Worldbuild with Keel
We're not really an accelerator. We're your best founding hire.
NEXT COHORT IN
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Keel is the residential early-stage AI accelerator in NYC…
SUMMER 2025
June – August
IN-PERSON IN NYC
21 W 46th St, 10036
15 TEAM COHORT
Early-stage AI founders
BEST 12 WEEKS OF YOUR LIFE
Probably
We offer…
BEST ACCELERATOR DEAL ON THE MARKET
$150K + Credits At Great Terms
YOUR FIRST MENTORS & HIRES
We’re gathering the best of NYC
100% OF BACK-OFFICE HANDLED
Legal, accounting, tax-compliance, and more
But most importantly…
THE MOST CRACKED FOUNDER COMMUNITY
In the Northeast
THE NET
Keel is the best founder community in the northeast. We will help you build, sell, and scale without taking a lot of equity. That’s it.
FAQ
Why Keel?
We're innovating on the current ecosystem with small cohorts, in-person programming in NYC, and founder-friendly terms. Whereas current top programs dilute you like its own fundraising round, we’re more like a startup's best founding hire.
Why now?
The accelerator market is broken.
Current accelerators dilute too much, give too much cash, and are too virtual. It costs 99% less to build a company today than it did 10 years ago, but founders are still giving up the same amount of equity to mostly virtual/hybrid accelerator programs.
There’s a serious top talent misallocation and undercapitalization problem.
One in three Harvard students that go through YC build $100M companies, but only ~1% of Harvard students actually launch startups when they graduate. The incentives for top talent to build companies are completely misaligned, but Keel is working to change that.
NYC has the talent. Now it just needs the culture.
There are hundreds of unicorns in NYC. 1/3 of YC founders come to NYC after the program. Majority of top university founders prefer NYC to SF. Clearly, founders want to be in NYC — now it’s time to build the culture and infrastructure to bring and keep them here.
Current accelerators dilute too much, give too much cash, and are too virtual. It costs 99% less to build a company today than it did 10 years ago, but founders are still giving up the same amount of equity to mostly virtual/hybrid accelerator programs.
There’s a serious top talent misallocation and undercapitalization problem.
One in three Harvard students that go through YC build $100M companies, but only ~1% of Harvard students actually launch startups when they graduate. The incentives for top talent to build companies are completely misaligned, but Keel is working to change that.
NYC has the talent. Now it just needs the culture.
There are hundreds of unicorns in NYC. 1/3 of YC founders come to NYC after the program. Majority of top university founders prefer NYC to SF. Clearly, founders want to be in NYC — now it’s time to build the culture and infrastructure to bring and keep them here.
What’s the program dates?
12 Weeks from mid-June through end of August. Exact dates Cohort-dependent.
Who should apply?
GenZ (17-27), pre-seed, unbalanced founders.
When should I apply?
Applications open up in March.
Do I need to be in NYC for all 12 weeks?
Keel will be a blast. Preferably, you’ll be in NYC for all 12 weeks.
Who runs Keel?
Brent runs Keel, along with a team of co-directors and mentors.
Where’s the office?
Midtown.
2024 DEMO DAY
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