As we step into 2026, we at Breakthrough find ourselves reflecting on a milestone that still feels fresh: the completion of our first accelerator cohort in May 2025. Last year, five teams from across the country took a leap of faith on a new accelerator, working over 10 months to challenge assumptions, test new ideas in real-world environments, and take bold steps toward transforming adolescent health and well-being. Now, the start of a new year feels like a good time to pause and ask a simple but important question: What made this journey such a success?
As the learning and evaluation lead for Breakthrough, I spent the weeks following our final Demo Day event in deep conversation with our first cohort of innovators about this exact question. We talked about their pivots, their frustrations, their proudest moments, and their thoughts on how and why they were able to advance their ideas. Across conversations, three themes came up again and again—facilitators to innovation we’ve started to see as the ingredients of Breakthrough’s “secret sauce.”
These themes aren’t accidental; they reflect what we intentionally designed and refined as we built the accelerator, and what we plan to double down on as we welcome new innovators in the years ahead. Below, I unpack each theme—or “ingredient,” if you will—of the Breakthrough approach, as described by our innovators themselves.
Ingredient 1: An intentional, tailored, and constructive approach to coaching
When I asked teams from our first cohort what helped them most in moving from idea to action, they were emphatic in their most common response: the coaching. Teams described their relationships with their coaches—developed through biweekly coaching calls and working sessions at Breakthrough’s in-person learning labs—as indispensable sources of insight, connections, and support.
I think the thing that was most transformative for me was having a coach, and I think specifically [our] coach… She has a really great gift for taking what we said, summarizing it really well, [and] throwing it back at us… Every time we spoke to her, I felt like our project was enhanced a bit more.
Breakthrough’s coaching model is built on partnership: Each team gets a dedicated coach who understands the nuances of their innovation, their context, and their constraints. Instead of generic advice, the team receives tailored guidance and insights—an intentional approach that resonated with our innovators.
I know from my own experience, it’s very hard to pair folks with the right expertise… What an incredible opportunity Breakthrough gave us to have such a pairing.
Teams especially appreciated the way coaches asked tough questions—Who exactly are you designing for? What assumptions are you making?—without claiming to know the answers. Coaches brought knowledge but respected the innovators’ ideas and expertise.
[Our coach] let us guide and gave suggestions when they found we were struggling. If we were stuck, or if we just needed a gentle push, they always had something ready for us.
This style coaching just seemed to fit our team… I think the style we got through this accelerator was just what we needed to move and be challenged in the right ways.
If there is one overall takeaway here, it’s that innovation doesn’t accelerate because someone provides exact, prescribed instruction. However, the right relationships can motivate, inspire, and help innovators see more clearly what they are trying to do.
Ingredient 2: In-person touchpoints that build relationships and momentum
In a world where remote work is increasingly becoming the norm, the Breakthrough team takes seriously the power of being in the same room. We deliberately designed our program around three in-person touchpoints: two multi-day learning labs and a Demo Day celebration. In interviews, teams from our first cohort stressed that these in-person touchpoints were not simply helpful gatherings, but catalytic events.
Innovators talked about the alchemy that happened when their teams met in-person with their coaches. They described the energy that comes from stepping away from daily pressures and the clarity that emerges with full immersion in one’s work. For many, these labs were where the breakthroughs actually happened.
[The] most impactful things were probably the in-person events, which were incredible times of really shifting things, moving things forward. Like being pushed to think nimbly and creatively, and in ways that we often don’t think. And then the connections to the other groups. It was a really big deal.
I think the Zoom [calls] have been really wonderful, but there is nothing to me like in-person time with your coaches… They sat at our tables with us, and that was when we kind of had that light bulb moment. Like, “Oh my God, we’re doing this all wrong!” We [made] a shift because our coaches were sitting with us and talking with us.
In-person spaces also counterbalanced the uncertainty that often accompanies innovation, helping teams reset, refocus, and reconnect with their purpose (and with each other).
We see each other at [work]. But on these trips, we did so much together. Like talking about our personal lives and frolicking around seeing all the monuments. That’s not something that we get to do a lot because we’re all so busy. So that was just so valuable…The personal time together, I think that inherently just makes you a better team.
Ultimately, the labs and Demo Day celebration reminded teams that they were part of something bigger than their own innovation: a movement to reimagine adolescent health with empathy, rigor, and joy.
Ingredient 3: A culture of flexibility and imperfection
As innovators ourselves, the Breakthrough team knows that the innovation process is iterative, messy, and at times uncomfortable. One of Breakthrough’s core values is that innovation is inherently imperfect, something we strive to communicate and model ourselves. Our first cohort found it especially liberating to have explicit permission to test, adapt, and fail without judgment.
The Breakthrough flexibility was incredibly helpful. So many things didn’t go according to plan … But then you’re always so flexible and understanding and just responded with, “How can we support you?”
Just like that flexibility and that openness as far as [saying], “You’re gonna have a ton of ideas, not all of them are gonna work” … I think that’s what’s different with Breakthrough compared to other forms of funding or support.
This flexibility didn’t imply a lack of structure. Rather, it meant creating space for experiments—small tests that generated insight quickly and safely. It also meant celebrating learning, not just outcomes, and recognizing that each team’s path would unfold differently.
It was so nice to not have to have that fear, just knowing that you all are there to meet us where we’re at and help us to adjust [to] the challenges that we’re having in the moment.
Although risk and change can feel daunting, this model and mindset created room for creativity, curiosity, and even confidence in new skills. Innovators credited “getting out of our comfort zone” and being “pushed to be creative over being perfect” as important facilitators for progress.
Looking ahead: An invitation to what’s next
The first Breakthrough Cohort was a varied group of innovators: Teams developed an online game for neurodivergent teens, a peer-educator program for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, a role-playing game for youth, a telenovela-style TV show, and a teen-centered training for doulas. But they were unanimous in their assessment of what contributed to their success.
We see the three elements that teams appreciated most—intentional coaching, meaningful in-person touchpoints, and a culture that embraces imperfection—as not just supportive extras, but foundational to the Breakthrough Accelerator. Together, they shape our distinctive approach to helping innovators navigate complexity, deepen their thinking, and bring game-changing ideas to the young people who deserve them.
As we move into a new year, we are committed to embracing and enhancing each of these ingredients in our “secret sauce” for accelerating innovation. But we also recognize that we ourselves are not done learning; rather, we’re excited to explore new ways to support our teams. Are there opportunities to better engage young people in our accelerator? Ways to promote more collaboration between our teams? We are eager to learn from our current cohort of innovators about how we can continue meeting them where they are—and help them get where they want to go.
Here’s to 2026, and to the breakthroughs ahead.
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Suggested citation: Vazzano, A. (2026). Reflections on Breakthrough’s first cohort and the “secret sauce” that made it work. Breakthrough Accelerator. https://breakthrough.fund/reflections-on-breakthroughs-first-cohort-and-the-secret-sauce-that-made-it-work/