Scholarships for 100 Series Bootcamp
Important Dates
- Application Due Date: April 26, 2026
- Tuesday Cohort: Tuesdays, June 2 – August 4 (6-10 PM CT)
- Thursday Cohort: Thursdays, June 4 – August 6 (6-10 PM CT)
- 30-Second Pitch Night (both cohorts): Tuesday, June 23
- Founder Showcase (both cohorts): Thursday, August 13
Virtual Bootcamp for Serious Business Builders
ILT Academy’s Intro Bootcamp (100 Series) is designed for anyone who is serious about starting or growing a business. ILT Academy provides scholarships to participants through statewide, regional and local partners. When awarded a scholarship, there is no cost to participants other than the time. Whether you’re an individual or part of a startup team, have an existing product or just starting to shape your ideas, this program can help you succeed. We welcome High Tech, Low Tech, No Tech business ideas, as well as non-profits.
Over 11 weeks, you will learn and practice how to unpack the customer discovery process, create products that people want, and validate your assumptions and ideas. Using the ILT Innovation Framework, you will explore market opportunities and articulate possible marketable solutions. The program combines remote learning, remote collaboration, and coaching to help you test and refine your business ideas. The course has limited full-tuition scholarships available and will conclude with a virtual founder showcase where you can deliver a 5 min pitch to startup founders, business leaders, and potential investors.
NE MN Application Eligibility
- Northeast Minnesota Counties: Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, St. Louis
- Six Tribal Nations: Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, Red Lake
- East Central Minnesota: Pine, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs Counties
Central MN Application Eligibility
Scholarships are available to founders located in Central Minnesota. If you are located outside of the counties listed (whether in Minnesota or not), you may still be eligible; use the “Out of State” option on the form.
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Central MN: Benton, Sherburne, Stearns
Learn Scalable Business Skills
Develop Entrepreneurial Thinking
Become AI-Native
“I love how warm and welcoming and the ILT Academy team is. Their coaching is easy to follow, and they’ll help you quickly turn your startup goals into a reality. And as a bonus, they’ll connect you with a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, so you don’t have to go at this alone.”
“Having ILT Academy’s support in our business has been a great experience for Virtuwoof. The activities we completed in the Customer Discovery classes has added to the success in launching our business and strategy moving forward!”
“Having ILT Academy’s support in our business has been a great experience for Virtuwoof. The activities we completed in the Customer Discovery classes has added to the success in launching our business and strategy moving forward!”
“Attending ILT’s customer discovery class was a game-changer for Otrafy. The skills that he shared with us helped us create our discovery funnel, which allowed us to find product-market fit and build a pipeline of priorities for our development that was based on our customer discovery.”
“This class was insightful as it really laid down some basics in asking questions and finding answers to help refine business ideas.” “Having other aspiring entrepreneurs ask questions and give positive critic to the business ideas was definitely a plus. The pre-class work on ILT, while short, was great as an introduction. ILT Academy was really nicely designed and I think the tool will be HUGE in helping us navigate the entrepreneurship journey.”
“As a founder who is often visioning “solo” this class offered me a sense of clarity and structure I’ve been lacking. I have done more in 2 hours than the past two months to push my idea forward!”
“The best part of the class for me was when I could share my idea and have a community of people provide new insights and feedback for me to take in.
The magic of this course is that it works to build your ability to gather and decipher meaningful customer feedback.
When developing a business, success comes in the form of how much value you can maximize for your customers. I thought this course did a good job at making each entrepreneur dive into the value they plan on adding to their customers.”
Application Details
Application Process
- Written application – this application form, due no later than April 26th, 2026
- Video interviews – administered in a self-paced manner, and due no later than 7 days after your written application. You will receive a link to complete your video interviews once your written application is received.
- Admission decision – our batch admissions team reviews your written and video responses and makes a decision.
Written Application
- Idea
- Team
- Progress
- Objectives
Additional FAQs
What does success look like? A whole lotta execution.
At the end of your 11-week training you’ll have everything you need (and more) to validate your business.
Here’s what to expect week by week.
With over 5o cohorts having gone through this exact framework, our content is structured for success. For those of you who appreciate knowing what you’re getting yourself into, here’s what you’ll be doing each week.
Session 00 [Onboarding]
- Join the< ILT Community on Social Media
Session 01 [Kick-off]
- Start with Why (Simon Sinek)
- Design Thinking in Action
- Set up your Activated Entrepreneur Worksheet
Session 02 [Exploring the Current State]
- Design Thinking Practices: User Need Statements
- ILT Masterclass: the ILT Innovation Framework (Part I)
Session 03 [Unpacking Your Idea]
- Unpacking the Problem
- Jobs to Be Done
- Who to Interview & What to Ask
- Early Adopters
- 30-Second Pitch Exercise (Listening)
Session 04 [Defining the Future State + The Lean Canvas]
- The Lean Canvas Framework (Part 1)
- Start Your Audience Segment Spreadsheet
- Your Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
- 30 Second Pitch Night: Develop pitches and get real feedback from community leaders, seasoned entreprenuers and experienced investors.
Session 05 [Active Customer Discover Prep]
- Don’t be embarrassed by the first version of your product!
- Reality Checking Your Sandwich (TAM / SAM / SOM)
- Making Better Sandwiches
- Empathy Interview Script Instructions
Session 06 [The Lean Canvas Deep Dive]
- The Five “Whys”
- Customer Segments & the Lean Canvas
- ILT Masterclass: Feedback Framework
- Capturing Artifacts & Doing Customer Discovery
- Empathy Interview – First Draft
Session 07 [Lean Canvas Presentations + Active Customer Discovery, Part One]
- Unpacking Your Audience Segments
- Creating a Research Plan
- What are Empathy Interviews
Session 08 [Lean Canvas Presentations + Active Customer Discovery, Part Duex]
- Presenting Your Audience Segments
- Presenting Your Research Plan
- Presenting your Lean Canvas
Session 09 [All Kinds of Pitches]
- Vanity Metrics vs Actionable Metrics
- Pirate Metrics
- Unpacking Innovation
Session 10 [Showcase/Certification Prep]
- Sharing Your Idea: From Good to Great
- All Kinds of Pitches
- ILT Masterclass: Pitching to Advisors vs Investors
Session 11 [Founder Showcase]
- Virtual Founder Showcase Expo: Share and get feedback on a 5-min investor-style presentation, meet entrepreneurs, funders, and investors.
Live Virtual Sessions
Recordings available
Weekly Office Hours
W 4:30-6 PM CST, F 11-1 PM CST
Community Networking
Connect with your cohort
Come for the content, leave with confidence.
The journey to becoming the business owner you dream of being starts with a single click (apply now).
Nick Tietz
Founder + CEO, ILT Academy
Nick is an innovator, collaborator, rule-breaker and change-maker who uses these skills to help founders, entrepreneurs, and enterprise companies drive business forward with a proven system built for repeatable success.
Misha Leptic
Batch Facilitator, EIR
Kenzie Kitzman
Batch Facilitator, Ops
Hear from ILT Alumni
“I love how warm and welcoming and the ILT Academy team is. Their coaching is easy to follow, and they’ll help you quickly turn your startup goals into a reality. And as a bonus, they’ll connect you with a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, so you don’t have to go at this alone.”
“Having ILT Academy’s support in our business has been a great experience for Virtuwoof. The activities we completed in the Customer Discovery classes has added to the success in launching our business and strategy moving forward!”
“Having ILT Academy’s support in our business has been a great experience for Virtuwoof. The activities we completed in the Customer Discovery classes has added to the success in launching our business and strategy moving forward!”
“Attending ILT’s customer discovery class was a game-changer for Otrafy. The skills that he shared with us helped us create our discovery funnel, which allowed us to find product-market fit and build a pipeline of priorities for our development that was based on our customer discovery.”
“This class was insightful as it really laid down some basics in asking questions and finding answers to help refine business ideas.” “Having other aspiring entrepreneurs ask questions and give positive critic to the business ideas was definitely a plus. The pre-class work on ILT, while short, was great as an introduction. ILT Academy was really nicely designed and I think the tool will be HUGE in helping us navigate the entrepreneurship journey.”
“As a founder who is often visioning “solo” this class offered me a sense of clarity and structure I’ve been lacking. I have done more in 2 hours than the past two months to push my idea forward!”
“The best part of the class for me was when I could share my idea and have a community of people provide new insights and feedback for me to take in.
The magic of this course is that it works to build your ability to gather and decipher meaningful customer feedback.
When developing a business, success comes in the form of how much value you can maximize for your customers. I thought this course did a good job at making each entrepreneur dive into the value they plan on adding to their customers.”