Techstars Atlanta and Techstars Social Impact have become integral accelerators in the area, launching startups like MaxRewards, 2ULaundry, and EnMass Energy.
Now, Atlanta will be the first US city to host a pre-accelerator program designed specifically to help female-founded companies grow.
Techstars Founder Catalyst Program in Partnership with J.P. Morgan is designed to address the “huge education gap between an idea-level founder and someone ready to go apply their first round of funding,” Techstars’ Director of Ecosystem Development Courtney (Gras) Gerowtiz told Hypepotamus.
While the program will run virtually this fall, all startups selected for the inaugural cohort come are women-owned in the Greater Atlanta area with less than $1 million in funding to date.
Techstars strategic decision to partner with J.P. Morgan grew from the banking firm’s Women on the Move initiative, which was launched back in 2013.
The fall cohort includes some names Hypepotamus readers will be familiar with, including software planning tool Staat, local streaming platform LoCo Plus, and the queer-focused online social network The LO.
The cohort will be rounded out by women-led startups across HRTech, e-commerce, MediaTech, and software industries. Other selected startups include:
Onwards HR – A data-driven risk management platform that automates employee separations
Forefront app – A social marketplace making local shopping & delivery accessible for smALL.
My Panda – My Panda App connects personal assistants to busy people in their community
Palmly – Where people go for faith to grow
Skintelligent Corporation – Pioneering AI skin analysis solutions for digital health & consumer markets
JoJo Learning -Making it possible for more American kids to grow up multilingual
Small Bites Adventure Club – Turn-key tools that help children discover, eat and love fruits and veggies
Travelsist_App – new generation of travel app
Co-CreatED – A Market Network connecting schools with vetted trainings for teachers
CHOZEN MEDIA – CHOZEN MEDIA is a video marketing and virtual production agency.
THe HGHLT – a next-generation video shopping software
Pose Button – An extension that helps you to find desired fashionable items with coupons
WellMiss – Femtech startup providing on-demand holistic and integrative wellness care.
The William Pleshette Company Tech – Advanced solutions for hair protection & apparel for aquatics
Vaila Shoes – A business lifestyle shoe retailer for women with extended shoe sizes
Menara Inc. – Construction and Demolition Waste Management app
Transition – Bridging CNA Schools and employers to give students better career access.
For the Techstars team, expanding its footprint in Atlanta was a natural next step for the overall Founder Catalyst Program.
“We saw the potential of the female founders in Atlanta, and we knew that TechStars had an existing network in Atlanta so we’d really be able to really surround the founders with resources and help them have a soft landing back into the community,” said Gerowitz.
“First and foremost, TechStars cares a lot about the quality of the team, so we rate highly on the founders and their dedication to the company and the traction that they’ve demonstrated,” she added when talking about the quality of the candidates. “Their dedication to the company is also important because early-stage companies are probably going to have to pivot,” she added.
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Photo by ibuki Tsubo on Unsplash
