Uncommon Pre-Accelerator
Turn your business idea into reality & be confident with the tools, network and advice you need to succeed
October cohort enrolments have begun
Grow with experienced & culturally accessible mentors
A 5-week flexible intensive
Lean, apply, network and grow
40 Free Places with a Deposit
Start your journey here
Eureka, you have a business idea and have a feeling it will change the world. Great, we need more people like you, because it just might. That being said, we know there are all kinds challenges for emerging or first time migrant/refugee founders and creators face when building their side hustle business or startup.
As a migrant/refugee these factors are multiplied with the cultural challenges like language and cultural differences, visa constraints, lack of local experience, unemployment/underemployment make it even harder. Diving deeper, we find its:
- Business advice can be expensive and often hit or miss
- There’s too much information out there, it can be overwhelming
- Uncommon to navigate the startup ecosystem and to build momentum easily alone
- Difficult to find ongoing culturally accessible and affordable services to help you grow in a migrant friendly community
Most business fall (Fail) in the first 5-10 years
It’s estimated about 9 in 10 startups fail in the first 10 years. While 20% of small businesses fail in their first year, 30% of small business fail in their second year, and 50% of small businesses fail after five years in business.
42% No market need
29% Ran out of cash
23% Not the right team
19% Get out competed
18% Price/Costing issues
17% Poor product offering
17% - Busines model issues
*Based on an anlysis of 101 startups post mortems, source CB Insights
Transform your idea with
Uncommon Pre-Accelerator
This is not your average (common) incubator. You will learn more than just theory. We will be surrounded by an incredible team of driven founders, creators and mentors that will equip, challenge and amplify you with the knowledge, skills and help you need to transform your business idea with confidence into reality.
What You Can Expect
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Tailored Mentoring
Not all mentoring is equal, dont risk your time or money.
Uncommon Fellowship is a safe space where you can authentically connect with diverse people who share a similar story. Many of our mentors and members are South-East Asian or from Latin America, some former international students with extensive experience in business.
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Find Your Business Buddy
Build momentum with support and peer acoutnablity
Having a support system is essential. Do you need a new perspective? Have you missed self-imposed deadlines? We will pair you up with a founder or creator that is complimentary to you. A business buddy you can journey along with you, bounce off ideas and hold each other accountable.
It’s encouraging and assuring to know someone has your back and is there for you during the most changeling times.
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Navigate the startup ecosystem with confidence
Find what you need when you need it, save time trolling to the internet
You will have access to a streamlined knowledge base to help you navigate the startup ecosystem and hit the ground running. Which will save you hours trolling the internet, trying to find what’s credible. Our knowledge wiki includes
- Industry-standard tools, worksheets and mini guides, including a 30-day pocket startup guide
- Find the tech stack you need, including no-code tools used by the top startups
- Find curated articles, videos, guides, tips for every stage of your startup journey and more – find the right information
* The pre-alpha version is in development and should be ready by time of launch
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Masterclass
Dive into key topics, learn faster with feedback in community
Our masterclasses from our subject-matter experts will address all key focus areas of starting a business. We run masterclasses once or twice every two months to help you deep-dive into a topic and get your questions answered. You may also have the chance to attend a drop-in labs where you can have your work reviewed.
Who is this for
Whether you have dabbled with a side hustle, worked in a large corporate firm, worked at a startup or don’t have a technical background. We help emerging migrant/refugee founders and creators who want to build business that serve real world problems.
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Idea stage
We accept founders and creators with a little more than an idea to preparing for approaching investors. Uncommon Collective has you covered.
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Side hustlers transitioning to main hustle
Learn how to scale your side hustle to be your main business with mentors who have been in your shoes before.
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Solo founders to founding teams
From solo founders to teams of 5 we have a place for you. Infact if you have a leadership team we recommend they attend
We build bridges not walls
Our program is not exclusive to a specific culture, but is culturally accessible and inclusive. We have especially designed the content to be geared to 1st generation migrants or refugees from South East Asian and Latin cultural backgrounds.
hOW DOES IT WORK
Whether you have dabbled with a side hustle, worked in a large corporate firm, worked at a startup or don’t have a technical background. We help first-time or emerging migrant/refugee founders and creators who want to build business that serve real world problems.
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1. Connect
Connect with your mentor, peer buddy and cohort in the community on a regular basis. Network and learn the skills you need to kick start your business idea.
2. Fully Engage
Engage with the highly experienced mentors, optional masterclasses, and community in our Facebook group. Fall in love with the process and problem, not the idea.
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3. You Grow as Your Business Grows
It’s not just about the theory you learn, it’s about the people you do it with. The meaningful networks as you grow your idea and business. Gain a network, business know-how and skill set you need to level up your business.
GROW WITH
EXPERIENCED & CULTURALLY DIVERSE MENTORS
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From established companies
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Choose your plan
We are now accepting applications (expression of interests) until the 8th of October when applications close. If for some reason you cannot afford the commitment bond, please email us and we will consider your case.
UC Basic
30 Free Places
for
STUDENTS OR PART-TIME EMPLOYEES
- 2 x ~1.5 hour live group mentoring sessions
- Up to 2 x 30 minute peer buddy sessions
- 5 Masterclass sessions
- Knowledge base for founders and creators
- Access to exclusive events
- Be part of an exclusive community of founders, creators, investors, and business leaders
- Get your money back with a commitment bond
Was $2500 / person
Now $0
With a $100 commitment bond
UC Plus
5 Free Places
for
Full Time Employees
- 2 x 1.5 hour live group mentoring sessions
- Up to 2 x 30 minute peer buddy sessions
- 6 Masterclass sessions
- Knowledge base for founders and creators
- Access to exclusive events
- Access to exclusive community of founders, creators, investors, and business leaders
- Get your money back with a commitment bond
Was $2500 / person
Now $0
With a $250 commitment bond
* The pre-alpha version of our community based app is in the pipeline but may not be ready by the time you commence
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
The commitment bond helps us get committed students who want to do the program. As long as you’ve viewed and submitted something for 95% of our accelerator program, you will be eligible for a full refund.
There is no pass/fail conditions for this program. You only need to submit your completed work to receive your full refund.
Note we will have services you can pay for, but these services are completely optional.
No you dont. This is technically not a requirement.
Absolutely not! We encourage international students to apply.
It is entirely up to you. We suggest spending 3-6 hours every week minimum to learn, network and build momentum. There may be up to 2 live sessions per week. That will be recorded in case you miss it.
Of course, you can spend more time building your business or hustle.
If you refer 5 people, and they all end up doing this program. Then your commitment bond will be waved. This means you don’t have to pay anything
Our goal is not to make money from people not completing this program. But we make money in a few different ways:
1. Pay want you like: at the end of the program, if you enjoyed the experience and found it valuable, we’ll ask you to help us make the uncommon common. By support our cause of amplifying 1 million emerging migrant founders and creators.
2. We have other services, workshops/labs and events we charge for.
The only accepted reason to drop out of this program with a full refund is a medical reason (for yourself or a close family member).
Yes you can. We build bridges not walls.
Although, we prioritise 1st generation migrants and refugees. We support everyone if we have capacity.
