The Springboard Women’s Health Accelerator: Frequently Asked Questions

Springboard accelerates women-founded, women-led, and co-led companies. 

Our programs are open to senior leaders of any gender, race, and other demographic backgrounds at women-founded, women-led, co-led companies. 

Senior leaders are individuals who hold significant and meaningful decision-making authority and/or equity stake in the company (e.g. CEO, COO, CCO, CTO and other C-suite equivalent level positions.)

We support innovation across the full spectrum of women’s health. This includes companies working in but not limited to:

• Digital health and healthtech
• Therapeutics, medical devices, and diagnostics
• New care delivery or service models improving outcomes for women
• Consumer packaged goods addressing unmet needs in women’s health
• Therapeutic areas: autoimmune, cognitive and brain health, oncology, aging and bone health, gynecological and sexual health, reproductive health, and cardiovascular health

If your company is advancing women’s health in a meaningful way, we’d love to hear from you. See a list of previous companies here.

Your company should have:

• Early traction – this could be pilot data, clinical partnerships, initial customers, or early revenue
• Completed a Seed round or active fundraising underway
• A plan to raise a Seed, Series A or Series B within the next 6–12 months
• A feedback-driven, high-performance management team or the ability to attract one
  

Participants should be ready to refine their approach, scale efficiently, and meaningfully engage with investors. 

Expect approximately 4–6 hours per week over 16 weeks.

Programming includes workshops, expert-led sessions, peer discussions, tailored mentorship, and networking opportunities. The program culminates with an in-person Demo Day (location to be announced). 

To get the full value of the program, we encourage founders to commit to the time required for active participation. Those who engage consistently are the ones who see meaningful progress, stronger fundraising narratives, better investor readiness, tighter go-to-market plans, and deeper connections across the women’s health ecosystem.

Participants who are unable to participate regularly will miss out on these advantages, as much of the program’s value comes from real-time interaction, feedback, and collaboration. Active involvement is key to unlocking the full benefits of the Springboard experience.

The accelerator is a mix of remote and in person programming. The 3-month bootcamp and advisory periods are fully remote, enabling founders across the country and around the world to participate with flexibility. The Demo Day at the culmination of the program is in person.

Participants gain access to a deep bench of talent and expertise, including:

• Mentorship from seasoned investors, successful founders, clinicians, big pharma leaders, venture partners, and Fortune 500 executives
• Workshops covering fundraising strategy, go-to-market planning, commercialization, investor readiness, partnering and licensing, operational excellence, and more
• Connections to a powerful network of peers and industry experts
• Visibility through Demo Day and Springboard’s media and community platforms
• Post-programming support including curated introductions and ongoing invitations to events, webinars, and more.

The program is designed to help participants make real progress, not just consume information.

The program fee is $3,500 total including a $200 application fee and $3,300 program fee.

Springboard does not take equity. The accelerator is structured to empower participants with mentorship, community, and visibility, not ownership stakes.

While Springboard is not an investor, the program is built to help you become highly competitive in the fundraising process. We focus on:

• Investor readiness
• Pitch refinement
• Strategic introductions where appropriate
• Exposure through Demo Day
  

Many alumnae go on to raise significant rounds after completing the accelerator. Our goal is to position you for that level of success.

While Springboard is not an investor, the program is built to help you become highly competitive in the fundraising process. We focus on:

• Investor readiness
• Pitch refinement
• Strategic introductions where appropriate
• Exposure through Demo Day

The accelerator is designed to support growth on multiple fronts:

• Strengthen your fundraising strategy and investor pipeline
• Access mentorship from leaders with deep experience in women’s health
• Refine your product, go-to-market, and commercialization plans
• Join a trusted community of fellow founders solving women’s health challenges

Accelerate learning through hands-on support, not generic content

The process is straightforward:

1. Submit your online application
2. Springboard’s selection committee reviews all submissions
3. After the application review process, selected applicants are invited to a virtual interview where they give a 10 minute company pitch to the Springboard team and a group of Council members who will ask questions and provide feedback
4. Finalists are invited to join the 2026 cohort

We value clarity, purpose, and high potential, not perfection.

Start date: March 16, 2026

Duration: 16 weeks

Absolutely. We welcome international companies. The virtual format supports founders across global time zones, and many past participants have been non-U.S. based.

Graduates become part of Springboard’s active and highly engaged alumnae community, one of the most valuable aspects of the accelerator. After completing the program, founders continue to benefit from:

• A lifelong network of leaders in women’s entrepreneurship including founders, investors, executives, and industry leaders who regularly collaborate, make introductions, and support each other’s growth.
  
• Ongoing events and touchpoints across the country, including regional meetups, workshops, panels, and Springboard-hosted gatherings at major healthcare and innovation conferences.
• Access to mentors, advisors, and Springboard Staff long after the cohort ends, helping founders navigate new challenges as they scale.
  

A vibrant digital community where founders share resources, advice, and partnerships in real time.

Springboard is more than a 16-week program, it’s a long-term community designed to support you throughout your journey as a leader in women’s health.

We are location-agnostic. Accelerator programs may take place either virtually or in person, but our main focus is finding the most promising companies, regardless of where they are located.  We’ve worked with companies in over 30 states and more than 10 countries through virtual or in-person programming.

Let’s talk first (please email Amani Bright, Senior Program Manager at [email protected]). Chances are, you’ll meet our criteria to apply and we’ll recommend you submit an application. Entrepreneurs who are not accepted into the full program may still be offered a position as an observer. Even if you end up not being selected for the program, we’ll still point you in the direction of the right resources for you – whether it’s a seed accelerator, angel group, or someone (or something) else entirely.

No. We do not require companies to relocate in order to participate in our program. Instead, we host several high-value virtual and in-person events. Our goal is to surround and support women entrepreneurs with a global community of influencers, investors, and innovators dedicated to guiding them to their highest potential.

Some of our most successful alumnae like Pamela Contag, Robin Chase, Gail Goodman, and Linda Hall Keller also asked that question. Since 2000, these women and many others have achieved remarkable results: 930+ Springboard portfolio companies have created more than $61B in value, executed over 235 exits to strategic acquirers, and achieved 28 IPOs.

We understand what it takes to help build great women-led businesses. Every step is carefully calibrated and has evolved based on 24+ years of experience running high-touch, high-value programs for the world’s most promising entrepreneurs.

Our programs are truly community-driven. We involve over 500 entrepreneurs, angel investors, VCs, corporate investors, business development contacts, press, service providers and domain experts in the program. These individuals help by referring applicants, evaluating applicants, speaking at our events, coaching selected companies and recruiting new talent into this pool of experts.

We accept ~10 companies in each accelerator class, which means the application process is highly competitive. We play close attention, as investors do, to the referral source of the companies that come to us. Find out who we know, and ask them to give you a reference. Mention their names on your application and include any other external sources of validation like awards that tell us you are a force to be reckoned with.

During the four-month program, selected entrepreneurs attend a three- to four-day Bootcamp where they are assessed by our team as they begin the Springboard journey alongside a peer group of talented and experienced women leaders. Post-Bootcamp, the entrepreneur is surrounded by a hand-crafted team of advisors who provide a diverse array of perspectives to help hone your presentation skills and your strategy. The advising period may also be complemented with a series of workshop sessions led by our advisors and trusted partners built around the collective needs of our entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs continue to get access throughout the advising period through 1-1 calls and meetings.

Towards the end of the program cycle, we set up opportunities to present before audiences of relevant investors and corporate partners. Depending on the specific program, these events may be attended by a large audience of key industry experts and connectors or by just a few, highly connected, highly regarded decision-makers.

The alumnae of our accelerator programs never stop reaping the benefits of being part of our curated entrepreneurial expert network.

After the program, we continue to serve as a relentless advocate for our entrepreneurs, leveraging our relationships and the connections within our network to add value, whether by helping you get access where you need it or by having your back in the most challenging of circumstances. We are your partners in your search for success and strive to be the backbone and the peer network that you turn to in times of stress and success.

We are invested in the long-term success of our entrepreneurs, and we expect our entrepreneurs to be invested in the long-term success of the Springboard network. We host an annual Winners’ Circle dinner, have an active alumnae platform, and maintain a constant flow of new talent into the Springboard pipeline. When you exit your company, we seek to keep you involved in the Springboard cycle by serving as an advisor to a program, on an industry Council, and as an investor in Springboard’s mission to cultivate and promote the best entrepreneurial talent in the world.