Capital that arrives on day one
A $150,000 investment lands in the first week so nobody spends the program writing bridge-loan emails instead of building.
Twelve-week accelerator · Denver
Twelve weeks. Twelve companies. One room.
Twelve West is a small accelerator for founders building outside the coasts. Each spring and autumn we choose twelve teams, put them in a converted rail depot in Denver for twelve weeks, and surround them with operators who have already built what they are about to build. You leave with customers, a clear story and a demo day audience that has been preparing to listen.
We invest $150,000 for 6%, and we answer every application within three weeks.
The operators in the room
Our core mentors are founders and executives who live within a short drive of the depot and answer texts after hours.
- Colette MarchandManaging partner, ran product at two public software companies
- Wes HollisterVenture partner, built and sold a logistics business
- Nadia RahimiHead of program, former founder in climate hardware
- Theo LarkinMentor-in-residence, led sales at a health technology scale-up
- Imani BrooksOperating partner, former chief financial officer
What our alumni have built
- Companies funded across seven cohorts
- 84
- Raised a follow-on round within a year
- 71%
- Raised by alumni after the program
- $310 M
- Created in the Mountain West
- 1,750 jobs
A program built around the hard middle of a company
The idea is easy and the exit is far away. We focus on the stretch in between, when a team has to find its first fifty customers.
A mentor who has done the specific thing
We match each team with two operators for the whole program, chosen for the problem you face next, not for the size of their last exit.
Customer weeks, not workshop weeks
Three weeks of the program are reserved for sales calls and site visits. We cancel every session that competes with them.
Legal and finance without the invoice
A law firm and a bookkeeping partner handle incorporation, equity plans and the first audit-ready ledger at no cost to the cohort.
A demo day with real checkbooks
Ninety investors from Denver, Austin, Chicago and beyond watch the finale, and most have met the founders at least twice before.
How the twelve weeks unfold
- 01
Weeks one to three, sharpen the problem
Interview twenty customers, rewrite your pitch and decide which single metric will prove the business is working.
- 02
Weeks four to seven, sell before you build
Sign letters of intent and pilot agreements while the product is still rough, with a mentor sitting in on the hardest calls.
- 03
Weeks eight to ten, build the repeatable part
Turn what worked into a playbook, hire the first helper and tidy the finances for a data room.
- 04
Weeks eleven and twelve, tell the story
Rehearse with investors, refine the deck and take the stage at demo day in front of ninety people.
Alumni on what changed
“I arrived with a prototype and one lukewarm pilot. I left with eleven signed customers and a mentor who still answers my midnight texts.”
“The best advice was to stop attending sessions during customer weeks. We closed our first hospital contract the Thursday after.”
“Denver felt like the right size. Everyone knows everyone, and a warm introduction is a text away rather than a six-week search.”
What applicants ask first
Do I need to move to Denver?
At least one founder per team must be in the depot Monday through Thursday for the twelve weeks. We provide shared housing for a modest fee.
Which kinds of companies do you back?
Software, hardware and services businesses with a clear customer in industries such as logistics, health, energy, food and construction.
What does the application involve?
A short form, a five-minute video and one conversation with two partners. We never ask for a full business plan.
How is the investment structured?
We invest $150,000 for 6% on a simple standard agreement, and pro-rata rights in the next round are yours to waive.
Can solo founders apply?
Yes, though we pair solo founders with a partner-level mentor and introduce them to potential co-founders during the first month.
Bring the company that people in your town cannot stop talking about.
Applications for the spring cohort take about forty minutes. Send them early, because we read in the order they arrive.
Visit the depot or write to the admissions desk
Twelve West, 1480 Wynkoop Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80202
- Mon to Thu 8:00 to 18:00 MT
- Fri 8:00 to 14:00 MT
- Open house on the first Saturday of every month
+1 303 555 0142