build3

Start with the right programme

build3 runs more than one programme, and they are for different founders. Match yourself first:

• At the idea-to-early stage and building something with social or environmental impact: the build3 Impact Accelerator, a 10-week virtual programme.
• Preparing to raise a round: the Fundraising Bootcamp, a 30-day paid sprint that ends in an investor pitch event.
• Wanting a structured course to build an impact startup from scratch: the online Impact Startup Academy.

How applications work

Each programme has its own form on the build3 website. The Impact Accelerator uses a full application; the Fundraising Bootcamp uses a short form on its page. Apply when a cohort is open.

How selection works

For the Impact Accelerator, expect a three-stage evaluation: an application form, then an interview, then a reference check. build3 assesses startups on compatibility, capability and commitment.

What reviewers look for

• A genuine impact angle. build3 backs ventures that push progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals or benefit people and the planet, so be clear about the problem you address.
• Founder-problem fit and commitment. The accelerator's criteria name passion, founder-problem fit and unit economics.
• The right stage. The accelerator is built for founders from the idea stage through to a functional early-stage business.

build3 is a startup studio and venture builder for impact-driven founders, operated by BIRUDO3 FOUNDATION. It backs startups that push progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals or benefit people and the planet, and it works across sectors rather than being limited to technology. Its pages list addresses in Candolim, Goa and in Pune, along with a startup ecoāshrām at Ekundrawadi in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.

build3 describes itself as a startup studio rather than a campus incubator, and most of what it offers runs online. Its main programme is the build3 Impact Accelerator; alongside it, build3 runs a Fundraising Bootcamp for founders preparing to raise, and an online Impact Startup Academy course. The reach it reports spans more than one programme, with a wider community it puts at well over a thousand people building startups for both profit and purpose.

What they support

build3's focus is impact-driven startups, meaning ventures that push progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals or benefit people and the planet. Its accelerator is pitched at founders at the earliest stages, from an idea through to a functional early-stage business. The programmes are open across sectors, and non-tech startups are welcome. The accelerator is primarily India-focused, though international startups aligned with the mission may apply.

Programmes

The build3 Impact Accelerator is a 10-week virtual programme that aims to take impact-driven startups from the earliest stage toward product-market fit, built around coaching and workshops, a cohort and mentor community, and investment for selected startups, with a venture-builder phase following for some. In exchange for its support, build3 takes a small equity stake in participating startups.

The build3 Fundraising Bootcamp is a 30-day sprint that helps early-stage founders prepare to raise. It is structured in three steps: a two-day in-person networking bootcamp in Goa, four weeks of live online sessions on weekday evenings, and an offline pitch event where selected startups pitch to investors, venture capital firms and family offices in Delhi, Bangalore or Mumbai. It is a paid programme, and founders are supported by an investment banker, a deal team and a dedicated relationship manager who match investors and set up meetings.

The Impact Startup Academy is described as a five-week, online-only, step-by-step course on building startups that tackle an important societal problem and are self-sustainable, led by instructors.

Track record

build3 reports that its Impact Accelerator has completed eight cohorts, accelerated more than four hundred startups, built a founder community of over a thousand, and funded dozens of startups. Its Fundraising Bootcamp pages report founders supported across several cohorts. These are build3's own figures.

Who runs it

build3 is operated by BIRUDO3 FOUNDATION, a non-profit entity registered in Pune. build3 also states that it is a B Corp-certified business.

How to apply

Applications are made per programme through forms on the build3 website. For the Impact Accelerator, the process is a three-stage evaluation: an application form, then an interview, followed by a reference check, assessing a startup on compatibility, capability and commitment, alongside factors such as the founder's fit with the problem. The Fundraising Bootcamp is applied to through a short form on its page. The Impact Startup Academy is joined online from the build3 homepage.