New Ventures is a leading accelerator program in the Southeast. For 2021, the program has expanded to work out of several physical markets in North Carolina and South Carolina while maintaining a virtual-first design. The Flywheel Foundation operates New Ventures, and is part of Flywheel's strategy to build community in its innovation centers. We leverage resources like research institutions, economic development agencies, investor networks, and experienced operators throughout the region to support startups from early to growth stage.After adapting our program during the pandemic to a 100% virtual structure, we found that we could improve the accelerator experience by bringing in additional subject matter experts and offering flexibility to founders who are busy building a business. This year, we're increasing the number of companies from 5 to 20, and working out of 4 primary markets where Flywheel has or is designing innovation centers, including our headquarters in Winston-Salem, NC, The Cabbarus Center in Concord, NC, Greenworks of Lexington, and Foundry X in Greenville, SC.We are looking for early-stage companies that are seeking investment and support going through a rigorous customer discovery & validation process in additional to expert guidance on legal matters, entrepreneurial finance, and marketing.