FourthWave
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersSacramento, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
FourthWave firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FourthWave
- Legal name
- FourthWave, Inc.
- Website
- https://fourthwave.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
FourthWave industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Startup Accelerator Services
- NAICS
- Professional and Management Development Training (611430)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Leadership Assessment, 360 Feedback & Development Planning (EDABAAAK)
Keywords
Where FourthWave is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sacramento
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
FourthWave business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Non-profit funding and grants: FourthWave operates as a non-profit accelerator. It is funded through grants (e.g., Sacramento mayor's RAILS Fund), premier sponsorships (e.g., Greater Sacramento Economic Council contributed $60,000 total), and institutional partnerships. It does not charge program fees to cohort participants.
- Donations and charitable contributions: As a registered non-profit, FourthWave relies on donations and charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations to sustain its operations and accelerator programming.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
FourthWave product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FourthWave runs a 16-week, non-profit accelerator program for women-led technology businesses, providing one-on-one mentorship, conscious leadership development training, and fundraising preparation. The program is delivered virtually to competitively selected cohort participants (e.g., 14 founders in the 2026 cohort) and is funded through grants and sponsorships rather than participant fees.
Product overview
FourthWave is a non-profit accelerator for women-led technology businesses, not a product company. Its core offering is the FourthWave Accelerator Program, a 16-week intensive initiative that provides mentorship, leadership development, and fundraising preparation to women startup founders. The program aims to address the funding gap facing women entrepreneurs, who receive only about 2% of venture capital investments despite launching companies at three times the rate of men.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- FourthWave Accelerator Program A 16-week non-profit accelerator program for women-led technology businesses, providing one-on-one mentorship, conscious leadership development training, and fundraising preparation to help founders scale and access venture capital. Delivered virtually to competitively selected cohort participants (e.g., 14 founders in the 2026 cohort).
Quantifiable outcome
- 90 female founders mentored; alumni companies have collectively raised over $180 million in venture funding.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use FourthWave
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
FourthWave technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
FourthWave partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Sacramento State Communication Studies (Anchor University)minorSacramento State Communication Studies students were paired with local women-led startup companies for paid internships through a collaboration between Assistant Professor Cheng Hong (also Carlsen Center faculty-in-residence) and FourthWave. Six students were matched with seven startups for career-ready paid internships funded by a Sac State Anchor University Grant.
- Chicostart iHUB2 (Go-Biz Innovation Hub)minorChicostart, a Go-Biz Innovation Hub (iHUB2) covering 20+ North State counties in California, partnered with FourthWave as an iHUB2 ecosystem partner. This partnership provides North State female entrepreneurs direct access to FourthWave's women-owned business accelerator resources, which were previously underserved in that region.
- Carlsen Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Sacramento StatecoreFourthWave formed a strategic partnership with the Carlsen Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Sacramento State in 2020. The Carlsen Center provides programmatic resources to help run FourthWave's annual accelerator programs and serves as a key institutional anchor for the organization's operations. The partnership was led by Cameron Law, Executive Director of the Carlsen Center.
- Growth FactoryminorGrowth Factory, a Sacramento-based nonprofit that helps build entrepreneurial ecosystems and operates Growth Factory Ventures (a venture capital firm), is part of FourthWave's broader ecosystem. Growth Factory co-founders Mark Haney, Monique Brown, and Rick Spencer coined the 'backyard advantage' philosophy that also characterizes the collaborative Sacramento startup culture.
- StartupSacminorStartupSac, a nonprofit offering networking events and resources for Sacramento startups, collaborates with FourthWave in the regional ecosystem. StartupSac's president Laura Good also serves as an organizer for 1 Million Cups Sacramento, another ecosystem partner that supports FourthWave cohort companies presenting their pitches.
- EmtrainminorEmtrain, a FourthWave 2017 alumni company, provides diversity, equity, and inclusion training for FourthWave's current cohort, alumni, mentors, coaches, and support team. Beginning in 2022, this partnership ensures FourthWave's participants receive professional DEI training as part of the accelerator curriculum.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
FourthWave competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Techstars: Techstars is one of the largest global accelerators and has invested in FourthWave alumni (e.g., Pair Anything in 2021). It operates sector-specific accelerator programs including those with women-founder themes, making it both a referral source and competitor.
- gener8tor: gener8tor runs multiple cohort-based accelerator programs across the U.S., including programs focused on women founders and minority founders. It competes for similar applicant pools and sponsor funding while operating at much larger geographic scale.
- Mass Challenge: Mass Challenge is a global nonprofit accelerator supporting early-stage startups across industries with cohort-based programming and corporate partnerships. It shares FourthWave's nonprofit funding model and accelerator structure but serves a much broader founder demographic.
- Y Combinator: Y Combinator is the largest global startup accelerator and has supported many women-led tech companies. While not women-focused, it sets the standard for accelerator outcomes and competes for the top tier of women tech founders that FourthWave also targets.
Emerging players
- Village Capital: Village Capital runs impact-focused accelerator programs for early-stage startups, with explicit emphasis on underrepresented founders and ventures addressing social/environmental challenges. Its nonprofit model and peer-selected investment structure overlap with FourthWave's approach.
Others
- All Raise: All Raise is a nonprofit community focused on increasing the representation and success of women in venture capital and as founders. While not an accelerator itself, it provides mentorship, community, and programming that overlaps with FourthWave's founder-support mission.
- Female Founders Fund: Female Founders Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm exclusively backing women-led companies, providing capital and network access. It addresses the same women-founder capital gap as FourthWave but through direct equity investing rather than accelerator programming.
Direct peers
- Founder Gym: Founder Gym is an accelerator-style program designed for underrepresented founders (women, people of color, LGBTQ+) raising tech-enabled startups. It shares FourthWave's mission of addressing the structural capital gap through cohort-based education and mentorship.
- Black Girl Ventures: Black Girl Ventures runs cohort-based programs and pitch competitions specifically for Black and Brown women founders, providing grant funding and mentorship. It overlaps with FourthWave on the women-founder focus and nonprofit funding model, with a different demographic emphasis.
- Springboard Enterprises: Springboard is a long-running accelerator specifically focused on women-led technology and life sciences companies, providing mentorship, investor access, and a national alumni network. It is the most direct comparable to FourthWave in mission and delivery model, though Springboard operates at significantly larger scale and longer history.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
FourthWave social profiles
Digital presenceFourthWave financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FourthWave leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
FourthWave funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FourthWave M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about FourthWave
What does FourthWave do?
FourthWave runs a 16-week, non-profit accelerator program for women-led technology businesses, providing one-on-one mentorship, conscious leadership development training, and fundraising preparation. The program is delivered virtually to competitively selected cohort participants (e.g., 14 founders in the 2026 cohort) and is funded through grants and sponsorships rather than participant fees.
Is FourthWave a public or private company?
FourthWave is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was FourthWave founded?
FourthWave was founded in 2017.
Where is FourthWave based?
FourthWave is headquartered in Sacramento, United States, in the North America region.
How does FourthWave make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Non-profit funding and grants are the primary driver. The others are donations and charitable contributions.
Who are FourthWave's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Techstars, gener8tor, Mass Challenge and Y Combinator. Village Capital is listed as an emerging player. Others are All Raise and Female Founders Fund. Direct peers are Founder Gym, Black Girl Ventures and Springboard Enterprises.
Does FourthWave have an API?
No public API is recorded for FourthWave.
What industry is FourthWave in?
FourthWave's product category is Startup Accelerator Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMAHAC, Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators, with a secondary code of EDABAAAK, Leadership Assessment, 360 Feedback & Development Planning. Its NAICS code is 611430 and its SIC code is 8200.