For Entrepreneurs
Build your company with Ascend behind you.
Ascend Ventures combines capital, mentorship, and network access for API founders. You bring the company you are building; we bring funding to accelerate it, leaders and subject-matter experts to guide you, and the reach of North America's largest Pan-Asian professional community to open doors.
What you get
Concrete support at every stage
Ascend Ventures is built to remove the barriers that slow founders down: capital, guidance, and the right introductions, all in one place.
Funding
Capital to help you build and accelerate your startup, so you can move from idea to traction without stalling for runway.
Coaching & Mentoring
Direct access to leaders and subject-matter experts who provide strategic advice and hands-on mentorship as you scale.
Demos, Clients & Market Access
Help with demos, warm introductions, pilots, and finding early customers so your product reaches the market faster.
Ascend's Network
The reach of North America's largest Pan-Asian professional organization: enterprise partners, operators, and a community invested in your success.
The journey
How the program works
From a broad pipeline of founders to a give-back that fuels the next cohort, here is the full path through Ascend Ventures.
Entrepreneur Pool
Ascend sources a broad pipeline of promising founders.
Selection
A select cohort is chosen for Ascend Ventures support.
Funding
Capital helps founders build and accelerate their startups.
Give Back to Ascend
Successful companies reinvest through sponsorship, mentoring, or financial support.
Demos, Clients & Market Access
Founders gain help with demos, introductions, pilots, and finding customers.
Coaching & Mentoring
Leaders and subject matter experts provide strategic advice and mentorship.
Give-back fuels the next cohort. The cycle repeats.
- 1
Entrepreneur Pool
Ascend sources a broad pipeline of promising founders.
- 2
Selection
A select cohort is chosen for Ascend Ventures support.
- 3
Funding
Capital helps founders build and accelerate their startups.
- 4
Coaching & Mentoring
Leaders and subject matter experts provide strategic advice and mentorship.
- 5
Demos, Clients & Market Access
Founders gain help with demos, introductions, pilots, and finding customers.
- 6
Give Back to Ascend
Successful companies reinvest through sponsorship, mentoring, or financial support.
Who should apply
Is this you?
Ascend sources a broad pipeline of promising founders and selects a cohort for support. If the description below fits, we would love to hear from you.
Ascend Ventures is for API entrepreneurs building a company who are at a stage where capital, mentorship, and market access would meaningfully accelerate what they are building.
You do not need to have every answer figured out. Whether you are refining your first product or working to reach your next set of customers, what matters is that you are building something real and are ready to grow with a community behind you.
We keep the door open on purpose. Specific details about stages, timelines, and cohorts will be shared as the program takes shape. For now, the best step is to tell us about your company so we can keep you updated.
Ready to build?
Tell us about your company.
Share your details and we'll keep you updated as cohorts and timelines are announced.