PRESS RELEASE: SBA Boosts Economic Impact of Accelerators with $4.4 Million in Prizes

For full article details and related content, please click here.

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

Release Number: 15-66

Contact: Miguel Ayala (202) 450-0148
Internet Address: www.sba.gov/news
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Blogs