I just announced an AI accelerator program

Full story on my latest role at Paddle, the new AI program, and what it means for you

Hey friends,

Many of you have been with me on the “build in public” journey since 2020 when this newsletter began. Thank you for that!

The world has changed so much since then. I’ve evolved a ton too.

Some of you may have followed my career trajectory from On Deck to Day One to BIPF to … my most ambitious chapter now.

I’m honored to share that I am now in charge of running a world-class AI founder accelerator program and community at Paddle (a fintech unicorn).

It’s called AI Launchpad and here’s what’s in store:

The 6-week Launchpad offers:
- 🎓 Customized advice and practical insights from industry leaders
- 🌎 Masterclasses on SaaS scaling, go-to-market strategies, product development, and beyond!
- 🤝 A community of fellow founders focused on creating cutting-edge Gen AI tools
- 💰 A public demo day and an opportunity to win a $20,000 cash prize
- 🎁 Exclusive benefits from partners including Saaslaunch.io, Founderpath, SaaStock, Amazon Web Services (AWS) Activate, Google Cloud, PartnerStack, GoodFit.io, Gilion (formerly ArK Kapital), Enablix, saas.group, SquareOne, Element Communications, and Baseten

This is a bit of a dream role for me as I had plans to do an AI cohort for a long while and now I get to build and shape it within a global brand like Paddle (which has 4,000+ startups and founders as customers)

We went live on Product Hunt recently and reached top #4 spot.

ASK:

I would love to have as many people as possible from my audience/community in the program so we can create a culture of paying it forward and helping other founders.

That is the magic of a great accelerator. Not just the curriculum.

Anyway, if you are building an AI-powered startup, please consider APPLYING.

It’s FREE to attend (we don’t take equity like other accelerators) and applications are closing soon on April 14 (Sunday).

When you apply, mention you came via the “BIP newsletter” so I keep an eye out for you while reviewing all the applications :)

Bonus:

I cover a lot of this story on my latest Build In Public Podcast with Tharshan Thavaharan. He leads Partnerships at Paddle and was the one who actually started AI Launchpad last year. Now he's passing the captain's armband to me so I'll be running this year's cohort. As you can tell, I’m super stoked! Hope to see you inside :)