WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today announced the 80 winners of the second annual Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. The recipients represent 39 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Accelerators serve entrepreneurs in a broad set of industries and sectors – from manufacturing and tech start-ups, to farming and biotech – with many focused on creating a diverse and inclusive small business community.
“SBA is continuing to make advances in supporting unique organizations that help the start-up community grow, become commercially viable, and have a real and sustained economic impact,” said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet. “Through the wide-spread outreach of this competition, we are able to reach entrepreneurial ecosystems across the country. My commitment is to make our resources available to 21st century entrepreneurs where they are, and these accelerators, also known as incubators and innovation hubs, are the gathering place for today’s innovators and disruptors.”
Applications were judged by more than 40 experts with entrepreneurial, investment, startup, economic development, capital formation and academic backgrounds from both the public and private sector. The first panel of judges reviewed over 400 applications and presentations and established a pool of 180 highly qualified finalists. The second panel evaluated the finalists’ presentations and pitch videos and selected the 80 winners.
Each organization will receive a cash prize of $50,000 from the SBA. In accepting these funds, the accelerators will also be committing to quarterly reporting for one year. They will be required to report metrics such as jobs created, funds raised, startups launched and corporate sponsors obtained. This will allow the SBA to continue building upon its database of accelerators and their impact, and to develop long-term relationships with the startups and constituents in these innovative and entrepreneurial communities.
The purpose of the competition was to draw attention and funding to parts of the country where there are gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. While there are entrepreneurial activities occurring nationwide, some are better supported by private sector ecosystems than others. SBA has created connective tissue amongst the nearly 130 winning entrepreneurial ecosystems now part of the Growth Accelerator Fund. We will continue to explore ways to creatively harness this powerful network and connect startups to each other and Federal government resources. We reported to Congress a baseline of 2014’s fifty winners – made up of about 1,500 companies that have raised $600 million and employ nearly 5,000 people – and with the Class of 2015 the number of entrepreneurs we touch grows significantly.
Additionally, SBA’s Office of Native American Affairs (ONAA) used the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition’s framework to award an additional $400,000 to ecosystems primarily dedicated to Native American entrepreneurs and small businesses. Criteria used for these eight $50,000 prizes were determined by the ONAA, which also managed and judged these eight selections.
The SBA will be discussing the Growth Accelerator program and other SBA programs at the White House Demo Day today. Tune in live at www.whitehouse.gov/live and check out www.sba.gov/accelerators for more details.
The winners are listed below:
City | State | Name of Accelerator |
Anchorage | AK | Launch : Alaska |
Homer | AK | Alaska Small Business Incubator, LLC |
Birmingham | AL | Velocity |
Fayetteville | AR | Startup Junkie Consulting, 2.7.0 Accelerator |
Phoenix | AZ | CPLC Pickle House |
Phoenix | AZ | SEED SPOT |
La Jolla | CA | mystartupXX, University of California San Diego |
Los Angeles | CA | LACI (Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator) |
Oakland | CA | Impact Hub Oakland |
San Diego | CA | Hera Labs |
San Jose | CA | Manos Accelerator |
Alamosa | CO | San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition |
Boulder | CO | Unreasonable Institute |
Boulder | CO | MergeLane |
Loveland | CO | The Warehouse Business Accelerator |
Hartford | CT | LaunchPad for Impact |
Washington | DC | Halcyon Incubator |
Washington | DC | Launch Pad |
Washington | DC | Mess Hall |
Fort Pierce | FL | Pioneer Business Incubator |
Orlando | FL | VentureScaleUp |
Tampa | FL | FirstWaVE Accelerator |
Atlanta | GA | FOCUS Inculator |
Rome | GA | Makervillage |
Honolulu | HI | XLR8UH |
Kahului | HI | Maui Food Innovation Center – Maui Accelerator Program |
Kailua-Kona | HI | GVS Transmedia Accelerator |
Cedar Rapids | IA | Entrepreneurial Development Center, Inc. |
Cedar Rapids | IA | Iowa Startup Accelerator |
Champaign | IL | I-Start (EnterpriseWorks at the UIUC Research Park) |
Chicago | IL | Fulton-Carroll Center |
Chicago | IL | Impact Engine |
Park Forest | IL | SouthWorks MakerLab in Park Forest |
Anderson | IN | Flagship Accelerator Program |
Louisville | KY | XLerateHealth |
Louisville | KY | LVL1 Inc. |
New Orleans | LA | PowerMoves.NOLA |
New Orleans | LA | Propeller: A Force for Social Innovation |
New Orleans | LA | IDEAx |
Boston | MA | Fraunhofer TechBridge |
Boston | MA | InciteHealth |
Somerville | MA | Greentown Labs |
Rockville | MD | Relevant Health |
Portland | ME | E2Tech – Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine |
Portland | ME | Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development (MCED) |
Battle Creek | MI | Inge’s Place |
Detroit | MI | NextEnergy |
St. Louis | MO | Prosper Startup Accelerator |
Bozeman | MT | 406 Labs |
Charlotte | NC | RevTech Labs & QC FinTech |
Research Triangle Park | NC | First Flight Venture Center |
Omaha | NE | Year of the Startup |
Keene | NH | Hannah Grimes Center |
Ironia | NJ | Great Turning Advisors Social Business Accelerator |
Albuquerque | NM | Creative Startups Accelerator |
Albuquerque | NM | Native Entrepreneur in Residence Program |
Brooklyn | NY | Manufacture New York |
Ithaca | NY | Passenger to Pilot: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs |
Long Island City | NY | Coalition for Queens (C4Q) |
New York | NY | KiiLN – Keystone for Incubating Innovation in Life Sciences Network |
New York | NY | Minority Venture Partners (MVP) Accelerator |
Cincinnati | OH | First Batch |
Cleveland | OH | VictoryStart |
Medford | OR | Sustainable Valley Technology Group |
Portland | OR | Oregon BEST StartSpace |
Portland | OR | ONABEN |
Philadelphia | PA | University City Science Center Digital Health Accelerator |
Reading | PA | IDEA Food Accelerator |
San Juan | PR | EnterPRize Accelerator |
San Juan | PR | Codetrotters Academy / Accelerator |
Providence | RI | Social Enterprise Greenhouse Accelerator |
Charleston | SC | Local Works |
Greenville | SC | Greenville Chamber Minority Business Accelerator Program |
North Charleston | SC | Fresh Future Farm Inc. |
Chattanooga | TN | CO.LAB (The Company Lab) |
Memphis | TN | ZeroTo510 |
Memphis | TN | Start Co. Integration Accelerator |
Dallas | TX | EMERGE powered by Tech Wildcatters |
El Paso | TX | RedSky |
San Antonio | TX | Live Work Unit Accelerator |
Salt Lake City | UT | Sustainable Startups |
Arlington | VA | Eastern Foundry |
Hampton | VA | Peninsula Technology Incubator |
Richmond | VA | Lighthouse |
Vienna | VA | Equita |
Spokane | WA | Ignite Northwest |
Milwaukee | WI | WERCBench Labs |
Beckley | WV | West Virginia Hive |
Office of Native American Affairs Special Prizes
CITY STATE NAME OF ACCELERATOR |
Anchorage AK Launch: Alaska |
Fayetteville AR The ARK Challenge |
Kahului HI Maui Food Innovation Center – Maui Accelerator Program |
Albuquerque NM Native Entrepreneur in Residence Program |
Charleston SC Fresh Future Farm Inc. |
Fort Pierce FL Pioneer Business Incubator |
Portland OR ONABEN |
Homer AK Alaska Small Business Incubator, LLC |
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Release Date: August 4, 2015 | Contact: Miguel Ayala (202) 450-0148 |
Release Number: 15-66 |
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news
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