Bolt, new accelerator program for start-ups designing physical products, looking to put down roots in Boston

Einstein says his goal is to admit 10 teams into the first Bolt program. The program would supply office space, mentorship, access to equipment, and a financial stipend, in return for a chunk of each start-up's equity. Bolt would run for six months, unlike many of the three-month-long accelerator programs. "Physical products just take longer to build," Einstein says. Teams would get a larger stipend than the typical $30,000 to cover living costs during the program, "and some teams will likely need to buy tools or special equipment," Einstein says.

The goal, Einstein says, is to create "a way to bring physical products to market less expensively, even though they will never be as cheap as software." He's trying to raise enough money from local investors to support the first year of the Bolt program, and says he has made good progress already. Unlike other accelerators, one potential financial avenue for the start-ups that participate would be licensing their product idea to a bigger company that would produce and market it. That could create a different kind of payback for investors in Bolt (as opposed to a sale or IPO.)

The program could start as soon as this summer. Einstein says he's about to start scouting for space in Cambridge, Fort Point, and the South End. In addition to providing a home base for the Bolt teams, Einstein says the digs may also include "some co-working space for people manufacturing goods and making things."

Earlier in its gestation, Einstein called his idea "Maker College," and was planning to launch it in Holyoke.