BK-XL is an early-stage, industry-agnostic startup accelerator program focused on underrepresented founders based in Brooklyn. The accelerator is supported by the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation’s Social Justice Fund. The program is co-led by Chris Martinez and Timi Dayo-Kayode.
At BK-XL, we aim to invest early and take an active role in helping founders build businesses that will benefit Brooklyn, New York City, America, and the world. Successful founders will create jobs, develop products that benefit the community, and foster a culture of innovation. BK-XL takes meaningful equity ownership in each company, thereby benefiting from the success of our founders to reinvest into more underrepresented founders, creating a flywheel that benefits the community.
About the BK-XL accelerator
Our 2024 BK-XL accelerator cohort will be an in-person program running for 10 weeks between July and September. Up to 12 companies will be selected to participate. BK-XL is industry-agnostic and will accept technology-enabled businesses in any sector.
BK-XL is open to founders of early-stage startups from all backgrounds. We especially encourage those who identify as being from underrepresented backgrounds to apply. Founders can be based outside of NYC, but they must commit to building their startup full-time in Brooklyn for the entirety of the 10-week program between July and September 2024.
Participants will build their businesses in Brooklyn during the program and will receive:
- An investment of $125,000 for 7% equity on a post-money SAFE
- Office space at Camp David in Industry City for the participating founders
- Ongoing mentorship and support from investors and operators at Blue Pool Capital, Udy Road Holdings, BSE Global, the Brooklyn Nets, Barclays Center, and other partnering organizations
- Network with leading local investors, including our Advisory Council members:
- Get tactical advice from successful founders
- Previous speakers include: Porter Braswell, Dave Heath, Aneto Okonkwo, Jordan Wexler, Luke Bailey, Ronak Trivedi
- A peer group of exceptionally talented founders who will be there for you as you take your entrepreneurial journey to the next level
BK-XL and its network of partners will continue to support the selected companies after the completion of the accelerator program.
To learn more about the program, eligibility, and investment terms, please check out our FAQs section.
BK-XL is the brainchild of Clara Wu Tsai and the Social Justice Fund (SJF). Through the Social Justice Fund (SJF), she supports economic mobility within communities across the borough. BK-XL is a critical component of SJF’s mission to use our platform to unite people around a shared commitment to inclusiveness, justice, and equal opportunity.
About the Social Justice Fund
The Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation launched the Social Justice Fund in 2020 in Brooklyn, New York, to focus on the inequities and work to support economic mobility within underserved communities across the borough. Driven by a $50 million commitment over ten years, the Social Justice Fund invests in programs that are scalable and confront the root causes of racial gaps in education, health, and wealth.
About Clara Wu Tsai
Clara Wu Tsai is a businesswoman, investor, and philanthropist. She is the Vice Chair of BSE Global, owner of the Brooklyn Nets, Barclays Center, and New York Liberty, and founder of the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation. In 2020, the Foundation established a $50 million Social Justice Fund focused on driving economic empowerment and closing racial gaps in Brooklyn. Among other projects, the Social Justice Fund has provided small-business loans across Brooklyn, worked in partnership with NYC’s Department of Education to bring educational programs about Jean-Michel Basquiat and blockchain to NYC students, and provided grants to community leaders working to combat racial injustice. Clara is also a founding partner of the REFORM Alliance, which seeks to reform state-level probation and parole policies. In 2021, she was recognized as a “Champion of Justice” by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice for her work on social and racial justice.