Accelerator
You made the thing. Now let’s back it. Sunbeam’s pre-seed vehicle for turning finished projects into working ventures — money, mentors, and the whole network behind you.
You made the thing. Now let’s back it. Sunbeam’s pre-seed vehicle for turning finished projects into working ventures — money, mentors, and the whole network behind you.
has changed. So did you.
You’ve already proved the rare part: you can finish. The next skill is different — making a thing that keeps itself alive. Users who come back, money that comes in, promises that get kept. Nobody figures that out alone, and you don’t have to.
It’s Sunbeam’s pre-seed investment vehicle — the on-the-ground crew of the network, here to spot the people worth backing and then actually back them.
Sometimes the thing worth investing in is a company. Sometimes it’s a person who isn’t done learning yet. We do both.
Fixed-term, accelerator-style pre-seed investments for community members and other significant contacts. A finished thing is the ticket in — not a deck.
Accelerator starts with something you’ve already made and ends with something the world can actually use.
No ideas. No decks. No “pre-product”. The bar is a finished thing people have actually touched — built in First Light, or anywhere else entirely. The kinds of things that come through our doors —
“Build a simple air-quality sensor rig that reveals hidden pollution hotspots in your community.”
“Revamp a local business’s brand identity, then measure how it reshapes their customer experience.”
“Test a product idea in two weeks by launching a bare-bones online store to see if people actually buy what you’re selling.”
“Collect real voices from your city, transform them into compelling stories and data, then spark fresh conversations about community life.”
“Create a peer-to-peer skill exchange MVP, matching people’s talents on the fly to discover if there’s real demand for your platform.”
“Team up with a local nonprofit to solve their biggest roadblock, then design a quick digital solution that drives real social impact.”
Every venture in the Accelerator walks the same road, in the same order. It’s boring on purpose. It works on purpose too.
Pressure-test. Put the thing in front of strangers who owe you nothing. Find out what’s real.
Position. Decide who it’s for, what it costs, and what you’re actually selling. Say it in one sentence.
Build out. Turn a project into an operation — the boring, load-bearing parts: money in, money out, promises kept.
Launch. Out loud, with the network’s shoulders behind it — intros, first users, first customers.
Not a curriculum. A stake, a corner crew, and every door we can open.
Pre-seed money on founder-friendly, fixed terms.
Mentors who’ve built things (and broken a few).
The full Sunbeam network, wherever it reaches.
Because the returns don’t line anybody’s pockets. They flow back into the network — backing the next round of people and keeping ✹First Light free forever. Capitalism, used as a multiplier for good.
Most of the best people we back never meant to start a company. It just sort of happened to them.
You’re a little surprised your project won’t leave you alone. You’re a do-gooder who wants revenue and a conscience — and refuses to pick just one.
You’re at the idea stage — go do First Light first, it’s free. Or you’re optimizing for an exit before you’ve had an entrance.
Beams are granted when the Sunbeam team feel you’ve reached a level of professional development and moral understanding that we’d feel comfortable with you representing our network. Most founders arrive here with one from First Light or School. It’s not mandatory — but it tells us the two things we care about most: you finish what you start, and you do right with what you build.
No. Finished is the bar, not pedigree. Made it in your bedroom? Perfect.
For company investments, yes — fixed-term and founder-friendly; that’s what makes the rest of Sunbeam free. For students it’s an income-share agreement, not equity in you.
Something a stranger can use, buy, read, or hold without you standing next to it explaining.
Then you’ll fail fast, cheap, and surrounded by people who’ve done the same — and your next thing starts smarter.
Things we’ve already shipped. Proof we mean it.
artificial-praxis
A living world of customers that puts your real APIs under organic load.
whoismargiela
An atlas of the fashion world: houses, owners, lineage, gossip.
lantern
Apps that run on your own AI subscription. No keys, no bill.
map
Projection mapping in the browser. Light that reacts to the room.
quickmotion
Code-driven SVG motion, rendered as reusable video assets.
orgfork
A control room for designing and deploying agent organizations.
pls
An agent-native request library that makes HTTP calls replayable.
learn
A bilingual AI study space with real-time voice coaching.
invites
Beautiful event pages, invitations and RSVPs.
All live, all real — most of it open source at github.com/sunbeam-za.