Rose Rock Ascend Program

Energy Startups: Prepare for Investment with the Rose Rock Ascend Program, powered by VentureWell and Rose Rock Bridge

This five-week intensive program prepares startups for the partnerships and investment necessary to launch their venture. We are partnering with Rose Rock Bridge to deliver this programming, which aims to help entrepreneurs bridge the gap between customer discovery and commercial launch. We’ve refined our process for helping deep-tech companies over the last 27+ years to bring this focused opportunity.

Applications are now open! Sign up to receive updates.

Why Apply?

Spend one-on-one time with mentors: Learn from high-caliber mentors throughout the program who have experience partnering with energy startups like yours.
De-risk your startup: With input from customers and other stakeholders, refine the problem you are solving, validate your value proposition, and define your beachhead market.
Validate your financial model: Refine the numbers behind your business model and techno-economic assumptions to ensure a solid financial model ahead of fundraising.
Collaborate and network: Connect with fellow founders and leverage the VentureWell and Rose Rock Bridge mentor and investor network after the program.

Does Your Startup Qualify?

VentureWell will select 10-15 teams. Startups must be committed and competitive!

Applicants should have:

A Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 3 or higher. Proven bench-scale feasibility. Potential for intellectual property creation.
Positive impact. An energy-related innovation with a clear, positive impact that solves a real problem felt by customers, and which has a compelling value proposition.
Evidence of market understanding. Validated problem-solution fit and an identified customer segment.
Team identified. Key roles identified on the team, with a clear team lead.
Financing. Pre-seed. Have not yet raised equity financing, but may have secured grant funding, university funding, financial support from accelerators/incubators, or friend/family contributions.

Preference will be given to physical science technologies with applications in the following innovation areas: