Your Next Step in the Startup Incubator
You’ve been building. Now it’s time for us to get to know you.
BELL Week is designed for Startup Incubator founders who are ready to move into the Validation or Launch Stage. It’s where we take a closer look at your venture, your progress, and what kind of support will help you move forward.
It’s not a competition.
It’s not a pitch event.
Think of BELL Week as entrepreneurship’s version of Rush Week. For one week, you’ll experience more of life inside the BELL, meet other founders, participate in programming, and get to know the people and resources available to support you.
At the same time, we’ll get to know you—not just your idea, but how you think, learn, respond to feedback, and show up as a founder.
This isn’t about having a perfect business or polished pitch. It’s about understanding where you are, what you need next, and how we can best support you as you move into the next stage of your venture.
For some founders, BELL Week will also be the path to becoming a Founder-in-Residence—our highest level of support for founders and ventures ready for more intensive resources and individualized coaching.
Because BELL Week is designed specifically for founders moving beyond Ideation, participation is by invitation only.
Invitations are extended to Startup Incubator founders who have demonstrated readiness through their progress in the Ideation Stage or who apply with an existing venture that is ready to begin in Validation or Launch.
What to Expect.
Two Required Events
Monday | BELL Week Information Session
Meet the team, learn what changes as you move into Validation or Launch, understand the different levels of support available to you, and know what to expect throughout the semester.
Friday | Founder Interview
A relaxed 30-minute conversation with the BELL team about your venture, your progress, your goals, and what you’re hoping to build next.
No pitch deck required. No performance necessary.
We want to understand where you are, where you want to go, and how you respond to questions, ideas, and feedback.
Experience Life at the BELL
Throughout the week, you’ll also have opportunities to attend founder talks, workshops, networking events, and community activities.
While these events aren’t required, they’re one of the best ways to connect with other founders, experience the culture of the BELL, and give our team the chance to get to know you beyond your interview.
After BELL Week
You’re already part of the BELL Startup Incubator.
BELL Week helps determine what comes next.
Founders who are ready to advance will move into the Validation or Launch Stage, with support designed around the needs of founders actively testing, building, launching, and growing their ventures.
For some founders, that will also include the opportunity to become a Founder-in-Residence.
Validation + Launch
As a Validation or Launch Stage founder, you’ll have access to our founder development curriculum, group coaching, resources, programming, and the BELL community as you work through the next stage of your venture.
You’ll have a clear path forward, tools to help you keep building, and access to support as you put your ideas into action.
Founder-in-Residence
A select group of Validation and Launch Stage founders will be invited to apply for Founder-in-Residence, our highest level of support for ventures demonstrating strong potential, founder commitment, coachability, and readiness to move.
Founders-in-Residence receive additional resources, including:
Dedicated office space in the Founders Room
1:1 coaching with our Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Access to specialists and targeted expertise
Opportunities to represent the University of Iowa at pitch competitions
The ability to apply for Independent Study credit
Deeper, individualized support as you build, validate, launch, and grow
Founder-in-Residence isn’t about having the flashiest idea or the most polished pitch.
It’s about identifying founders and ventures where intensive support can make the greatest difference—and then surrounding them with the resources to move.
BELL Week Is for You If...
You’re already part of the Startup Incubator and you’ve been invited through your progress in the Ideation Stage—or you applied with an existing venture that is ready for Validation or Launch.
You don’t need to have everything figured out.
You do need to be ready to build, test, learn, take feedback, and keep moving.
Every founder’s journey is different. BELL Week helps us understand yours—and make sure you have the right support for whatever comes next.
Your journey. Your pace. Your next step starts here.
