UWFoster — Ascend

University of Washington Foster School of Business

Contacts: Michael Verchot and Mayte Manzo,

The application for the 2025-2026 Cohort will open in April. In the meantime, please fill out the interest form if you are interested in receiving the application.

Business owner- iNterest form

Ascend National Cohort melds Management skills development for senior leadership teams, ensures access to Money through loans and investments, and grows Market access for firms through strategic partnerships with corporations.

What drives Ascend National Cohort´s success?

94% of the participants ranked Ascend´s management education as having a high impact on their business

88% of the alumni say that Ascend´s peer network of business owners had a high impact on their business

Faculty

Our Approach

Businesses accepted to the Ascend National Cohort will enter with a defined opportunity/challenge that, when addressed, will lead to profitable growth. Over the 7-months of the cohort program, businesses access a fantastic set of resources that address the opportunity/challenge they have identified, including:

60 - 80 hours of business coaching from a successful entrepreneur
80 hours of assistance from an MBA student
Two consulting sessions from EY
Two accounting and financial management consulting sessions from RSM
Two capital access sessions with business and middle-market lenders from JPMorgan Chase
Six days of in-person instruction at the University of Washington
33 hours of virtual instruction and small group work on operational excellence, B2B marketing, and organizational leadership

While most business development programs focus on just the business owner or CEO, the Ascend National Cohort is focused on building a strong executive leadership team. The CEO plus 2 C-Suite level colleagues from each company can attend in-person and virtual sessions.