Startup accelerators have gone “niche” over the last year. Instead of simply copy and pasting the Y Combinator model ad nauseam, incubators have started to seep into verticals, tailoring their programs to particular industries. Education technology has been enjoying more attention from entrepreneurs and investors of late, and following suit, a new generation of EdTech accelerators have begun to… → Read More
Today was the Extreme Startups Spring 2013 Demo Day in Toronto, and the cohort of five startups all delivered. The list this time included Brika, Instaradio, Koge, Polychart and Sciencescape. It was an incredibly diverse group, targeting verticals ranging from ecommerce to media to business intelligence, but it’s rare to se a group so focused and prepared on the day. That’s a credit to the Extreme… → Read More
Productivity app Evernote today is announcing that it is teaming up with Honda and the Japanese carrier Docomo to launch the Evernote Accelerator, a month-long mentorship program based at Evernote’s HQ in Redwood City for developers and small startups from around the world that are making apps using Evernote’s APIs. The move is a step ahead for Evernote in its strategy to build out its business… → Read More
Public broadcasters continue to face a lot of pressure as going concerns in the face of bigger overall pressure for the media industry, and like all media companies, they are looking towards a new generation of entrepreneurs for innovation. Those two trends are coming together in a new accelerator, San Francisco-based Matter, which debuts its first class of startups today. → Read More
Montreal-based FounderFuel, one of Canada’s leading startup accelerator programs, announced a new plan this week to provide access to free work space at Rocketspace or Plug Snd Play in SF and Silicon Valley for three teams for each of its cohorts for three months. The deal applies retroactively, too, meaning 9 graduated teams get a chance to go south for additional connections. → Read More
Today, there seem to be more business accelerators than there are startups to fill their classes and cohorts. It seems that not a week goes by without the launch of another accelerator or seed starter fund. In fact, as Peter Relan said in a recent post (riffing on Chris Dixon), accelerators have become an industry segment in their own right. He also goes so far as to surmise that — just as it is… → Read More
Cyril Ebersweiler has launched one of the coolest incubators I’ve seen in a while. Based in Dalian, China, the incubator has already run one group through the ringer, and now they’re looking for hardware hackers to join them in their second round. This time, however, they’re doing it up nice. → Read More
Editor’s note: Peter Relan is a former programmer and Internet executive. He founded YouWeb Incubator in 2007, spinning out a string of successful mobile and gaming companies.
Incubators are now an industry segment in their own right. Before starting YouWeb Incubator in 2007, I began to explore the idea of an incubator with friends and colleagues. Most people told me that Idealab and CMGI had… → Read More
With VCs like Sequoia and Nexus Ventures pouring money into India’s startup scene, it was only a matter of time before those focused on early-stage funding would follow. Today, GSF India, in partnership with some 30 other investors including Dave McClure’s 500 Startups, announced a new initiative called GSF Accelerator. Set to take off this October, GSF Accelerator will be mentoring and offering… → Read More
It’s been over two years since Box CEO Aaron Levie declared here at TechCrunch that enterprise is sexy again. Since then there have been a few strong enterprise IPOs, like Jive Software, Palo Alto Networks and Splunk, along with some hefty acquisitions, like Microsoft’s $1.2 billion acquisition of Yammer.
So yeah, enterprise tech startups are hot, if not sexy, and it makes sense that there’s… → Read More
Hub Ventures, a new San Francisco-based startup accelerator focused on funding entrepreneurs “building a better world” is hosting its demo day today at Hub Bay Area. This year’s portfolio includes seven companies from a variety of sectors, including mobile, agricultural info systems, healthcare, clothing, online giving and personal safety. The startups span geographies (U.S., Kenya, Ghana and… → Read More
There is certainly no shortage of startup incubators and accelerators these days, but Silicon Valley’s Upwest Labs is doing something especially unique. Upwest, which got off the ground in January, focuses on entrepreneurs with Israeli roots — it brings them to Palo Alto, California for three months where they work around the clock to amp up their existing startups to Silicon Valley speed. → Read More
When asked what is the biggest difference between Los Angeles and Silicon Valley accelerators, five from LA told me they’re more focused on startups that don’t take years to start monetizing. Leaders from Amplify, Launchpad LA, MuckerLab, Start Engine, and Originate Labs convened at this weekend’s Silicon Beach Festival in Venice, California. They explained that since there’s less capital down… → Read More
Impact Engine is a newly launched venture accelerator in Chicago designed to attract both environmentally and socially-minded businesses that want to – well, you know — make an impact on today’s world. The belief is that you don’t have to be a non-profit business to make this happen, but that it’s possible to create self-sustaining businesses that are working to improve the human… → Read More
At Aol’s offices in Palo Alto this evening, UpWest Labs pulled back the curtain on its second batch of startups. While the accelerator is open to companies of all breeds, be they advertising, mobile, or security-focused, its second class is largely consumer-focused and leans heavily towards video.
More than 120 private investors, angels, and firms were on hand for UpWest’s Demo Day Tuesday… → Read More
Cleveland, known to many as the “Land From Whence The Cleves Came,” is rarely mentioned when you think of hotbeds of entrepreneurial energy. But yet it was the long time home to Harvey Pekar and does still have many local colleges, including Case Western Reserve, John Carroll, and Cleveland State. It is also home to Sherwin-Williams, Progressive Insurance, and now LaunchHouse.
In other words… → Read More
Not many people think much good can come from New Jersey. Sure there’s the Shore and Boardwalk Empire, but for the most part it’s “bridge and tunnel” this and Snooki that. Well that’s all supposed to change thanks to TechLaunch, a new accelerator based at Montclair State University.
Noted New Jersey angel Mario Casabona founded the accelerator as a way to keep high-tech from hitting Wall Street… → Read More
Last June, FounderFuel became the latest in a new crop of Canadian startup accelerators, joining Year One Labs and more in the mission to support and grow the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Created by the same team behind Montreal Start Up, FounderFuel launched with $2 million from Real Ventures in tow, kick-starting its 12-week, mentor-driven startup “boot camp” and allowing it to… → Read More
Let the proliferation of vertically-themed startup accelerators continue! Today, a new accelerator focusing on the enterprise sector is launching in Washington D.C. Called “Acceleprise,” the program’s goal is to invest in 60 enterprise software companies over the next three years. Participating startups should be trying to solve problems facing large organizations, whether the Fortune 5000… → Read More
Public broadcasters are the latest group to get in on funding promising tech startups in their earliest stages: today sees the launch of the Public Media Accelerator, an incubator that’s looking for startups focused on innovation in public media, with $2.5 million in funding from the Public Radio Exchange and the Knight Foundation.
To kick things off, the group picked a key person to help: its… → Read More
There are still entire industries that are badly in need of new ideas, new blood, and disruptive technologies — education, healthcare, and media, I’m talking to you — and accelerators that focus on particular verticals are still very much welcomed. Specialization is key, as it narrows scope and depth, and gives startups the confidence that they’ll be advised and mentored by experts who’ve… → Read More
Greenstart, the San Francisco-based startup accelerator dedicated to the cleantech industry – and more importantly, to making it “sexy” enough to attract investors – announced its second cadre of of companies this week. This time around, the organization is tightening its focus to concentrate solely on the intersection of I.T. and cleantech, specifically in areas of smart grid, the built… → Read More
Hub Ventures, the San Francisco-based startup accelerator focused on funding entrepreneurs “building a better world,” is the newest member of the TechStars network. The official announcement of its TechStars affiliation will be made next week. For those unfamiliar, the organization’s 12-week program provides companies with typical accelerator benefits like seed funding, mentorship, workshops and… → Read More
AngelPad, the startup incubator launched by seven ex-Googlers in August 2010, is taking a look back at how far it’s come in the months since and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. So far, AngelPad has helped 37 companies get off the ground, but it wasn’t until this year that things really got going: 29 of those 37 startups emerged from AngelPad’s incubator in 2011 alone.
Out of the 37… → Read More
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