The world of startup accelerators and incubators seems to be buzzier than ever, so it is hard to think about how a program could really stand apart from the pack. But the people behind the Boulder, Colorado-based Unreasonable Institute have managed to come up with a way to really make a splash in the crowded space (sorry I couldn’t help myself with that one.)
Meet Unreasonable At Sea, a new program in which 11 startups will board a ship for a three-month-long trip around the world. During the trip, which starts January 9th in San Diego and ends in Barcelona, the entrepreneurs will stop off at 14 international destinations to learn first-hand how to expand their projects to make an impact on a global scale. 
It’s a departure for the Unreasonable people as well. At Sea is a completely separate program from the Unreasonable Institute — the Institute is non-profit and does not take equity in its startups, while At Sea is for-profit and will take a small piece of equity from its participants. Applications for startups have closed (try next time!) but the program is still looking to add a few select mentor spots.
In all, it’s a pretty interesting undertaking — and it’s a great literal play on the “entrepreneurs as pirates” analogy that TechCrunch founder Mike Arrington has championed. So we met with Unreasonable founder Daniel Epstein recently while he was here in San Francisco to hear all about it. Watch the video embedded above to hear about how the At Sea idea took shape, what kinds of companies are setting sail, how the ship plans to deal with risks like pirates and sketchy WiFi, and much more.
unreasonableatsea is a mentor intensive and mentor driven program. Throughout the course of the voyage, you will sail, live, learn from, and be mentored by 20 of the world’s most prominent innovators and entrepreneurs.
We accelerate Unreasonable entrepreneurs and their ventures. We are solving the world’s biggest problems by arming the entrepreneurs who can take them on with the mentorship, capital, and network to make it happen. Each year, we unite 25 entrepreneurs from every corner of the globe to live under the same roof for six weeks in Boulder, Colorado. These entrepreneurs receive training and build long-term relationships with 50 world-class mentors, ranging from the former Managing Director of Investments at Google.org,...
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
San Francisco, CA
Berlin, Germany
Boston, MA
