, /PRNewswire/ — Warrior Rising and Virginia Tech’s Boeing Center for Veteran Transition and Military Families (The Boeing Center) today announced the launch of Activate, a new eight-week, execution-driven pre-seed accelerator built for veteran and military spouse founders developing technology, developing technology, SaaS, and dual use solutions.
Activate is designed for founders operating before traditional tech accelerators—those who need customer evidence, product validation, and real execution rather than pitch development. The Activate program supports small, highly engaged cohorts, emphasizing disciplined customer discovery, problem validation, building functional minimum viable products (MVPs), and providing applied training for founders building solutions for commercial and government markets, including dual-use applications.
Debbie Bradbard, Director, Boeing Center for Veteran Transition and Military Families said, “Activate builds upon Warrior Rising’s Warrior University entrepreneurship programs and connects founders to Virginia Tech’s expertise in early-stage technology and innovation. This partnership truly leverages the strengths of both organizations.”
Delivered virtually, and offered quarterly, Activate moves founders from assumptions to evidence through weekly milestones and proof of work. Participants engage directly with customers, test hypotheses through structured experimentation, and advance their products toward deployment-ready MVPs.
Graduates leave the program with a validated customer problem, a working product, and demonstrated early traction. Participants earn a Virginia Tech certificate and join a vetted cohort positioned for pilots, non-dilutive funding opportunities, and follow-on seed-stage accelerators.
“I’m thrilled to partner with Virginia Tech to work with military-connected tech and SaaS founders. I often hear founders say, ‘We wish we had known this earlier; it would have saved us time and money.’ That’s why we created a pre-accelerator focused on building the foundations founders can rely on for the rest of their entrepreneurial journey, from raising their first round to competing for selection into the nation’s most competitive accelerators.”
Applications for the inaugural Activate cohort are now open.
Veteran and military spouse founders interested in applying can learn more and register at: https://wkf.ms/4tuZ2hn
About Warrior Rising
Founded in 2015, Warrior Rising is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization built by veterans, for veterans. Warrior Rising empowers U.S. military veterans and their families to build sustainable businesses through education, mentorship, funding opportunities, and strategic partnerships. Through programs including Warrior Academy, Warrior University, Business Showers™, and Activate, Warrior Rising helps veterans turn experience into enterprise.
Learn more at warriorrising.org
About the Boeing Center for Veteran Transition and Military Families
Established in 2024 in Alexandria, Va., The Boeing Center for Veteran Transition and Military Families is a partnership between Boeing, the Virginia Department of Veteran Services, and Virginia Tech. The Boeing Center harnesses the resources of its partners to deliver opportunities that expose veterans and military families to workforce focused education, upskilling, and entrepreneurship training that builds on their military experience and prepares them to thrive in the innovation economy.
Learn more at https://dcarea.vt.edu/veterans-center.html
SOURCE Warrior Rising
