Sage Impact Entrepreneurship United States

• Program Type: Hybrid (In-person & Online)
• Location: United States
• Investment: USD 50K for top two Core Cohort startups, USD 25K for the next two highest-ranked Core Cohort startups, and USD 10K for remaining Core Cohort startups
• Program Duration: Three years
• Stage: Early Stage, Formation Stage
• Industry of Focus: Clean Energy Transition, Biodiversity and Nature-Based Solutions, Smart Mobility and Sustainable Infrastructure, Sustainable Supply Chain and Manufacturing, Circular Resource Solutions, Climate-Resilient Health and Wellness, Disaster-Resilient Housing and Community Planning, Climate Finance and Insurance Innovation, Environmental Justice and Social Equity, Data Analytics and Climate Intelligence

Key Highlights

Program Overview: Sage Impact Entrepreneurship, in partnership with Sage Foundation and Village Capital, is a three-year initiative supporting 165 entrepreneurs across Southern Europe, the UK, and the US. The program focuses on fostering visionary leaders driving systemic change through innovation and collaboration. It offers tailored mentoring, product support, grants, and strategic training to early-stage and underrepresented startups.

Diversity, Inclusion, and Exclusion: The program aims to support entrepreneurs facing disproportionate barriers to growth and scale, emphasizing underrepresented startups.

Investment Details: The top two Core Cohort peer-selected startups will receive USD 50K in grant capital, and the next two highest-ranked startups will receive USD 25K each. The remaining Core Cohort startups will receive USD 10K in grant capital for milestone support.

Benefits Details and Perks/Credits

• Tailored mentoring
• Sage’s product support
• Grants
• Strategic training
• Mock board meetings
• Four interactive workshops
• One-to-one coaching with an investment analyst
• Mentorship from strategic partners, customers, and other founders
• Networking with prominent US investors and business leaders
• Travel stipend for one team member for the Program Summit in Atlanta, GA
• Community support through a curated digital platform and asynchronous tools
• Visibility through Village Capital’s website and social channels
• Two years of post-program support

Program Format

• Virtual Sprint Week: March 10-13, 2025
• Virtual Workshops: April 1-3, April 29-May 1, May 20-22, 2025
• In-Person Program Summit: June 3-5, 2025
• Community Cohort Virtual Workshops: March 18, April 8, May 6, June 10, 2025

Location or Relocation Requirements: No relocation required.

Cohort Size and Program Frequency

• Annual Core Cohort: 12-13 startups
• Annual Community Cohort: 14-16 startups

Requirements Related to Users, Revenue, or LOIs: Startups must have meaningful customer or business validation, which can include successful pilot studies, number of users, and/or strategic partnerships.

Post-Program Engagement: All participating startups will receive two years of post-program support to enhance their impact and scale their solutions.

Company Types Requirements: Eligible startups must be legally incorporated as for-profit entities, including B Corp-certified companies, and have market-based solutions in specific verticals such as clean energy, biodiversity, smart mobility, sustainable supply chain, circular resource solutions, climate-resilient health, disaster-resilient housing, climate finance, environmental justice, and data analytics.

Founding Team Preferences: At least one full-time founder must be based in the US.