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Square1 Ai
Startup School · Cohort 1 starts 2 November 2026

Build an AI company, not just a project.Two programmes. No equity taken.

Founders move through gates, not lectures. Each gate asks for evidence: interviews, users, revenue. You pass it or you don’t, and you see exactly why.

Apply for Cohort 1 Compare the two programmes
Applications close16 OctFriday, 2026
Decisions by23 OctFriday. Commit your seat by 28 October.
Cohort 1 starts2 NovMonday. Both programmes start together.
Two programmes

Split by stage.Not by ambition.

The Accelerator is for before your first customer. The Disruptor is for a live product with users or revenue. Same gates idea, different starting line.

Accelerator · who it is for
Twelve weeks. Four gates. One number.

For a builder with a market they can reach and no customers yet.

12weeks
4gates
16seats, pods of 8
15hours a week
  • You learnAll six: evidence, build, market, sell, operate and finance.
  • Your podOne mentor for the whole run. The pod meets every Thursday for 75 minutes.
  • Demo DayThursday 4 February 2027, at the end of week 12.
A$790A$1,650
Founding price for Cohort 1, until applications close on 16 October. No equity.
Apply for the Accelerator
Applications close 16 October · decisions by 23 October
The gates · 12 weeks · the evidence each one asks for
  1. Weeks 1–3 Gate 1: Evidence 30 logged interviews and one hypothesis proved wrong. You fileInterview logHypothesis ledger
  2. Weeks 4–6 Gate 2: Ship A live product, a security score of 70 or more, and 10 users who did not know you before. You fileLive linkDelivery dashboardSecurity scorecard
  3. Weeks 7–9 Gate 3: Revenue and model First paid revenue or a signed letter of intent, and a financial model that ties. You fileSales logConnected revenueFinancial model
  4. Weeks 10–12 Gate 4: Scale path and capital A decision on funding, and your pitch ready for Demo Day. You fileCapital decision memoPitch
  5. 4 Feb 2027 Demo Day Present what you built and the numbers behind it, and publish your founder record.
To apply you need
  • Ten logged interviews with people in your market, before we decide
  • Something you built and deployed, with the code and a live link
  • A named market, and why people there take your call
  • Fifteen hours a week for twelve weeks

Not sure which? If you have ten real users or any revenue, apply for the Disruptor. Otherwise, the Accelerator.

How a gate works

Evidence in.A clear yes or no out.

The review grades the evidence trail, not a slide. Only numbers that arrive through a connector or a verified document count.

  1. 01

    You file the evidence

    Interview transcripts, your repository, connected metrics, recorded sales calls. The things that happened, not a summary of them.

  2. 02

    It is checked against your work

    Every claim is cross-checked against everything you have filed, and any contradictions are listed first. Then your pod mentor decides.

  3. 03

    Pass, or see exactly why not

    Every decision comes with its reason. Miss a gate and you get one resubmission within seven days. Miss it twice and the seat is released.

Your week, every week
  1. MondayCommit to one number: the metric and its target for the week.
  2. WednesdayA checkpoint on what is still missing from your file.
  3. ThursdayYour pod meets for 75 minutes with your mentor.
  4. FridayFile the update: the number, the evidence, the mentor’s note.
  5. SaturdayThe week locks at 02:00. No backfilling.
Outcomes we publish

Every founder counts.Including the ones who stop.

We publish results with the whole admitted cohort as the denominator, not just the ones who did well. Nothing is published without the file behind it.

After Cohort 1

Made it to Demo Day

Founders who passed every gate and presented, with every claim resolving to an artefact.

After Cohort 1

Raised

Ventures that chose to raise and did. “We are not raising” is also a passing answer here.

After Cohort 1

Revenue

Verified revenue, counted only when it arrives through a connected account.

After Cohort 1

Stopped sooner

Founders who learned the idea does not work and stopped, with a written stop decision. That is a result, not a failure.

We also publish the graduation rate, how often founders filed on time, and where each venture stands twelve months on. There are no numbers yet because Cohort 1 has not started.

Cohort 1, dated

From applicationto Demo Day.

Both programmes run on one calendar. The Disruptor finishes before Christmas; the Accelerator in February.

  1. Mon 28 SepApplications openFounding prices apply.
  2. Fri 16 OctApplications closeSend your interviews, links and code.
  3. Fri 23 OctDecisionsYou hear yes or no, with the reason.
  4. Wed 28 OctCommit byPay to hold your seat.
  5. Mon 2 NovCohort 1 startsBoth programmes, week 1.
  6. Thu 10 DecDisruptor Demo DayEnd of week 6.
  7. Thu 4 Feb 2027Accelerator Demo DayEnd of week 12.
Questions

Straight answersbefore you apply.

If yours is not here, ask us. We reply to every application question.

No. There is no equity, no warrant and no fund. You pay a fee, and the company stays yours.

Applications close 16 October.

Send ten logged interviews and something you built. Decisions by 23 October, and no equity taken.

Apply for Cohort 1 Ask us a question