FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Evans McMillion
Email: evans@757accelerate.org
Phone: 757.376.9604
NORFOLK, VA (August 4, 2020) – 757 Accelerate is excited to announce the five new companies comprising Cohort #3! These five promising companies will hit the ground running for their 12-week intensive startup program beginning on August 24th. Cohort #3 includes companies with innovative technology solutions to some pressing problems in the energy, education, insurance, music, and logistics and are poised to make a significant impact as we work to recover from the economic crisis of COVID-19. “We are confident that Cohort #3 will use the deep bench of mentors and resources available at 757 Accelerate and the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem to rapidly grow and scale their companies,” said Evans McMillion, 757 Accelerate’s Executive Director.
After accelerating 11 startups in two cohorts over the past 2 years, 757 Accelerate alumni have made a significant impact on the regional economy. Cohort companies have raised $10M in capital, created more than 50 high-paying jobs, and grown their revenue sources. “The team at 757 Accelerate and the regional ecosystem is committed to supporting the growth of its founders first. We continue to rely on the 757 Accelerate staff and network as we grow our business,” noted Josuel Placensia, Co-Founder Forefront and 757 Accelerate Alumni.
Besides driving results for its founders, 757 Accelerate is equally as excited about its contribution to creating an interconnected, inclusive, and impactful entrepreneurial ecosystem in Hampton Roads – measured through increased engagement with a broad range of entrepreneurs and regional collaboration. “We continue to focus on building an inclusive ecosystem that supports the growth of all founders, including women, people of color, and military vets,” said Monique Adams 757 Accelerate Board Chair. “We are proud that over half of the 757 Accelerate Cohort #3 and alumni companies have underrepresented founders on their teams,” she added.
ATTRACT AND RETAIN
With three Hampton Roads companies and two from outside the region, 757 Accelerate is both a retention and attraction tool for innovative talent and regional business. “Data from both the Great Recession and the dot com bust show that tech talent and innovative tech companies are far more resilient than non-tech employment and traditional industries,” said Monique Adams, 757 Angels Executive Director and 757 Accelerate Board Chair. We are confident that the same will prove true in the post-COVID era, with tech talent and startups guiding the economic transformation and leading the next growth cycle,” added Adams.
NEW THIS YEAR – 757X – In response to the overwhelming need for resources among the entrepreneurial community and with the knowledge that entrepreneurs will pull us out of the current economic crisis sparked by COVID-19, 757 Accelerate and its community of partners and mentors has offered three additional promising startups the chance to participate in a modified version of 757 Accelerate with access to a shortened variation of the 757 Accelerate program and weekly mentor meetings with 757 Accelerate staff.
757 ACCELERATE COHORT#3
After hundreds of hours, thirty-five reviewers selected the following five, dynamic founding teams to join 757 Accelerate Cohort #3 this fall:
Canduit is a career access software platform that allows university students and recent graduates from underserved groups to demonstrate job readiness competencies through employer-sponsored project-based engagements. Canduit provides the coordinates that allow black, brown, and first-generation college students to safely and successfully land their first job. The company is based in Washington DC and was launched in 2018 by co-founders Greg Lewin and Leah Davidson.
ChowCall is a Chesapeake-based, Veteran owned, food and grocery delivery business that has already generated significant early revenue from only one military base. With a couple taps on your phone, ChowCall delivers your favorite foods from your favorite restaurants or commissary to your barracks, home, or office on or off-base. Armed with the latest technology, an experienced team of experienced industry professionals, and a commitment for service, ChowCall is bringing food and grocery delivery to a whole new level. We stand on the shoulders of Veterans we served with, team members in our company, and many others who invested in our success.
Gridfruit has developed AI-based technology that provides energy efficiency and grid incentives using stores’ existing refrigeration systems. Combining machine learning with enhanced monitoring and dynamic control, Grid Fruit improves commercial refrigerator operations and temperature settings to minimize wasted energy and peak demand. This Pittsburg startup’s technology allows us to detect out-of-bound operations, predict machine failures, and reduce emergency maintenance needs by prescribing preventive maintenance. This reduces operational costs and food waste while transforming refrigeration systems into thermal batteries for the grid.
Mayfair Project, a Norfolk-based tech startup, provides cutting-edge litigation intelligence for property and casualty insurance companies. They help our insurance partners understand what is in their litigated disputes, providing both portfolio-level views of exposure, trends and risks, as well as granular views of individual cases. They combine proprietary machine learning tools with legal subject matter expertise to power a litigated claims solution that reduces costs, shortens cycle-times, and improves workflows.
Secret Chord Labs, powered by their dopr™ AI software platform, this Virginia Beach-based tech-startup Secret Chord Labs provides musicians and music producers with unique neuroscience-based insights to reliably predict music enjoyment. Secret Chord aims to be the preeminent resource for all things music and the brain. We are music-cognition neuroscientists, engineers, software designers, and music industry executives with a unifying passion for innovation. We develop neuroscience-powered software that predicts the response a piece of music will have on targeted listeners – helping our partners create stronger and more focused content. Secret Chord Laboratories looks to leverage their advisers at Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group, along with 757 Accelerate and the entire Hampton Roads entrepreneurial ecosystem to help them scale.
757X Companies
In response to the overwhelming need for resources among the entrepreneurial community sparked by COVID-19, 757 Accelerate and its community of partners and mentors has offered the following promising startups the chance to participate in a modified version of 757 Accelerate:
3DXtremes has designed software that helps product development teams design and build new physical products with additive manufacturing processes. Their platform allows rapid optimization of product designs for additive manufacturing and generates actionable data insights to drive efficiencies and speed. With 3DXtremes’ platform, development teams can also take advantage of easy-to-use augmented reality versions of their product designs for enhanced collaboration and decision making during the design phase. Teams can easily store and manage part designs and production guidelines for each part right in their team’s design library, enabling more consistent part fabrication for future parts.
Senior Runs is an innovative companion ride door to door solution empowering older adults with limited cognitive skills and physical abilities quickly and easily select a companion driver, book a ride, rate their driver, and pay instantly for all their routine transportation needs. Unlike other transportation alternatives Senior Runs provides the web platform for connecting riders with a community of vetted and trained companion drivers to escort and assist aging adults complete errands, routine medical visits, and engage in recreational activities that are otherwise prohibitive. Senior Runs helps a growing population of seniors, their families, and healthcare providers reimagine transportation solutions for aging adults with unique care requirements.
SPLYC – Businesses are plagued by gaps in the flow of data between software and business partners. Manual steps make day-to-day operations consuming, complicated and error prone, leading to significant frustration and expense. Splyc streamlines operations by connecting businesses partners and software tools. Born from the supply chain, Splyc speaks all the languages of business and its dynamic design lets users solve their specific challenges. Splyc rapidly connects existing tools and services to automate day-to-day processes. Businesses large and small are more efficient and able to do more business with Splyc.
About 757 Accelerate
757 Accelerate is a selective, mentor-driven startup program that provides promising founders $20,000 in capital without taking equity, connections to customized mentors, investors, and resources, as well as real customers to help validate their product and test their business model. Launched in 2018, 757 Accelerate is a nonprofit accelerator serving all of southeastern Virginia that aims to close the gaps in the Hampton Roads entrepreneurial ecosystem one startup at a time. To date, we have made a significant impact for both our alumni and our community as illustrated in our 2019 Impact Report. For more information, visit 757accelerate.org.
