023 Gold Rush will open in August. Please submit below to join our priority application list.