ERP for incubators & accelerators. Applications to graduation, mentors to funders, in one programme record.
An incubator's real product is the mentoring, and its real accountability is to funders. Kinnow keeps applications, cohorts, mentors, desk assignments and grant instalments (tranches) in one program record. The United States edition opens from early 2027.
From early 2027How does Kinnow help an incubator or accelerator? Applications are scored and move step by step to an accepted place in a cohort. Mentoring sessions are booked, held and recorded. Each venture has milestones, regular KPI readings and a risk rating, and each grant instalment is released as an approved entry against them. Your committee makes every accept or reject decision, and nothing goes to a funder until a person sends it. Nothing is filed, paid or posted without a person.
Your program, in one paragraph.
You run cohorts of ventures through a program of weeks or months. Applications arrive by form and email, and screening takes the team weeks. Mentors give time that is rarely recorded, so a founder who met nobody for a quarter looks the same as one who is thriving. You are funded by sponsors, corporates, universities and grants, and each funder wants a report built from portfolio spreadsheets. Desks and lab space are what you have least of.
Three things keep the program head awake: a grant tranche released before the milestone landed, the founder who quietly stopped turning up, and the funder report due on Friday that nobody has started.
How your year runs on Kinnow
The ready-made industry setup (we call it an industry pack) includes step-by-step routines such as Cohort to graduation, Mentoring to outcome and Sponsor to signed program.
| Step | Who | What Kinnow does | Where a person signs off |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sponsor to signed program | Program head | You plan and approve a cohort call, contact the sponsor, agree terms and send a program proposal; the sponsor is invoiced for the signed program. | The proposal and the invoice each need approval. |
| 2. Intake | Program team | Applications are scored against the cohort's scoring guide across evaluation rounds. The screener flags a likely duplicate and suggests SHORTLIST, REVIEW or HOLD. Interview, offer and acceptance follow. | The committee decides. The screener never rejects. |
| 3. Onboard the venture | Program manager | The selected venture joins the cohort in your portfolio. Desks and lab space are assigned under an agreement. | An assignment above the rent you set needs approval. |
| 4. Mentoring | Mentor, founder | A mentor is matched, a session is scheduled and confirmed, held, and the notes recorded. Mentors use a link and need no login, and a confirmed session appears in their calendar. A missed session is offered again. | The program manager confirms matches. |
| 5. Track the venture | Program manager | Milestones and regular KPI readings (revenue, runway and similar) give each venture a green, amber or red risk rating. A reminder agent drafts requests to ventures that are late to report. | A person confirms the flag. |
| 6. Release the tranche | Finance manager | The grant is awarded and paid out in stages. Each instalment is an entry posted against the milestone. | The finance manager approves; nothing moves without it. |
| 7. Report to funders | Program head | A cohort summary (graduation rate, funds raised, jobs created, ventures at risk) is drafted as a funder report, and the grant reporting schedule shows what is due. | Your team reviews and sends. |
| 8. Graduate or close | Program head | The venture graduates or goes dormant, and the cohort closes after graduation. | Recorded by a person. |
| 9. Close the month | Accounts head | The month-end close routine runs twelve checks, and seven must pass. | A person closes the books. |
See one cohort, its mentors and its grant instalments in a single record.
Mentoring that leaves a record
Without a login
A mentor opens a link to set office hours and confirm sessions. The link already knows the context, so the mentor needs no account.
Chased once, politely
A nudge goes to whichever side is being waited on, limited in number and spaced further apart each time. It sends on its own only after the program manager approves that rule once, with a named approver and an expiry date.
Notes become a recap
The mentor's own note becomes a draft recap, next action and funder line. Veil, our privacy layer, hides personal data first.
Gaps shown
A weekly digest lists ventures at risk, missed milestones and ventures with no mentor at all.
What the ready-made setup covers
The ready-made setup for incubators (we call it an industry pack) brings seven limits, four sign-off routes (desk assignment, grant payout, return filing and project approval), nine starter questions for Ask Kinnow and eight reports. The United States setup adds sales-tax and payroll sign-off. The figures are plain numbers, so we go through each starting figure with you in dollars before you begin.
| Limit | Effect | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| Desk or lab agreement, base rent | Approval | Desks and labs are what you have least of |
| Program commitment | Approval | A large commitment ties up staff and budget |
| Journal (grant money moves by journal) | Approval | A decision to pay out grant money |
| Cohort outreach without a named audience | Blocked | A send with no audience has no consent on record |
| Cohort outreach budget | Warning | Spending that deserves a second look |
| Sales-tax return, net payable | Approval | Filing is irreversible |
| Client credit limit | Warning | Giving credit is a decision, not data entry |
These are starting figures; set them to whatever your program wants reviewed.
Kinnow uses your words from day one: application, venture, program or cohort, grant tranche, funder report, office hours.
Ask us to load a cohort scoring guide and score five sample applications.
Agents for an incubator
Application Screener
Scores an application from its evaluation rounds against the cohort's scoring guide, flags a likely duplicate and suggests a shortlist. It never rejects; a low score shows as HOLD.
Mentor match proposer
Ranks a cohort's mentors for a venture by the needs it stated and how much time the mentor has this week. Assigns nobody.
No-Show Recoverer
Offers missed mentoring sessions again each day, so a no-show does not end the conversation.
Session Recap Composer
Drafts a recap, next action and funder line from the mentor's own note, for the mentor to confirm.
Portfolio Risk Monitor
Suggests a green, amber or red rating from falling KPIs, missed milestones and mentor no-shows. A person confirms the flag.
KPI collection chaser
Finds ventures that are late or have never reported and drafts the request. Sends nothing.
Funder Report Composer
Sums up a cohort's results into a draft funder report. You review and send.
Cohort Digest
A weekly summary for the program manager of ventures at risk, off-track milestones and mentoring gaps.
Each agent is tested with each client before it touches their books, and everything it produces waits for a person.
Tax and compliance for a US program
The first release has basic support, not a full US tax calendar. Every date is one you or your tax adviser confirm.
| Filing | When it falls | What Kinnow prepares |
|---|---|---|
| Funder and grant reports | The schedule in each grant | A reporting schedule for each grant, with the report drafted when due |
| State sales tax, where desk rent or event fees are taxable | Per state, as recorded for each registration | State-by-state totals of taxable sales and tax collected, for a person to type into each state return. Kinnow does not decide nexus (whether you have enough sales or presence in a state to need a permit) |
| State annual report, foreign qualification | Each state's own schedule | Tracked registrations; a due date appears only once you enter the state's schedule |
| Payroll | Monthly run | Federal income tax withholding and FICA worked out in a payroll run that a second person approves. State income tax is not included and each payslip says so |
| Payroll deposits, quarterly payroll returns, W-2, 1099 | Not tracked | Not built in the first release |
What the program head sees
| Ask Kinnow | Answer comes from |
|---|---|
| Which startups are in the current cohort? | Cohort and portfolio |
| What desk space is unallocated? | Desk and lab agreements |
| How is each portfolio venture progressing? | Project value by status |
| Which mentoring sessions are overdue? | Mentoring sessions |
| Which agreements are up for renewal? | Lease list |
| Which cohort campaigns are running? | Campaign list |
Each answer shows its source and cost before it runs. Veil, our privacy layer, hides bank, tax and ID numbers and swaps names for stand-in codes before an AI call. It covers Ask Kinnow and most agents today; the rest are being added.
Walk through the funder report for your last cohort.
Questions
Does the screener reject applicants automatically?
No. It scores applications against your cohort scoring guide, flags likely duplicates and suggests a shortlist. Your committee makes every accept or reject decision.
Can mentors book without a Kinnow login?
Yes. A mentor opens a link to set office hours and confirm sessions, and a confirmed session appears in their calendar.
Can we report to funders from Kinnow?
Yes. The Funder Report Composer drafts the cohort summary, and each grant has a reporting schedule. Your team reviews and sends; nothing is published automatically.
How are grant tranches controlled?
A grant moves from awarded to paid out in stages, and each instalment is an entry that a finance manager must approve. Entries above the value you set also need approval.
Can we assign desks and labs in the same system?
Yes. Desk and lab assignments are agreements with a start, end and renewal date, and a large one needs approval.
Does Kinnow prepare nonprofit or tax-exempt filings for a sponsor-funded program?
No. Annual information returns and tax-exempt status filings are not prepared in the first release, and neither is a readiness check for any funding scheme. Grant reporting schedules and funder reports are.
How long does set-up take, and when does the US edition open?
About two weeks to first results for one organization. The United States edition is available from early 2027.
Show me Kinnow for incubators & accelerators.
Answer three questions. Get the applications, the agents and a two-week plan for your business.