The following was written by Jessica Mo, Pava Center Venture Insights Intern
This fall, the Pava Marie LaPere Center for Entrepreneurship welcomed 45 ventures to participate in the Spark accelerator. Spark is an early-stage startup accelerator for Johns Hopkins student teams or solo entrepreneurs that offers a stipend upon program completion. Seventy-eight teams applied to the program, with eight of the nine Johns Hopkins schools represented in the accepted teams. The top three schools represented are Whiting School of Engineering, Carey School of Business, and Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.
“This is the most selective cohort to date,” Sephora Saint-Armand, Assistant Director of the Pava Center, said. “We had to think through who in their application has demonstrated a genuine curiosity in the idea and an initial indicator to see it through in earnest.”
This year, Saint-Armand noted a trend of both more AI-centered products and non-technical products. According to her, building an AI-focused venture requires a special set of considerations.
“Spark tends to be our initial indicator of what is hot in the market. As you can imagine, there is a growing base of AI-enabled x, y, and z,” she said. “There is a lower barrier to entry to create something customizable, but because it is such a crowded space, you need to be able to demonstrate value much quicker than in the past.”
The Spark accelerator’s curriculum, co-designed with Pava Center namesake Pava LaPere, focuses on customer discovery, market research, user attraction, financial modeling, early market strategy, and pitch decks. Teams will also present their venture at a demo day at the end of the program.
“What is the brand you want to communicate with customers? What are some simple ways to generate a beta or waiting list?” Saint-Armand said. “Spark is supposed to be a disaggregated business plan. It’s incredibly valuable to know your market, your product, and what you are building towards next.”
The cohort is a mix of first-time ideators and existing founders, with around a tenth of the teams headed by venture builders looking to iterate a product line within an already-established LLC or an incorporated company.
Looking to the future, Saint-Armand aims to recruit sustainability-focused ventures to the Spark accelerator. She said that she is hopeful that Kindling, a new Pava Center pre-accelerator program launching this fall, will produce a pipeline for future Spark cohorts.
Register for the Spark Showcases on Dec. 9 and 10 here.