Cox Enterprises announced Monday the inaugural class of Techstars Social Impact Accelerator, a three-month program in Atlanta designed to provide mentoring, funding and global connections for 10 for-profit social impact startups.
Three out of the 10 startups selected are based in Atlanta: Make Music Count, Civic Dinners and EnMass Energy.
Each company selected will receive mentorship from Cox business leaders and experts to help entrepreneurs bring their ideas to market, grow their networks and scale their early-stage startups. The cohort will pitch their companies at a Demo Day showcase on April 29.
"This class represents a rich diversity of creative thinkers, practical problem-solvers and committed entrepreneurs who are driven by purpose and compelled to make a difference," Barry Givens, managing director of Techstars Social Impact, said in a statement. "It is precisely this kind of diversity of thought, perspective and conviction that powers sustainable change."
The startups selected for the 2020 Social Impact Accelerator class are:
- ACT House: A premier co-living incubator enabling young innovators to grow their skills, develop entrepreneurial mindsets and create new products and services.
- BestFit: An app that provides students with the resources and insights to find colleges that are an academic, social and financial fit.
- Blue Studios: Provides STEM classes for kids on their schedules in the convenience of their homes.
- Civic Dinners: Offers a thoughtfully designed series of conversations on key topics that can help organizations build a more inclusive culture with employees, stakeholders, customers and the greater community.
- Kai XR: Creates inclusive and accessible mixed-reality spaces that allow kids to explore, dream and create.
- EnMass Energy: A micro-utility focused on generating baseload electricity using agricultural waste products, designed to reduce energy poverty and mitigate climate change.
- Forefront: A premier training provider helping Fortune 1000 firms and emerging tech companies adapt to the future of work and a diverse workforce.
- Healthy Hip Hop: Encouraging students and teachers to get active through music, movement and a message.
- Invincible: Inspiring families living with health issues through creative approaches to solve old problems.
- Make Music Count: An innovative math curriculum that teaches students how to master fractions, graphing and algebra through popular music on the piano.
Cox Enterprises announced the launch of the second Techstars accelerator in Atlanta and Givens' appointment as managing director of the Social Impact Accelerator in August.
Givens is a Stone Mountain native, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Collab Capital, an investment fund designed to connect black founders to the financial and social capital they need to build profitable businesses. Atlanta Inno hosted a fireside chat with Givens on diversity and social impact startups in October.
In addition to partnering with Techstars for two accelerators in Atlanta, the Atlanta-based communications conglomerate also funds and supports startups and entrepreneurs through Engage, Endeavor Atlanta and Startup Runway.
