Another batch of startups is ready to experience Techstars Seattle.
The accelerator revealed its 13th cohort made up of 12 companies that will spend the next three months supercharging their business plans. The companies hail from a variety of industries such as e-commerce, travel, and meal delivery. They will receive $20,000 from Techstars in exchange for a 6% equity investment made by Techstars, along with mentorship and other help building their companies.
“The past two Techstars Seattle cohorts have thrived, despite launching into the teeth of the pandemic,” Isaac Kato, managing director of Techstars Seattle. “As the world emerges from its prolonged sequestration, there’s never been a better time to start a company.”
Techstars Seattle is running a hybrid-style program for this cohort — founders can work from wherever they are most productive, whether that’s at Startup Hall in Seattle or their home city.
“This allows founders, who for one reason or another cannot join physically, to get the benefits of Techstars Seattle,” Kato said. “We also learned during COVID that some entrepreneurs get more done in a remote setup. So, one of the silver linings of COVID is that we’ve evolved our delivery model to meet the needs of our founders.
The cohort includes six women CEOs. It’s the second time (following last year) that Techstars Seattle achieved gender parity within a cohort.
Techstars Seattle first launched more than a decade ago. Companies such as Remitly, Outreach, Skilljar, Bizible, Leanplum, Zipline, and other alumni have collectively raised more than $1.5 billion in investment capital. Most have built their startups in the Pacific Northwest, helping expand the entrepreneurial clout in the region.
Techstars Seattle is part of a larger Techstars network that includes 50 programs across the globe and also features a Techstars venture capital fund and a startup studio model.
Earlier this year Techstars launched a new accelerator out of Seattle called the Filecoin Techstars Accelerator for blockchain companies.
Here are the new companies, with descriptions from each:
- Adaptively Education — Digitized, gamified education with live & group teaching.
- Ecocrumb — Ecocrumb is a SaaS platform that helps small to midsize businesses track and improve their sustainability. We make it easy to collect and store data, set priorities, and take actions around ESG (environmental, social, and governance) goals.
- Edizeven — Edizeven offers tech-powered, personalized hiring solutions for restaurants. We source and pre-screen candidates helping them hire 2.5x faster.
- Foreverly — Foreverly’s mission is to help people welcome the space to heal after experiencing the death of a loved one.
- Lifeswap — Lifeswap is a marketplace where travelers can buy curated + customizable travel itineraries from local travel influencers.
- MapYourIdea — We help brands share geographic recommendations to engage their audiences.
- Rejoicy — Rejoicy is a marketplace for local businesses.
- Rfrd — Rfrd offers self-service tools and studio quality production to source authentic customer videos that drive revenue across the customer journey.
- SeizeTheApp — Seize is a marketplace app that provides an in-the-moment photo taking service with photo takers that are readily available in scenic spots.
- SheMatters — SheMatters is a community designed to support Black mothers.
- Wavelength — Wavelength combines personalized nutrition plans with powerful mindset and mental health tools for weight loss.
- ZipLunch — ZipLunch helps busy professionals, at home or at the office, save valuable time and money by simplifying meal ordering from their favorite restaurants.
