Insider Brief
- Gutter Capital has launched Elbow Grease, an eight-week AI accelerator in New York City to support early-stage founders with funding and mentorship.
- The program will invest $300,000 in each of five selected companies, offering hands-on guidance from veteran founders and leaders in the “Gutterverse.”
- Applications are open through Thanksgiving, with the program set to begin in January 2026 at Gutter Capital’s Canal Street headquarters.
- Image: Guttersgiving 2024 at 221 Canal Street
Gutter Capital has announced the launch of Elbow Grease, an eight-week AI accelerator designed to support early-stage founders with hands-on mentorship and funding. The New York-based venture firm said the initiative reflects a return to its roots — working closely with small teams to help them build lasting companies rather than scaling a startup factory.
The team’s co-founders, Dan Teran and James Gettinger, made the announcement on its Medium blog.
Founded in 2021 after the sale of Managed by Q to WeWork, Gutter Capital has built a reputation for guiding mission-driven founders from idea to product-market fit. Its first fund now ranks among the top five percent of venture funds globally, with portfolio companies three times more likely to advance from Seed to Series A than peers. Gutter’s headquarters on Canal Street has since become a shared home for more than 50 people across 10 portfolio firms.
Program Structure and Funding
Elbow Grease will select five companies to receive $300,000 in pre-seed investment and participate in an on-site program beginning in January 2026 at Gutter’s Canal Street offices. The accelerator will feature one-on-one mentorship from experienced founders, off-the-record talks with industry leaders, and targeted workshops aimed at helping participants reach key early milestones.
The program draws on Gutter’s community of more than 30 mentors and speakers — dubbed the “Gutterverse” — including Scott Belsky, Claire Hughes Johnson, Miguel McKelvey, Satya Patel, and Eric Glyman. Applications are open through Thanksgiving.
A Return to Hands-On Investing
Teran and Gettinger described Elbow Grease as a deliberate shift toward more concentrated involvement with founders.
“Elbow Grease is back to basics — working with a small group of founders and doing everything in our power to help them succeed,” the team’s co-founders write. “We do not aspire to build a start-up factory, or a finishing school for fancy fundraisers. This is not a speed run, but rather the first steps in what we hope will be a lifelong partnership.”
The concept echoes Gutter Capital’s beginnings during the COVID-19 lockdown, when Teran and a handful of founders shared a small Chinatown office to collaborate in person. That experience, he said, inspired the firm’s emphasis on tight-knit, high-commitment relationships with entrepreneurs.
Gutter Capital’s events — including its annual “Guttersgiving” gathering — have helped cultivate an active founder network across New York’s tech ecosystem. The new accelerator continues that tradition while expanding access to the firm’s resources, investor network, and operational expertise.
The program is supported by sponsors Perkins Coie, Ramp, and Microsoft for Startups.
Applications for Elbow Grease are available now on Gutter Capital’s website.
